Madrasas and allegations of extremism
10-10-2008
By Maulana Waris Mazhari,
(Translated by Yoginder Sikand)
Madrasas are a characteristic feature of Muslim societies the world over. They
serve as centres for religious and moral instruction. As in other democratic
countries, in India, too, all religious communities, including Muslims, are
allowed by law to establish such institutions. Thus, there are many Hindu
gurukuls in the country, in addition to which are the vast number of centres run
by the RSS, where, in contrast to madrasas, training in the handling of weapons
is openly given.
Again, in contrast to madrasas, these centres propagate intoleranc and hatred
towards people of other faiths. It is thus distressing that while madrasas are
accused of promoting terrorism, no one raises a finger against these Hindutva
institutions. It seems that madrasas stand as the single major obstacle in the
path of the Hindutva agenda of 'saffronising' the country and imposing
Brahminical Hindu culture on all its inhabitants. That is why the madrasas have
come under heavy assault by the fascist forces in India today.
The anti-madrasa propaganda is not a new development. However, it has rapidly
increased in intensity in the recent past ever since the Hindu Right began to
gain political power and strength in much of the country, first in some states
and then at the national level. When the BJP came to power at the Centre, its
Human Resources Development Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, sought to impose the
Hindutva ideology through the educational system, or what the media referred to
as 'saffronisation'. Then, in accordance with a carefully planned strategy, in
2001 a Ministerial Group was formed in the aftermath of Pakistan's uncalled for
aggression in Kargil. The Group submitted a report on internal security which
falsely alleged that madrasas in India had turned into centres for promoting
religious fundamentalism and thus had become a major security concern. It
claimed, without supplying evidence, that madrasas were being used by terrorist,
fundamentalist and anti-national elements, particularly in districts along the
international borders with Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
As soon as the report was submitted the media began parroting the same lines.
Interestingly, prior to the report the media had not made much of a noise about
madrasas. The question thus arises that, if these allegations were true, where
was the country's investigative media prior to this? Why did they have to wait
for the report to come out to cry hoarse about these allegations against the
madrasas? To add to the absurdity, Lal Krishan Advani, senior BJP leader, in
fact denied these allegations in Parliament when responding to a question by a
Muslim MP, but the Group that prepared the report was formed under his
supervision and came out with quite the contrary argument, which greatly boosted
the anti-madrasa campaign, which still rages in the media. And, reflecting this
frenzy that has been whipped up against the madrasas, numerous students and
teachers of madrasas continue to be falsely accused of being behind terrorist
acts. The authorities of the madrasas have been insisting that such allegations
are almost wholly baseless and lacking in evidence. In actual fact, none of
these allegations against madrasa teachers and students have as yet been proven
based on standard and acceptable principles of evidence and justice.
Allegations against madrasas in the media and by certain political forces are
routinely framed in such a manner as to target and attack not just these
institutions but also Islam as a religion, in line with the fiercely
anti-Islamic stance of these forces, who claim that Islam itself promotes
intolerance and terrorism. This anti-madrasa propaganda has now become so
pervasive that even many non-Muslims who do not have any prejudice against Islam
have serious reservations about madrasas. They believe that the ulema of the
madrasas deliberately distort Islamic teachings for their own political purposes
and interests and, accordingly, are turning Muslim youth towards terrorism. This
view is now widely held not just among non-Muslims but also among several
Muslims themselves. For instance, in an article published in several newspapers
in May 2000, the governor of Goa, Muhammad Afzal, levelled the same sort of
allegations against the madrasas.
An influential section of the media is now employing the anti-madrasa campaign
as a means to attack Islam itself. A good illustration of this is an article
that appeared in the India Today magazine in June 2001, titled 'Crescent
Classroom'. The writer, Sumit Mitra, visited a madrasa in the Muslim-majority
Murshidabad district in West Bengal and filed a report, from which I am quoting
some excerpts below:
'Murshidabad is more of a fanatic oddity in a state not much given to stand-offs
along communal lines. This is evident in a religious-educational movement that
demands "Islamic education" for children. The drive to "purify" education is
spearheaded by the Barua Rahamani Education Society (BRES) [which...] has
already opened 109 madarsas in the state [...] [T]he Barua Ahle-Hadis Education
Society begins Arabic lessons at the prep level. But more interesting is the
society's publication of the book on the Bengali alphabet, replacing the age-old
Barna Parichay of Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar. The traditional textbook introduces
the first letter aw with the word ajagar, Bengali for python, but [the] Salafi
Barna Parichay says after aw: awju korey pak haw-o (wash yourself to be pure
before namaz). The second letter of the alphabet, aa is dinned into the child's
ears with the exhortation Allah-r naam law-o (Take the name of Allah)". The
third letter, ee, goes with the line Embrace Islam.
The Talibani twist to such unorthodox alphabetic drill frequently surfaces. For
the letter "dh" the book has a picture of dhol, the percussion instrument, with
the line dhol tabla-e khodar lanat (God's curse be on music). For r, it is
rasool (the Prophet)...For sh, it is shirk, [the crime of] of comparing anyone
with Allah....'
According to the writer, all this is evidence of what he calls 'Talibani'
education. He claims that this sort of education promotes intolerance and
extremism. This single example reflects the fierce hostility of a certain
section of the media. If teaching 'A' for Allah and 'R' for Rasul is branded as
'fundamentalism', then no Muslim of this country can be exempted from this
charge of being a 'fundamentalist'. Nor, too, can the followers of other
religions, who seek to provide their children with knowledge of their own faith.
Is the constitutional provision and guarantee of secularism to be interpreted in
such a way that children are not to be given religious education or that they
should not be brought up according to the teachings of their faith? Is teaching
about God, morals and the purification of the self, all of which religion talks
about, anti-national and tantamount to so-called 'Talibanisation'?
In the heat and fury of the hate-driven anti-madrasa campaign, the actual roles
and identity of the madrasas have been completely ignored. In India, Hindu
Right-wing forces, and, at the global level, senior American leaders and
defenders of American Imperialism, have left no stone unturned in their effort
to project madrasas as centres for training terrorists. To back the claim about
madrasas in India being allegedly engaged in promoting terrorism, the
Ministerial Group report prepared when the BJP-led government was in power at
the Centre refers to—and this is repeated by large sections of the media—the
recent rise in the number of madrasas in certain districts in the country along
its international borders. This is misleading. In actual fact, the number of
madrasas has increased not just in these districts but all over the country in
general. One reason for this is the heightened sense of insecurity and
defensiveness about their religion and identity among Muslims across the country
caused by the destruction of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the developments that
took place thereafter. Another factor is undoubtedly economic—the scope for
collecting donations for madrasas has now become wider. This is a result of the
woeful neglect of the economic dimension in the present system of madrasa
education. The increase in the number of madrasas simply as a means for
collecting donations is an unfortunate development. But this increase must be
seen against the findings of the recently-released Sachar Committee Report,
according to which only 3-4% of Muslim children study in full-time madrasas.
There is no doubt that the anti-madrasa campaign as well as widely-held negative
views about madrasas have been strengthened by on-going political developments
in neighbouring Pakistan. The aggressive and totally stupid actions of some
madrasas and self-styled 'Islamist' groups in Pakistan have only further
contributed to the negative image of the madrasas, as have statements and
actions against madrasas by pro-American Pakistani leaders in order to curry
favour with their American bosses. These have given further impetus to the
propaganda against madrasas being spearheaded by anti-Islamic forces in India.
It is, however, incorrect to equate Pakistani madrasas with their counterparts
in India, because the contexts in the two countries are vastly different. It is
as erroneous as equating Hindu institutions in Sindh, Pakistan, or in Bali,
Indonesia, with Hindutva outfits in India.
A well-planned, organised policy and campaign is required to counter the false
charges of Indian madrasas being engaged in fanning terror. For this, madrasas
need to be more open to the wider, including non-Muslim, society and must also
address their internal weaknesses and shortcomings.
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*This is a translation of a chapter by Maulana Waris Mazhari titled Madaris Par
Intihapasandi Ke Izam ki Haqiqat in Yoginder Sikand & Waris Mazhari (ed.) Dini
Madaris Aur Dahshatgardi: Ilzam Aur Haqiqat ('Madrasas And Terrorism:
Accusations and Realities'), Global Media Publications, New Delhi, 2008, pp.
113-20.
Waris Mazhari is the editor, Tarjuman Dar ul-Ulum, official organ of the Old
Boys' Association of the Dar ul-Ulum, Deoband. He can be contacted on
mazhariwaris@gmail.com
Submitted by a Mujahid