Daily Times

Madaris have earned a fair amount of flak for last many years for their alleged involvement in terrorism and extremism. Though, unlike the terrorists and the religio-political parties, madaris have no political agendas, it is the decades long defamatory campaign that has made them look like the biggest threat to peace. Actually this misconception ensued with the misuse of madaris for Afghan war against the erstwhile Soviet Union, which gave them the reputation of factories of jehadis.

Even if there were some, the new worrisome truth is that the universities have also started producing highly educated. Though minimal in number, the radicalised students of universities can cause substantial damage to peace and tranquillity of the society. From Safoora carnage to MQM’s Izharul Hassan’s assassination attempt many university graduates have come to fore to effectively snatch away the wrongfully attributed distinction from the madrassah students.

In fact this shift had started immediately after 9/11. Few people would remember that Karachi University graduate Naeem Noor Khan @ Abu Talha, the Communication Manager of al Qaeda with US$ 5 million head money on him, was arrested from Lahore in 2004. He and his accomplices were supported by some radicalised college students.

Even Hamza Rabia, operational commander of al Qaeda, who was killed in a drone attack, lived in the cities of Punjab with the assistance of radicalised college students in 2004.

During the last decade umpteen cases of arrests of radicalised students affiliated with al Qaeda, TTP and IS, from the universities and colleges in Lahore and other cities have come to notice. In Dec 2015 the CTD arrested two Assistant Professors and a Law College student from Punjab University for having links with outlawed organisation.

Tashfeen Malik, the woman of Pakistani origin who along with her husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, killed 14 people on December 2, 2015, in a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California was alumni of Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU), in Multan.

Last but not the least, gruesome lynching of Mashal Khan, student of Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, at the hands of the enraged mob of students over concocted allegations of blasphemy, was the worst example of extremism and intolerance on campuses.

No doubt there is a conspicuous youth bulge in Pakistan and economic deprivation is on the rise. But such circumstances prevail in many countries of the world, may be worse, therefore these reasons are not good enough justification for terrorism. Poverty and religious education are not the reasons of terrorism. The blame should be attributed to the growing ocean of extremism, which has been left unbridled over years.

Extremist and terrorist groups effectively exploit the situation and recruit radicalised students. Social media has become the best recruitment tool by the militant groups who woo the students through Facebook, Twitter and websites. These tools have widespread access to 30 million internet users in Pakistan. The educated middle-class youth has better understanding of global events and greater exposure to extremist ideas through social and mainstream media. But unfortunately limited guidance is available to them to react positively to the news of the events, perceived to be anti-Muslim, taking place in many countries of the world like Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine, Indian Held Kashmir etc.

Chairman of the Higher Education Commission, Dr Mukhtar Ahmed also pointed out that proliferation of communication technologies and easy access to all strains of literature and information have been the primary cause of this phenomenon. However he did not agree with the notion that universities were rapidly becoming incubators of militants. He clarified, “The occurrence of one or two incidents on campuses should not be taken to meant that universities are incubating militancy.”

In any case there is a need to nip the evil in the bud. Multipronged actions must be unleashed to arrest the radicalisation trend brewing up in the universities forthwith. Chairman HEC suggested strict monitoring of unauthorised entries to institutions especially in hostels where only authorised university students should be allowed and to revive counselling offices in the institutions.

The Chairman HEC and the Senate Chairman have opposed the idea to share the student records with intelligence agencies. Their apprehensions about unnecessary intrusion in educational atmosphere and likely misuse of such practices are not wholly unjustified. It risks creating a culture of mistrust and unfairly targeting some ethnic and religious groups. Conversely it cannot be denied that intelligence is the main weapon against extremism and terrorism. They need support from the students and the university administration to identify suspicious elements. The middle way for the Intelligence agencies is to continue with their undercover activities through their moles to ferret out extremists. They can get support from the university administration as and when needed. But it should be done under an approved strategy.

UK Government had launched the counter extremist strategy ‘Prevent’ under which the universities could monitor and record the emails of the students and staff to prevent radicialisation on campus. Though students and human rights activists objected to this strategy, the spokesman of Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) said, “This approach is consistent with the Prevent guidance.”

Poverty and religious education are not the reasons of terrorism. The blame should be attributed to the growing ocean of extremism, which has been left unbridled over years

At national level an Anti-Extremism Bill, moved by PML(N) MNA Romina Khursheed Alam, is on the anvil. This bill aims at formulating a national policy to check the trend of increasing extremism in the society. The statement of objects and reasons attached to the bill states that “the bill intends to enhance national integration and inclusion through coordinated efforts to accomplish the objectives of the National Action Plan (NAP) 2015 and to comprehend the menace of violent extremism, ethnic polarisation and religious fragmentation or intolerance.” It can be a laudable step in the right direction to adopt effective measures to curb spread of radicalisation in the society, especially in the educational institutions.

On a different tangent, a religious scholar from Lahore, Maulana Ziaul Haq Naqshbandi, alarmed over the soaring radicalisation graph, has decided to launch an ambitious program to reach two million madrassah students to prevent radicalisation. He has conceived a plan to reach an agreement with the five wafaq-ul-madaris to let their students attend the counter radicalisation workshops.

As luckily the spirit to tackle extremism has emerged at this point in time, though belatedly, we can live in optimism thatthe openings to new conversations and new approaches of tackling extremism with different tools by all quarters of the society and the state would yield desired results. There is bright ray of hope that as a result of sustained and unified efforts, extremism, the evil mother of terrorism, will die down alongwith its ugly offspring.

The writer is Honorary Director Centre for Peace and Security Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Masters in International Security, War Studies Department, King’s College London. Tweets at N Elahi@Aaibak

Published in Daily Times, September 12^th 2017.