There is no reason why our madrassas cannot be used to help promote social justice in our society based on accepted Islamic injunctions, which for instance, forbid denying women their rightful share of property, which in turn could go a long way in ensuring women’s economic empowerment in our country. Many other similar Islamic injunctions can be emphasised to promote a sense of civic and social responsibility through the madrassa system, instead of using madrassas to achieve narrow sectarian or strategic objectives. Reforming what madrassas teach would thus have a much more positive impact on their students than trying to regulate their activities through administrative controls alone.
“It is important to mention upfront that not all madrassas are a problem and therefore these must not be viewed negatively as a whole."
An ideological vacuum?
In order to reform and regulate madrassas, it is critical to first understand the reason behind their rapid growth over the past decade. Madrassas fill up the vacuum in the provision of basic services such as education by the state. “The government is unable to educate poor children and no one cares. Only madrassas give them free education,” “If the government supports these students, I am sure they can make a difference,” he adds.
Problems arise in non-registered seminaries when there is no check on the literature being taught there, a cleric shared on the condition of anonymity. “Students of some of these unregistered seminaries are sitting ducks being
misguided by anti-state forces,”
Shuting down madrassas is no solution but bringing reforms and taking steps to stop teaching wrong principles will be the right choice.This is not our duty but the duty of the state.
At the end,the only solution is to bring REFORMS.