Madrassas in Pakistan

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Islamic seminaries teach mostly Islamic subjects leading to graduation as a cleric (called maulvi, maulana or mulla in Pakistan.This article provides a brief introduction to these institutions (also called madrassas and madaris)as they function in Pakistan.

Contents

[edit] History

The madaris rose as colleges of learning in the Islamic world in the 11th century though there were institutions of learning earlier (Makdisi 1981: 10-24). They catered not only to the religious establishment, though that was the dominant influence over them, but also the secular one. To the latter they supplied physicians, administrative officials, judges and teachers.

Pakistan has 10,000-13000 unregistered madrassas with an estimated 1.7 to 1.9 million students in 2002 (discussed in Candland 2005: 152-153), out of which most cater to the dominant Sunni sect. There are, however, some Shia madrassas too for the minority (between 14 to 20 per cent) Shias.

Names of recognized Wafaq/Tanzeem ul Madaris/Rabit ul Madaris:

Wafaq-ul-Madaris Al-Arabia

Tanzeem-ul-Madaris Alhe Sunnat

Wafaq-ul-MadarisAl-Salfia

Wafaq-ul-Madaris Shia

Rabita-ul-Madaris Al Islamia


Names of recognized individual Madaris:

Jamia Islamia Minhaj-ul-Quran

Jmia Taleemat-e-Islamia

Jamia Ashrafia.

Darul Uloom Mohammadia Ghousia

Darual Uloom, Karachi.



[edit] Ittehad Tanzimat Madaris-e-Deeniya

Ittehad Tanzimat Madaris-e-Deeniya is the federation of the 5 seminaries boards in Pakistan which consists of Deobandi, Barelvi, Ahl-e-Hadith, Shia and Jamaat-e-Islami schools of thought.They are Tanzimul Madaris Pakistan,Wafaqul Madaris Al-Shia,Wafaqul Madaris-e-Arabia,Syed Maudoodi Institute of Oriental studies and Wafaqul Madaris Al-Salfia.

[edit] Wafaq-ul-Madaris Al-Arabia (Deobandi school of thought )

governing body of all Deobandi madaris in Pakistan and the largest of all the five wafaqs(Boards)

[edit] Tanzeem-ul-Madaris Pakistan(Barelvi school of thought - The Largest )

The seminary education board for Madrassas teaching Barelvi school of thought in Pakistan. Mufti Munib-ur Rehman is the current President Four education systems are being run under this school of thought. They are;

  • Jamia Naeemia,(Mufti Munib ur Rehman)
  • Jamia Mohammadia Ghausia Bhera (1000 Madrassas)
  • Dawat-e-Islami (2500 Madrassas in all)
  • Tehrik Minhajul Quran (2500 Madrassas in all)
  • Jamia Faridia Sahiwal, (70 Madrassas )

About 4000 more madrassas are working under Tanzimul Madaris accommodating thousands of students.

[edit] Wafaqul Madaris Al-Shia (Shia school of thought)

About 400 Madaris which cater to the needs for the minority sect the Ahley Taseeh which make up 14-20% of the population.

[edit] Rabita-ul-Madaris Al Islamia (Jamaat-e-Islami School of thought)

Affiliated with Jamaat-e-Islami school of thought education system.

[edit] Wafaq-ul-MadarisAl-Salfia (Ahl-e-Hadith school of thought)

The Ahle Hadith school of thought education system.

[edit] Expansion of Madrassas

The Madaris were few in number when Pakistan was created but expanded during the rule of General Zia ul Haq (1977-1988). Besides the growth of population, they expanded because their students (especially the Deobandis) were used to fight the Soviet Union during the Afghan war (1980-1987). Later on the Taliban also had links with the Deobandi madrassas. Some of the madrassas published lists of their students who had fought in Afghanistan and Kashmir against the Indian defence forces to bring India to negotiate the status of Kashmir which is claimed by both Pakistan and India.

They were the students of colleges and universities and educated persons from the modern educational institutions who participated in Afghan war from 1979 to 1992 against USS and the Afghan Government. The TALAB' of madaris were involved effectively in 1995 when Talban started their struggle against warlords and Shumali Ittehad.

[edit] Non-Curricular discourses

In addition to the Dars-i-Nizami texts, the students read accessible books in Urdu as part of comparative religions or training in the beliefs of the sub-sect (maslak). These texts, and especially the interpretation of the teacher, emphasize the beliefs of the sub-sect in contrast to the ‘other’ which is the sub-sect from which one is to be differentiated. This process may result in sectarian bias. Similarly, students are taught to refute Western ideologies—capitalism, individualism, freedom, feminism, socialism, democracy, human rights—in lessons on combating heresy and dangers to Muslim thought and identity. There are a number of books in simple Urdu in circulation on these themes though they rarely appear on the reading lists of the madrassa syllabi. However, they remain in print and their arguments are often repeated by madrassa graduates in sermons. Some of them are also on sale outside mosques and madrassas. Thus, while the Dars-i-Nizami teaches neither specifically sectarian nor anti-Western ideologies, these are disseminated among students through Urdu extra-curricular polemical books and clerics or fellow students in informal interaction. Moreover, madrassas invite fighters from active frontlines (Kashmir, Afghanistan) to inspire the students to fight against oppression, which is often defined as pro-Western policies of the Pakistani state and that of powers seen as being anti-Muslim (such as the USA, Israel, UK and India). Some madrassas do teach English and social studies and use computers but they do not allow books or teachers not approved by the clerics to teach them, so that their liberalizing potential is seriously undermined.

[edit] Madrassas and violence

Main article: Lal Masjid siege

After the events of 9/11 the madrassas were widely perceived to be associated with violence. This association is only partly correct. Most madrassas are simply schools providing religious education to boys (and some girls) who would probably not get any education otherwise. Some are, however, associated with providing fighters. Therefore, General Musharraf tried to bring them under government control. Two laws were passed: one to create state-controlled madrassas (model Dini Madaris) in 2001; the other to register them in order to control them in 2002. The first had moderate success as some religious institutions got themselves registered in 2003 with the Pakistan Madrasah Education Board it created. However, the three model institutions it created suffer organizational difficulties. The second was unpopular with the madrassas but the government has been firm about removing foreign students, suspected of being possible or potential recruits of the Al-Qaeda organization. However, the madrassas have been functioning for a long time without being associated with violence. This association is a consequence of the Afghan War and the ongoing dispute between Pakistan and India about Kashmir as mentioned above.

[edit] Conclusion

Madrassas fulfill the demand for religious training for clerical functions in Pakistan in common with other Muslim societies. They draw their students and faculty from the poorest sections of society and provide them with free education, food and even clothes. However, they do not allow their students exposure to differing world views so that they turn out to be strongly committed to the interpretation of Islam which they have been taught in their madrassa. This predisposes them to bias against secular ways of thinking, other religions and sub-sects of Islam different from their own. However, this would not necessarily translate into active miltancy but for the recent policies of governments which have armed and radicalised some of them. As there is anger in the Muslim world over the American polices in favour of Israel and the war in Iraq, the madrassa students too feel justiified in supporting aggressive policies. Similarly, having been exposed to largely false accounts of Indian oppression in Kashmir, they support a strong line against India. It appears that only reduction of poverty and the perception of just national and international policies can reduce the number of students in these institutions and prevent them from becoming militant.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Candland, Christopher .2005. ‘Pakistan’s Recent Experience in Reforming Islamic Education’. In Hathaway, Robert. M (ed) .2005. Education Reform in Pakistan: Building for the Future Washington D.C: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Pp. 151-165.
  • Hartung, Jan-Peter and Reifeld, Helmut.2006. Islamic Education, Diversity and National Identity New Delhi: Sage.
  • Makdisi, George .1981. The Rise of Colleges: Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
  • Rahman, Tariq .2004. Denizens of Alien Worlds: A Study of Education, Inequality and Polarization in Pakistan Karachi: Oxford University Press. Chapter 5.
  • Robinson, Francis. 2002. The Ulama of Farangi Mahal and Islamic Culture in South Asia Lahore: Ferozsons.