The modern education system has miserably failed across the Muslim world and we have not produced significant of scientists and scientific discoveries because separating religious education from secular will not work in a Muslim world. We need to provide secular education so that the students can excel.
We must separate sectarian affiliation from sectarianism or terrorism. Madrasa’s do not often cause terrorism, but they provide an easy hiding place or safe haven for religious or sectarian terrorists. Same is true for secular institutions and there have been raids on Punjab university hostels as well. Radicalization can happen in a university, in a madrasa or on Internet, but it is done by people pretending to be religious preachers and madrasas provide an easy facade for them.
Another thing I would like to add is that the purpose of these Madrassas and Seminaries is no longer to provide Islamic education or Islam instead it is more about influence i.e. each sect is busy opening up as many Madrassas and Seminaries as possible in order to increase their sect’s thought process and also sending out their militants to take out/kill as many as possible other sects madrassas and seminaries.
What’s chilling to read here is the perceived threat they have towards the law enforcement agencies that if you mess with us then you will pay a heavy price. Another thing is that their argument that criminals are also present in mainstream schools etc. does not hold water because if at any time the law enforcement agencies feel terrorist threat emanating from mainstream educational institution they can take action without fear as they will not face hordes of students with guns, RPGs etc. shooting at them…that is the difference between Madrassas compared to mainstream institutions.
Madrasas are not a cause, they are a symptom of insufficient government spending on education. And the reason why governments do not spend enough on education is simple. Education is a long term investment and governments are only interested in investments that will help them win the next election. So Madrasas are the supply side answer to unfulfilled demand requirement. If governments spend enough on education, Madrasas will go out of business like the horse drawn Tonga.
What is the future for these graduates from the madrasas? Who will hire them? What if these graduates continue the process of poisoning the minds of the next generation, where is the will of the people to change for the better? How can society survive spreading hatred everywhere? Madrassas do not educate, they indoctrinate.
In modern times, education has evolved to the point where critical thinking, problem solving, analytical skills, creativity, etc. trump rote memorization. Today, Google search can provide you answers on almost any question, so there is little or no need for any memorization. Students must learn only how to think not what to think. Old theories are challenged, deconstructed, and destroyed, paving the way for new updated information, existing paradigms are dismantled and new ones formed only to be destroyed in just a few months or years. There are no sacred cows.
Educators and research’s with decades of experience keep their egos in check, Students challenge their teachers, scientists are able to spar with each other in the quest for knowledge without fearing for their lives. And the world moves forward. Can you imagine a madrassa student challenging his teacher on a topic that is supposed to be accepted without question?
I am not surprised that countries which have stopped religious teachings have progressed so much that even those attending madrassas want to live there. We need science which cures us from illnesses and gives us knowledge to fly in the skies. Repeating the same texts may be good, but overdoing it is counterproductive.
