Stemming the Tide of Radical Backlash- an Unrelenting Battle

---Ziauddin Choudhury

The ominous incidents of this week where the radical forces again showed their muscle to
protest the government's National Women's Development Policy once again remind us the
nascent strength of these forces. The incidents also bring into stark focus the vulnerability
of our democratic ideals against these forces. Three years ago we had a similar show-down
by the same forces when the then care taker government had contemplated implementation
of the same policy, but had backed down. Those of us who may think that the radical forces
have taken a back seat with the resurgence of a democratically elected government should
stop deluding ourselves. The radical forces are there, and will continue to grow unless we
take measures to plug the wellspring of religious radicalism, and tackle the elements who
nurture this well.

In analyzing the rise of radicalism in Pakistan and the alarming spread of violence in the
name of religion few years back, a writer in a Pakistan journal commented how these were
aided and abetted by the proliferation of religious seminaries in that country and the type of
education these institutions imparted. From a few thousand when Ziaul Huq seized power
in 1977 the writer estimated these seminaries grew to over 25,000 in less than ten years.
He viewed these religious seminaries as the spawning ground for the foot soldiers of jihad.

The reasons were straightforward, the writer argued. Here, thousands of young children
are taught little but rote learning of the scriptures. People unqualified to teach had assumed
the responsibility of indoctrinating young minds. And while governments after Ziaul Huq
(particularly Pervez Musharraf) vowed to reform this sprawling, unregulated system, they
failed because words of the leaders did not match action. On the one hand they castigated
the radical elements as fomenters of extremism and religious intolerance, but on the other
hand they did nothing to stem the tide of growth in the seminaries. These institutions
thrived with financial support both from inside and outside the country. There was no
mechanism in place to regulate either the curriculum or financial flows to the institutions.
The institutions thrived also because they offered free education to the rural masses
subsidized by foreign donations (from the Middle East) because the donors thought their
philanthropy was paying to educate poor young Pakistanis.

How do we compare with Pakistan in terms of growth in religious seminaries in Bangladesh?

We have two main lines of religious schools in Bangladesh, Aliya Madrassas and Quomi
Madrassas, providing primary and secondary levels of education. Outside these two main
lines are two types of institutions—Maktabs (Nourani Madrassas), and Hafezia/Forqania
Madrassas that provide basic Koran reading skills. While the Aliya Madrassas are
government regulated and their number is known, there are no official figures either on the
Quomi Madrassas or the other institutions since they operate entirely in the private domain.
Absent any government statistics on the number and student population of the private
madrassas in Bangladesh, the only number that I have is from a recent World Bank report
on Madrassa Education (2009) where existence of about 48,000 non-regulated Madrassas in
Bangladesh is estimated. Now, this is a huge number by any measure when we consider
that there are a little more than 78,000 primary schools in Bangladesh (UNICEF statistics).
According to a latest estimate non-government Madrassas had grown to nearly 40,000 by
2008 in Pakistan; but we beat that number. According to some report, Bangladesh ranks
second to Indonesia in the number of religious seminaries.

We cannot wipe away the reality that private religious seminaries (Madrassas) have come to
occupy an important role in the education of our masses. They have filled gaps that our
government provided educational institutions could not cover. At the same time we also
cannot wipe away the perception of religious extremism that has come to be associated with
such institutions. The images of threat and violence last week as well as those from three
years ago flashed through the media only enhance this perception. These are forebodings
of more acts of intolerance and violence in the name of religion unless the tide is stemmed
now.

This requires a well thought out plan to arrest the runaway growth in private seminaries by
requiring registration; monitoring of financial flows to the institutions; gradual introduction
of a standard curriculum for the Quomi Madrassas; and providing financial and regulatory
incentives to the institutions to abide by the curriculum. These are challenging tasks. But
for the future of our democracy and future of our youth these need to be taken. Pakistan
experience should be a warning for all of us.

Ziauddin Choudhury works for an International Organization in Washington DC, USA.