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| Terror Networks & Islam | |
| Madrassahs Are 'Factories of Terror,' Policy Expert Asserts | |
| 2005-07-11 | |
| (CNSNews.com) - Islamic schools, called "madrassahs," operate around the world, teaching children reading, writing, religion and, in some cases, how to participate in terrorist attacks. Madrassah means "center of learning" in Arabic. These schools traditionally prepare students for life as a cleric. But the nature of some madrassahs changed between 1979 and 1989, during the war between the Soviet Union and Afghan rebels, according to Ariel Cohen, senior policy advisor for the Heritage Foundation. Madrassahs "provide much more than a religious education. They provide political ideology, and they also -- in many cases -- train for violence and war," Cohen told Cybercast News Service. He added that the U.S. government "doesn't see madrassahs as breeding grounds for terrorists, when in fact, they are factories of terror. They are seen only as religious establishments, which they're not." The U.S. Defense Department has noted that some madrassahs indoctrinate students and instill motives for terrorism. In November 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld talked about the scope of these schools. "There is no way to measure it because you don't know what's happening in each one of these radical cleric schools that are teaching people that. But we have to engage that battle of ideas, just as we have to engage terrorists where they are," he said. According to the Defense Department, madrassahs operate on several continents. All madrassahs provide free education as well as room and board to students who come mainly from the poorer strata of society. The U.S. State Department describes madrassahs "as an alternative to the public school system in many areas" but adds that "many madrassahs [have] failed to provide an adequate education, focusing solely on Islamic studies. "A few madrassahs, particularly in the Afghan border area, [have] reportedly continued to teach religious extremism and violence," according to the State Department. While the exact number of madrassahs is unknown, they have a strong presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In April 2002, Mahmood Ahmed Ghazi, Pakistani minister of religious affairs, estimated that Pakistan had 10,000 madrassahs for 1.7 million students. PBS's "Frontline" has reported that many of these schools are funded by Saudi Arabia. "Saudi Arabia has been the single biggest source of funding for fanatical interpretations of Islam, and the embodiment of that interpretation in organizations and schools has created a self-perpetuating institutional basis for promoting fanaticism across the Muslim world," Vali Nasr, an expert on Islamic fundamentalism and associate professor at University of San Diego, told the television program.. But Muslims defend the schools, pointing out that fanaticism is the exception to the rule. "I think there is the conception that there is hate being taught in these madrassahs, which may be the case in some, but I doubt that is the case for all," Rabiah Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told Cybercast News Service. Ahmed added: "The majority of Islamic schools in this country and worldwide are just normal schools that teach about religion and about other subjects. People go to these schools and come out just fine, not crazed fanatics."
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| Posted by:Steve |
| #2 "'I think there is the conception that there is hate being taught in these madrassahs, which may be the case in some, but I doubt that is the case for all', Rabiah Ahmed, spokeswoman for CAIR, told CNS." Such a statement of conviction. "Ahmed added: The majority of Islamic schools in this country and worldwide are just normal schools that teach about religion and about other subjects." It's nice to see that "other subjects" somehow make it into the Madrassah curriculum, too. |
| Posted by: Hyper 2005-07-11 18:27 |
| #1 I read about madrassahs, oh - eight or ten years ago, in - of all places - The Readers Digest. But of course, no one paid attention. Funded by Saudis, eh? Maybe we need to loan them some curriculum reviewers so they could be a bit more selective in their funding? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2005-07-11 10:10 |