Daily Times

A recent report in a national newspaper brought to light some disturbing facts. There are more religious seminaries than schools in the federal capital. Most of these seminaries are unregistered. The growth in the number of formal public schools has been slower. While this may be an exceptional case, it is indicative of the power of seminaries in the country. It is also deeply symbolic. The government should be concerned about this state of affairs. What sort of a message it sends to the world?

Informal estimates suggest that Pakistan has more than 30,000 madrassas across the country. And the majority belongs to the Deobandi sect, which incidentally is followed by a minority of Sunnis in the country. The much-touted National Action Plan promised geo-tagging and registration of all seminaries in the country. However, perhaps out of fear or a spirit of ‘compromise’, the progress has been painfully slow. The state is yet to begin the process of regulating madrassas including a framework to check their finances. This parallel system of education, covering millions of students fills the gap left by state’s inability to educate all children but there needs to be a wider debate on the usefulness of such parallel streams.

Pakistan can follow the examples set by countries like Indonesia by helping seminaries and leveraging their support in fighting extremism. Most of the pesantren (Indonesian religious schools) encourage religious diversity and tolerance. Compare that with some of the more provocative views preached in Pakistan. Pakistan’s growing radicalization is largely linked to the seminaries, widespread acceptance of their views due to state patronage in the past (for multiple jihad projects in the region) and the public schools textbooks that emphasise the supremacy of Muslims over non Muslims and legitimizing of violent means of jihad, otherwise a lofty term for self-improvement.

It should be emphasized that not all madrassas breed terrorism. Most are catering to poorer sections of the society. But the issue here is whether we should be encouraging millions of young children to gain education that has limited prospects and ends up making them feel marginalised in the society. The only viable option is for the state to develop a comprehensive plan of converting these seminaries into public schools. A consensus is needed for this to start. And it also requires giving up the patronage of selected groups to fight in Afghanistan or Kashmir. Pakistan’s battle against terrorism will be meaningless if this key issue is not addressed.

The parliament, civil society and the media have crucial roles to play in imagining a different kind of society for the future. It is time a high-level commission is appointed to chalk out a ten-year plan of integrating madrassas into the mainstream. Before that is done, a handful of madrassas, known for their role in supporting and nurturing terrorism need to be closed down. *