Madrasha education : Some observations

Farook Ahmed :
Evidently some of our intellectuals and high-brows have pathological antipathy towards Madrasha education. Usually they look upon a Madrasha educated person as uneducated, half-educated or ill-educated. This is their inveterate belief. No amount of logic and arguments can budge them an inch from their standpoint. They vociferously speak against Madrasha education and demand either its stoppage or radical changes in the Madrasha curriculum. The present syllabi of numerous Madrashas are not what it was ten years before. Many modern subjects have been included in the curriculum of Madrashas. Now a Madrasha student having equivalent degree of SSC and HSC can obtain admission in colleges and universities.
Nonetheless a person with Madrasha background is officially discriminated and socially marginalized. He has neither demand nor value in the highly competitive job markets. Wherever he goes to seek a job he is frowned upon or booed away. His offence is his Madrasha education. Many of us feel repugnance to associate with him. He is generally portrayed as nonconformist and unorthodox. We stigmatize him as maverick. Our such antipathetic view about Madrasha educated person is unwholesome and self-destructive. It may create a divisive society causing far-reaching irreparable harm to us. Almost all the Madrasha students are our poor and ultra-poor men’s sons.
These Madrasha students are so indigent that they often starve, mostly remain half-fed and wear cheap clothes. They are easily identifiable by their outward shabby appearance. Long robes, beards and round-shaped caps are their typical identity. Most Madrasha students despite their back-breaking poverty are simple, shy, courteous and deferential. Their demands and dreams are reasonable.
They are comparatively far less prone to crimes. They are law-abiding and noticeably fearful and respectful of government authorities. This is because religious educations transform them into docile and submissive entity. We have an unfounded misconception that Madrasha education proliferate radicalism in our society. This is wholly a wrong conception. If we examine the syllabi of any Madrasha, we are sure to find that there is not a single chapter that exhorts and inspires the Madrasha students to indulge in extremism.
It is our so-called attitude, superiority complex and willful derecognition of their good traits that hurt their feelings and sometimes spur them to involve in violent acts. The number of such degenerate Madrasha students is very negligible. The greater numbers of Madrasha are run on the dole and donations of rich people. We often see Madrasha students move from door to door with begging bowels in their hands to collect their daily foods. Theirs’ this state of mendicancy instills desperation and disaffection into their minds. Most of the Madrasha students are apolitical. Yet we have a tendency to link them with Jamat-e-Islami party.
This is our another far-reaching mistake. We have developed an attitude to look askance at long robes, flowing beards and caps. Sometimes we make undesirable pejorative remarks that hurt the sensibilities of persons who have religious bent of minds. We have another misconception that many followers or supporters of Jamat-e Islami are Madrasha educated persons.
This view is totally fallacious. Survey reveals that 90% of the followers of Jamat-e Islami are modern-educated people. Hardly any children of the leaders of jamat are sent to Madrasha. We should not class the Madrasha-educated persons with that of the supporters of Jamat.
It is true that a few Madrasha students got themselves radicalized and involved in terrorist activities. But their number is very limited and negligible and should not be generalized. In order to keep the larger lots of the Madrasha educated persons with the mainstream of our society; we must create tangible and visible opportunities for Madrasha students. We should not consider them as inferior breed or discriminate under any circumstances for their religious education. Equal opportunities, equal dignity, and equal recognition will certainly solidify our relationships with them. This will negate their chances of being lured into terrorist activities.
It is really alarming news that some public universities denied admission to some Madrasha students though they qualified in the admission tests. This kind of injustice and discrimination will surely open the doors of radicalization.
We need to remember that injustice, deprivation and denial to one’s rights give rise to extremism. We must have respect for long robes, beards and caps which are traditional Islamic symbols. These three symbols we have inherited from our forefathers which we cannot discard in the name of modernity. We can rest assured that Madrasha education does not breed extremism rather it fosters pacifism.