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Clerics adamant against ‘interference’ in madrassas

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Leaders of madrassas (Islamic seminaries) said on Sunday that they would not allow the government or anyone else to interfere in madrassa matters such as their syllabi and examination system.

In a communiqué issued after the Deeni Madaris Convention arranged by the Wafaqul Madaris Al Arabia, madrassa leaders said seminaries would continue working towards making Pakistan an Islamic and democratic state and would stay united and would not allow anyone interfere in madrassa matters. It also said they would not accept the imposition of embargos to fulfil the agenda of the West. “Religious schools weren’t involved in any kind of politics or terrorism and they don’t want to fight the government, but they want it to accept their demands through dialogue because religious schools will not accept any imported philosophy in the name of so-called enlightened moderation,” the declaration added.

Syllabi reforms in madrassas would continue because they (madrassa leaders) believed that teachers in religious schools had the capability to teach conventional education, it said, adding that madrassas would also not accept the government’s financial assistance at any stage.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Qari Hanif Jullandry, coordination secretary of the Ittehad-e-Tanzimat-e-Madaris-e-Deeniya (ITMD), said ITMD leaders were talking to the government about giving the status of education boards to the five Wafaqs. “Though the government isn’t accepting our demands, we still believe in resolving issues through dialogue,” he added. “We demand the government to accept our degrees equalling Matric, FA and BA,” he said. Pakistan’s religious leaders wanted to be on good terms with the international community, but on the basis of equality and justice, he said, adding that during 2004 as many as 54,000 students – 10,000 being female – appeared in the hifz (learn the Quran by rote) exam. He also said 10,000 students had become religious scholars in one year.

Other speakers praised the services of madrassas for protecting Pakistan’s religious frontiers as well for providing free education to underprivileged children.

Pakistan Muslim League President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain told participants that madrassas were not preaching terrorism. “As a former interior minister, I conducted an inquiry to examine whether seminaries were involved in terrorism and found that not a single one was involved in such activities,” he said.

Praising the role of madrassas and their contribution to increased literacy rates, he said politics and religion should not be mixed. “Some clerics who practice politics should not deem us non-Muslims,” he said, adding, “During my tenure as prime minister, I opposed President Pervez Musharraf for sending troops to Iraq.” He also said he did not fully support the president on Afghanistan.

MMA President Qazi Hussain Ahmed said the US wanted to change the syllabi of religious seminaries and conventional schools.

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