Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri The Coordinator 2014 Part 4-1- TB-21- madrassa accused of radicalising women

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri The Coordinator 2014 Part 4-1- TB-21- madrassa accused of radicalising women

Mullah Omar: 'Jihad Strategies and a Future Vision’ a follow-upBy Capt (Ret) C de Waart, feel free to share: in Confidence.

The forgotten Front while we are looking somewhere else; “I advise you to raise your children in the cult of jihad and martyrdom and to instill in them a love for religion and

death”

The role of women in jihad, as caregivers or fighters, as raisers of children or suicide bombers, is a contentious point amongst male and female jihadists. It’s not really a new thing using, utilizing woman in whatever way in the jihad and their propaganda. More worrying them – those we fall prey to the salafists ideology could be mislead to grows the next generation of potential fighters, a sensitive discussion anyway. Cees

• Al-Qaeda (deputy) leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had responded to two questions on this subject in the open interview with jihadist forum members held in early-2008

• The wife of Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has congratulated Muslim women for the role they have played in the Arab Spring and urged them to raise their children for jihad

• The Ministry of Education has confirmed that there are about 1,300 unregistered religious schools operating in the country, as opposed to 1,100 state-run madrassas.

• Yet, as numerous recent surveys have noticed, there is today a distinctly visible enthusiasm among many Muslims for educating their daughters

Islamic State's female bloggers draw European women to Syria

Brenda Stoter December 23, 2014 AMSTERDAM — When Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate in June, he called on Muslims around the world to be a part of it. The invitation extended to preachers, engineers, judges, doctors and people with military and administrative experience, basically every Muslim who wanted to play a role in the creation of a new Islamic caliphate, including women. On Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, young Muslim women who live in the so-called Islamic State portray their lives as a sort of Disneyland for Muslims. IS' recruitment campaign is mostly conducted online, and female jihadists have proved to be some of the best propagandists. They share pictures of their dinners, write blogs about their husbands and encourage others to join them by posting sentimental status updates about the advantages of living in an Islamic state. They even offer to help plan the trips of those interested in joining them. One of the first things IS does after conquering an area is to instruct women on how to behave and dress. Women are required to be covered from head to toe, including a face veil. The women of the Khansaa Brigade, an all-female moral police force, make sure women stick to the rules. A number of Western women have been reported as having joined the brigade.

Another side of the coin: Women and girls from Iraq's Yazidi religious minority forced into sexual slavery1 by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group have committed suicide or tried to, rights group Amnesty International said. The London-based rights group said on 1 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/12/sex-slavery-pushes-isil-victims-suicide-2014122313551421512.html

Tuesday, women faced torture, rape, forced marriage and were "sold" or given as "gifts" to ISIL fighters or their supporters in Iraq and Syria. "Hundreds of Yazidi women and girls have had their lives shattered by the horrors of sexual violence and sexual slavery in ISIL captivity," Amnesty's Senior Crisis Response Adviser, Donatella Rovera, said in a statement

Al-Qaeda (deputy) leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had responded to two questions on this subject in the open interview with jihadist forum members held in early-2008. He said that women are not accepted into the ranks of al-Qaeda and that a woman must travel with a male relative and trusted guide to a field of jihad – Afghanistan in the case of the question. Zawahiri’s answers demonstrate the public position of al-Qaeda on women in jihad, that they are not equals of men. Female jihadists responded with sadness and some criticism to this position. Nearly two years later, in December, 2009, the wife of Ayman al-Zawahiri, Umayma Hassan Ahmed Muhammad Hassan, addressed Muslim women and reinforced her husband’s position. She discouraged women from pursuing an active role in fighting, arguing that their primary role is not to fight but to support their husbands and rear future generations of mujahideen. Umayma, however, reasoned that there are some cases when a Muslim woman may fight, but that is when it is in the service of the mujahideen.

June 8, 2012 “Al-Qaeda eyes children for jihad,” from Middle East Online, SANAA – The wife of Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has congratulated Muslim women for the role they have played in the Arab Spring and urged them to raise their children for jihad. “I congratulate all Muslim women for these blessed revolutions,” Umaima Hassan Ahmed Mohammed Hassan wrote in a letter posted on the Al-Fajr website. “I advise you to raise your children in the cult of jihad and martyrdom and to instil in them a love for religion and death,” she wrote. In doing so, “each woman would raise her child to be a new Saladin by telling him ‘it is you who will restore the grandeur of the Islamic nation and you will liberate Jerusalem.'” "Jihad is an obligation for every man and woman," wrote Hassan, "but the way of fighting is not easy for women." "Our main role -- that I ask God to accept from us -- is to preserve the mujahideen in their sons, and homes, and their confidentiality, and to help them raise/develop their children in the best way." But Hassan also suggests that women can become suicide bombers, which she refers to as "martyrdom missions." Titled A Message to the Muslim Sisters it was published by As-sahab media, al Qaeda's media wing, in December 20092 and circulated in West Asian countries where it has strong networks. Saladin was a 12th century Kurdish general who became the first sultan of Egypt and whose forces defeated Crusader armies in a battle that led to the eventual fall of the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem. The text also counseled women to continue to wear the veil and to encourage their husbands

2 http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/al-qaeda-reaches-women/story?id=9364879

"Refrain from killing and fighting against non-combatant women and children, and even if they are families of those who are fighting against us, refrain from targeting them as much as possible." "Refrain from harming Muslims by explosions, killing, kidnapping or destroying their wealth or property." "Refrain from targeting enemies in mosques, markets and gatherings where they mix with Muslims or with those who do not fight us." Most critically, Zawahiri goes on to note that any confrontation should not be a Muslim - Muslim battle over religious disagreements (i.e. inter-sect violence), rather, it should be against those who are the enemies of Islam.-- In September 2013, As-Sahab Media, an al-Qaeda media outlet, publicly released Zawahiri's "General Guidelines for Jihad" in both Arabic and English

and sons to “free the prisoners wherever they are… such as the widows of our martyr Osama bin Laden, who are languishing with their children in a Pakistani prison.”…

Cees, The discussion of Muslim women and their roles is an important one for every Muslim, firstly because it's an area in which there are many misconceptions by non-Muslims which need to be corrected and secondly some Muslims treat women unjustly in the name of Islam when in actual fact their actions are often a result of cultural or tribal customs and not Islam. Misconceptions surrounding the treatment of Muslim women arise from two sources; from Muslims who may justify their oppression and mistreatment of women on the basis of Islam. Also, some non- Muslims who have an agenda to take the Islamic teachings and want to depict Islamic civilisation as backward and oppressive. In recent times the treatment of women in Afghanistan has been used to present the picture of Muslim women being oppressed and abused and then blame the Shar'iah texts. The role of the Muslim woman is clearly defined and outlined in Islam. In short her primary role is with the upbringing of her children and in being a dutiful wife. She is encouraged to carry out all the duties she takes up with devotion and enthusiasm. The following Ahadith remind her of the rewards and merits attached to undertaking her primary duties. A woman came to ask the Prophet (saw) about some matter, and when he had dealt with it, he asked her, "Do you have a husband?" She said, "Yes." He asked her, "How are you with him?" She said, "I never fall short in my duties, except for that which is beyond me." He said, "Pay attention to how you treat him, for he is your Paradise and your Hell." (Reported by Ahmad) Abu Huraira narrated The Prophet (saw) said, "The righteous among the women of Quraish are those who are kind to their young ones and who look after their husband's property." However the women's role of being a mother and a wife are not her only roles. Islam permits the women to perform Hajj (pilgrimage), to exercise the vote, engage in politics, to take up employment and even run her own business. Allah mentions that Men and Women are equal in his sight. He mentions that the only difference is that of piety, of gaining reward and of obeying Him . It is not physical equality. To state the obvious, Allah has made Men and Women different and in terms of roles he has made the means to gain reward different. "Men are the protectors and maintainers [qawwamun] of women, because Allah has given the one more [strength] than the other, and because they support them from their means. . ." (Qur'an 4:34) Certain commands in Islam are general and are applied on all Muslims irrespective of being male or female, certain duties fall specifically on men whilst others only apply to women. The activities she can engage in are varied and in some cases duties upon her which she must not compromise. The notion that Muslim women cannot be educated or work is an absurd one. A basic understanding of the life of Muhammad and knowledge of the wives of the Prophet show examples of women excelling in their fields of knowledge. The Prophet's wife, Khadijah (ra) was not only a businesswoman but also a successful one at that. His's wife Aisha (ra) is widely renown to have been an authority of hadith who related a large number of hadith. Muslim women are not only allowed to receive an education and work but should be given and will be given opportunities under the Khilafah State to excel in their areas of expertise. The need to acquire knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim whether male or female and the Khilafah State is obligated to provide women an education to the highest level. Women are seen as valuable citizens of the state who not only offer their knowledge but also educate, nurture and instil the Islamic personality in the next generation. In every way the Muslim woman contributes to and has a vital and honourable role to play in society. From amongst the many activities that the Muslim woman is able to engage in, one of the most important is her right to enjoin good and forbid evil and discuss the affairs of the Ummah. With the growing resurgence and political awakening of Muslims worldwide, the political voice of Muslim women in contributing to this must not be ignored. Muslim women engaging

in politics is not a new phenomenon, an early example of this is at the time of the Prophet Muhammad when the leaders of Yathrib (Madinah) sent a party of Bani Khazraj to pledge their allegiance to him. This group consisted of sixty-two men and two women who pledged allegiance; the pledge of Aqabah is well known to have had both spiritual and political implications. The pledge was not only a declaration of accepting Islam but was a promise of political support and military protection. The role of the Muslim woman is that of being obedient to Allah to not worship man but to submit to the One that is worthy of worship. Allah says:” The believers, men and women, are protecting friends (Awliya) of one another; they join the ma'ruf (that which Allah commands) and forbid people form munkar (that which Allah prohibits); they perform salat, and give the zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have mercy on them. Surely Allah is All mighty, All wise" [TMQ At Taubah: 71] Allah had ordained upon us this Ummah the noble task of enjoining the ma'ruf and forbidding the munkar. The Muslim woman must undertake this duty as seriously and with as much enthusiasm as she undertakes the other duties ordained by Allah.

Translated Message 3 (2012) From Zawahiri's Wife To Muslim Women Umaima Hassan, one of Zawahiri's four known wives, congratulated the role played by Muslim women in the Arab Spring by helping to topple four heads of state who she described as "tyrant criminals". "I congratulate all females of the world for these blessed revolutions and I salute every mother who sacrificed her loved ones in the revolutions. It is really an Arab Spring and will soon become an Islamic Spring," read the message posted on the Al-Fajr website. Hassan urged Muslim women to raise their children for jihad. "I advise you to raise your children in the cult of jihad and martyrdom and to instill in them a love for religion and death," she wrote. In doing so, "each woman would raise her child to be a new Saladin (a 12th century Kurdish general who defeated the Crusaders in battle) by telling him 'it is you who will restore the grandeur of the Islamic nation and you will liberate Jerusalem.'" The message also urged Muslim women to keep wearing the veil. "The veil is the Muslim woman's identity and the West wants to remove this identity so she will be without an identity."

Nov 20144, At a time when the role of women in spreading Islamic terrorist network in West Bengal and Assam is giving National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths sleepless nights, intelligence officers in West Bengal have stumbled upon a Bengali leaflet, written by al Qaeda chief's wife, highlighting how women can serve the cause of jihad. Titled A Message to the Muslim Sisters it was published by As-sahab media, al Qaeda's media wing, in December 20095 and circulated in West Asian countries where it has strong networks.

Video, The Girls of the Taliban An insight into a girls' school in Afghanistan which imposes an even stricter interpretation of Islam than the Taliban6 There are now 1,300 unregistered madrasas in Afghanistan, where children are given only religious teaching. This is increasing fears among those involved in mainstream education. Arguably the most controversial of these madrasas is Ashraf-ul Madares in Kunduz, founded by two local senior clerics, where 6,000 girls study full time. The girls attend the madrasa solely to study the Quran and the teachings of the prophet Mohammed. They are taught by male teachers, who they are forbidden from meeting face-to-face, and full hijab must be worn

3 http://news.siteintelgroup.com/blog/index.php/about-us/21-jihad/227-translated-message-from-zawahiris-wife-to-muslim-women4 http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/al-qaeda-chief-s-wife-s-letter-translated-to-bengali-urges-women-to-help-jihad-s-cause/article1-1285969.aspx5 http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/al-qaeda-reaches-women/story?id=93648796 http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/specialseries/2014/12/girls-taliban-2014121716718177928.html

16 March 2014, The Afghan madrassa accused of radicalising women BBC AfghanFemale students in full body veil at the Ashraf-ul Madares madrassa. An unregistered religious school in northern Afghanistan has been accused of radicalising thousands of women. A BBC investigation has found that the Ashraf-ul Madares madrassa in Kunduz province preaches that listening to radio, watching television and taking photos are un-Islamic activities and that women

should not work outside their homes. Activists say the school undermines women's rights, but the founders say they are providing badly needed religious education. About 6,000 women and young girls are studying at the madrassa which was established by two influential mullahs in Kunduz four years ago.Students from the madrassa are instantly recognisable because of their strict Islamic clothing. The older students cover their heads, faces and eyes, and they also wear gloves and socks. Some wear a full body black chador, which has led to them being dubbed "tent-wearers" by some residents. Kunduz city officials say the radical interpretation of Islam taught in the school - particularly over dress codes - is causing tension between seminary students and other local people. Teachers at the madrassa say religious instruction in state schools is insufficient "They tell them 'you are an infidel - why is your clothing un-Islamic, why don't you know how to pray?'" says an official from the Kunduz Women's Affairs Directorate. Some of the seminary students also attend local government-run schools, and here too there have been confrontations. "When [they] see students or teachers of ordinary schools wearing normal clothes or with their hair visible, they stop them and openly tell them: 'You have committed a sin by not wearing clothing to cover your entire body'," says Wazhma, a teacher at a government-run school. The head of the madrassa, Mawlavi Abdul Khaleq, rejects the criticism. He told the BBC the school's goal was to help young women achieve their full potential by understanding the history and basic teachings of Islam. "In the beginning of Islam, Muslim girls used to take part in religious activities," he said. "They even used to participate in wars… but we Muslims have now lagged behind."Strict separation So what do the students themselves think? Although they've been warned not to talk to the media, one young woman agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. "If a chocolate does not have a wrapper, every fly can sit on it, but if it has a wrapper, it can be protected better," she said. "So the hijab for women is like a wrapper for them." She told the BBC that she had grown up as a refugee in Pakistan, and had previously attended a private university. "I used to wear short, tight clothes which are not appropriate for a Muslim woman," she said. "But now I have been informed about the truth of Islam and I know it is not appropriate for a Muslim girl to laugh and joke at any party." In government-run seminaries in Afghanistan, male teachers can instruct girl students face to face - as they do in ordinary schools and colleges. But at Ashraf-ul Madares, male staff have to teach their girl students from behind a curtain or from inside a booth in order to avoid eye-contact. "There should be partitions so that the male teacher can't see the girls, even if they wear hijab, because their eyes are open during reading," says Abdul, one of the seminary teachers. The rules are less strict for the 200 girls under 10 who also study at the Ashraf-ul Madares. Here the teachers sit among the children, wooden ruler in hand to enforce good behaviour. "The madrassa discipline is military-style, and children will be punished if they don't learn well or are noisy," Abdul says. So why go to an unregistered madrassa when there are more than 30 similar schools in Kunduz run by the Ministry of Education and already catering for some 2,000 female students? Officials at the Ashraf-ul Madares argue that the curriculum provided by the

Ministry of Education is not fully Islamic. They say they offer different teaching based on books brought in from Iran, Pakistan and some Arab states. Afghanistan's deputy education minister Shafiq Samim, declined to comment specifically on the Ashraf-ul Madares madrassa, but acknowledges there is a problem in Kunduz. "Students are told people who don't pray are infidel, while in Sharia law only unbelievers are called infidel," he said. "One madrassa student even told her mother that she was infidel because she did not pray for a few days." Mawlavi Abdul Khaliq, the head of Ashraf-ul-Madares takes issue with this. "Those who oppose this seminary are actually unaware of Islam or are influenced by countries that support non-Islamic ideas and values in Afghanistan and want a decline in Islamic values", he says. "In general, these kinds of people are provoked by outsiders."Expansion plans Many of the school's critics also want to know how it is funded. Mawlavi Abdul Khaliq says some costs were covered by donations from students. "They sell their earrings, rings and gold to help," he said. "Once we were even able to buy land for around $20,000 and build on it, all paid for by these girls." The madrassa has expansion plans, hoping to open branches in other Afghan provinces. The Ministry of Education has confirmed that there are about 1,300 unregistered religious schools operating in the country, as opposed to 1,100 state-run madrassas. Shahrzad, a civil society activist in Kunduz fears that the growing influence of conservative establishments outside government regulation could cost women in particular dear. "When religion is misinterpreted, the first and biggest victims will be women," she says. "Their Islamic and legal rights, their rights to work, learn, train and join politics and their civil freedom will be restricted."

Pakistan's female madrassas breed radicalism ISLAMABAD, (Reuters) - Varda is an accountancy student who dreams of working abroad. Dainty and soft-spoken, the 22-year-old aspires to broaden her horizons, but when it comes to Islam, she refuses to question the fundamentalist interpretations offered by clerics and lecturers nationwide. Varda is among more than a quarter of a million Pakistani students attending an all-female madrassa, or Islamic seminary, where legions of well-to-do women are experiencing an awakening of faith, at the cost of rising intolerance. In a nation where Muslim extremists are slowly strengthening their grip on society, the number of all-female madrassas has boomed over the past decade, fuelled by the failures of the state education system and a deepening conservativism among the middle to upper classes. Parents often encourage girls to enroll in madrassas after finishing high school or university, as an alternative to a shrinking, largely male-orientated job market, and to ensure a girl waiting to get married isn't drawn into romantic relationships, says Masooda Bano, a research fellow at the British-based Economic and Social Research Council. But, like Varda, many students at the 2,000 or so registered madrassas are university students or graduates looking for greater understanding of Islam, as well as housewives who, like others in Pakistani society, feel pressured to deepen their faith. "I listened to what they said and I thought this is the correct thing to follow, and I wanted to learn more about my religion", said Varda, who was encouraged by her neighbours to sign up to a part-time course at the Tehreek-i-Islami madrassa. Asked about the killing of a governor earlier this year because he opposed the country's controversial blasphemy law, Varda, without hesitation, said Salman Taseer's murder by his own bodyguard was the right thing to do. "If people ... call themselves Muslims and they are members of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, then they should not be criticising this law," she said. "I am sorry to say this, but this is what he deserved."Targeting the family Pakistan, a politically unstable nuclear-armed country which al Qaeda and the Taliban also call home, has been drifting toward religious militancy since the 1980s under the rule of president General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq. Zia, who enjoyed enthusiastic

support from the United States against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, nurtured Islamist militants and used American cash to turn a society that had previously been moderate and tolerant towards hard-line Islam inspired by Saudi Wahhabism. Weak governments over the ensuing years have not helped stem the radical tide, and anti-Americanism remains strong.Pakistan's madrassas for boys are notorious for creating militant fighters with their hardline, perverse teachings of Islam. Experts say the female schools are just as dangerous, even though their students tend to be better educated and more affluent.Female madrassas "targeted women because they know that is the place to plant the seed, because it will go far," said Kamran Bokhari, Middle East and South Asia director for global intelligence firm Stratfor. "Women will get married, women will raise children. It will create a norm within society over time." At the male madrassas, boys can live and eat for free, or for a very small fee, which means the bulk of the students are often very poor and from remote or rural areas. They memorise the Koran all day and listen to lectures from their teacher, who often lacks any sophisticated understanding of the faith. Female madrassas charge a flat rate of 3,000-4,000 rupees a month - almost the price of a private college. Courses usually last four years and in addition to memorising the Quran, the women study Islamic texts on morality and piety. "There are serious problems related to these types of schools," said Haider Mullick, policy analyst and fellow at the U.S. Joint Special Operations University in Florida. "Some of them will develop tolerance, but not participation, towards the sort of attacks or killings that we've seen." Al Huda, founded in the 1990s by Farhat Hashmi, is one of the most well-known female madrassas in the country, and most of its students hail from the middle and upper-class. At the school's vast new headquarters on the outskirts of Islamabad, students in black or grey robes walk past a colourful classroom where children take lessons, and through a sunlit lobby where leaflets explain aspects of Islam. While precise numbers are not available, an estimated 15,000 students have gone through al Huda's programme, writes Faiza Mushtaq in the South Asia Multidisciplinary Journal. Sadaf Ahmad, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Lahore University of Management Sciences and author of a book on women and Islam, said al Huda and other female madrassas spread their ideas further into mainstream society through religious study groups held in members' homes.

Child Trafficking or Pure Quest for Knowledge in Pakistan?December 11, 2014 by Zofeen T. Ebrahim-Pakistan- Horrified, as Pakistan television channels inundate us with minute-by-minute news of the recovery of over two dozen girls from a one-bedroom house in Karachi, I felt a sense of relief two days later when it was reported that the girls were handed over to their parents. “Portrait of Pakistani Schoolgirl” A young girl does her school work in Karachi, Pakistan. Photograph by Flickr user United Nations Photo and used under a Creative Commons license. On November 26, 2014 police raided a house in Liaquatabad, in the southern port city of Karachi, and recovered 26 minor girls, roughly ages 6 to 12. Later seven more girls were recovered from the same area and three more from another part of Karachi. According to police, a majority of the girls belong to the picturesque Bajaur Agency, a valley surrounded by the towering snow-capped Himalayas.Bajaur is one of seven semi-autonomous territories of the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) in Pakistan’s northwest, bordering Afghanistan. According to their families, these girls had come to Karachi to study Qur’anic teachings and reside in Islamic religious schools, or madrassas. While the 24-hour electronic media, with its bombardment of breaking news, has lost interest in these girls; it has, in its wake, left many unanswered questions. Foremost on my mind, and the minds of many others, is whether this is a case of child trafficking.As I.A. Rehman, secretary general of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, tells me, “a trace of subtle trafficking cannot be ruled out.” At the same time, he

says, there is a long tradition of poor people handing over their children to madrassas where they hope they will get “two square meals a day, clothes to wear, and above all safety under a benign roof.” “Whether the studies are good or not the boys grow up into sturdy young men and are good for hard jobs. They are no longer a burden on parents,” says Rehman. But, he adds, he has not seen girls being “abandoned” in this manner. One of the reasons for sending the children to study as far off as Karachi, which is more than 1500 km (932 miles) from Bajaur, is that government schools in Bajaur are not considered safe. “We are always scared these schools would be bombed,” says Saeed. Samar Minallah is an Islamabad based anthropologist and a documentary filmmaker who lived in Bajaur from 1991 to 1993. Being a Pashtun herself, she is well versed with Pashtun culture and emphasizes the security situation has impacted the lives of girls and women directly. Sending girls to madrassas away from their home town has become “culturally acceptable” because it is imparting religious education. “If there were safer all girls schools with female teachers available in Bajaur they would not opt for sending them so far away,” Minallah says emphatically. According to Iftikhar Firdous, a young journalist belonging to FATA and based in the city of Peshawar, “Conflict had changed the dynamics and demography of the region completely.” He points out that in the last many years, scores of schools had been destroyed and female teachers attacked by militants. He adds that it is, “Little wonder then that both male and female teachers are hesitant to serve in the war-ravaged region.” With the radicalization over the years, madrassas are seen as a safe option says Minallah. “Why would anyone opt for a school when formal education is seen as a western agenda?” However, she laments that in many cases parents are completely blind to the “bigger risks” involved in sending their daughters away to madrassas. The bigger risks, she explains, include being radicalised and used as a tool by militants. She recalls how the Taliban used women and won their trust in the Swat Valley before they brought untold misery on them. And yet, I wonder why they do not send their children to the madrassas close to their homes. “There is a reason for that,” points out Firdous. “Many locals look warily upon them given the radicalization that took place. They consider them dubious; and over time and through word of mouth they found they could trust madrassas in Karachi as a reliable and safer alternative to education.” While in favour of secular education to some extent, Saeed tells me that if he had female relatives from his side in Karachi, he would have put his daughter in a madrassa in Karachi versus the all-girls regular school. “The all-girls schools here have male staff as well, and I wouldn’t like that.”Acknowledging that it is quite unusual for Pashtun parents to send their daughters to a far off place at such a young age, Bushra Gohar, a former legislator and member of the Awami National Party, tells me, “Some parents said they sent their daughters because of worsening security situation knowing they would be fed, have a place to stay, and taught the Holy Quran.However, like Rehman, she too emphasizes that child trafficking cannot be ruled out entirely. “It is therefore important to thoroughly investigate the case and stringent action taken against all those involved if it is proved.” She further says child rights laws should be extended to FATA. “Access to free, compulsory and quality education should be ensured so that children don’t have to leave their homes and live in abusive and often subhuman environments.” In the wake of the recent incident, the Bajaur administration has decided to register all madrassas in its area and to set up seminaries for girls in the region.

Article 405 The Role of Girls’ Madrasas in India Widespread poverty, deep-rooted patriarchal attitudes and the indifference of the State as well as Muslim leaders to the issue of Muslim educational marginalization have all combined to make Muslim women one of the least educated sections of Indian society. Yet, as numerous recent surveys have noticed, there is today a distinctly visible enthusiasm among many Muslims for educating their daughters. Interestingly, sections of the ulama or Muslim clerics are today playing an

important role in responding to this growing demand for girls’ education. Recent years have witnessed the setting up of a small, yet growing, number of specifically girls’ higher-level madrasas in different parts of the country by different ulama groups. While the institution of Muslim girls’ schools dates back to colonial times, the concept of separate higher-level madrasas for girls, as distinct from the mosque-school or maktab, is a relatively recent one. In the past it appears that few girls, if any, actually went on to train to become religious specialists. They were provided with only a modicum of Islamic knowledge that was considered to be adequate for them to perform the basic Islamic rituals. Today, however, a number of girls’ madrasas in various parts of India are engaged in training girls as alimas, specialists in Islamic studies like their male ulama counterparts. The increasing awareness of the importance of girls’ education, and a feeling that government schools, with their ‘Hinduistic’ syllabus and their co-educational system, are no t suitable for their children, have combined to impress among growing numbers of Muslims the need for separate girls’ madrasas. By combining Islamic education with modern subjects to varying degrees, these schools are playing a major role in promoting literacy among Muslim girls. In the writings of Muslim advocates of special madrasas for girls, girls’ education is seen as an essential Islamic duty, for the Qur’an insists on the need for Muslims, men as well as women, to acquire knowledge. Girls’ education is thus seen not as a novel development, but, instead, as a revival of a lost Prophetic tradition. An educated Muslim girl is said to be following in the footsteps of such role models as Ayesha, the youngest wife of the Prophet, who is said to have been a great scholar. Educated Muslim girls are, therefore, seen as figures to be admired and respected, with their own important functions to play in the preservation and promotion of the Islamic tradition. The new agency that is provided to girls through girls’ madrasas is generally circumscribed within the limits of the family. These madrasas see the sort of education that they provide as training girls to perform their domestic tasks in what they regard as a genuinely ‘Islamic’ manner. The language of rights is often used in arguing the case for girls’ madrasas—it is claimed that if girls are taught what rights Islam has granted them they will no longer be exploited by Muslim males. An educated Muslim woman who knows the various rights that Islam provides women, such as in matters of inheritance and divorce, would, it is argued, be able to challenge her husband if he acts in violation of the shari‘ah in these matters. As educated mothers and wives, Muslim women might be able to play new roles and earn added respect within the household. The setting up of girls’ madrasas has crucial implications for traditional understandings of gender relations. Arguments stressing the ‘Islamicity’ of girls’ education that hark back to tradition and ‘authenticity’ might actually help pave the way for an inadvertent modernization, at least in some cases. An Muslim girl educated in a girls’ madrasa as a religious specialists is thus accorded with a new agency as an active subject with an important role to play in social reform and in improving the conditions of her family. Empowered with the written word and access to classical Islamic texts, girls educated in madrasas come to gain added respect in a society where patriarchal biases are still often very acute. They can now function, at least in theory, as religious authorities in their own right. They might even be able to go on to contest patriarchal biases in the interpretation of the Islamic tradition, although this has not happened as yet on any significant scale. In actual fact, there seems to be no evidence of any major challenge emerging from these schools to patriarchal understandings of Islam, other than through highlighting some of the rights accorded to women in the Qur’an. Overall, the rationale for special girls’ madrasas is generally presented in conservative terms. Pious Muslim girls well-educated in the Islamic tradition are depicted as symbols of Muslim community identity and as guardians of the purity of the faith in a world that is seen as corrupt and licentious. In fact, it is often stressed by managers of these schools that separate girls’ madrasas are necessary in order to ‘protect’

Muslim women from the growing temptation to defy male authority, which they present as integral to their vision of Islam. It is argued that in the absence of ‘proper’ Islamic education, Muslim girls might be swayed by demands for women’s liberation, consumerism and un-Islamic ways of life that would threaten the integrity of the community itself. The ideal Muslim woman is thus regarded as one who has a deep knowledge of her faith and uses that knowledge to help raise a truly Muslim family and fortify its commitment to the faith. In the writings of ‘ulama advocates of Muslim girls’ education, the sphere of the educated Muslim woman is generally seen as restricted to her home. Only a very small minority among the ‘ulama consider it permissible for Muslim women to work outside the domestic sphere. Interestingly, despite their image as die-hard conservatives, the Deobandis have, in recent years, been among the more active in establishing girls’ higher-level madrasas. One of the largest girls’ madrasas in India, the Jami‘at us-Salihat at the town of Malegaon, in Maharashtra, is linked to the Deoband tradition. It has a large hostel, where girls from various parts of India as well as abroad live together. The madrasa provides education till the higher religious degree or fazila level. The syllabus is broadly similar to that employed in general Deobandi madrasas, with additional books on issues of fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence that are related specifically to women. Over the years, the Jami‘at has produced a large number of graduates, many of whom are now teaching in girls’ madrasas in other parts of India as well as abroad. Several others have set up girls’ madrasas of their own. Another example of a Deobandi girls’ madrasa that has also incorporated a basic level of modern subjects in its curriculum is the Madrasa Jami‘at ul-Banat, located in a poverty-stricken Muslim ghetto in New Delhi. The madrasa sees the education that it imparts as helping to train a class of Muslim girls who are committed to its understanding of Islam, and who can later go on to play a key role in the reform of Muslim society on ‘Islamic’ lines and combat what are seen as ‘un-Islamic’ ways of life. Thus, its official brochure stresses that one of its major purposes is to impress upon its students the ‘dangers’ of ‘Western’ culture, which is described as being ‘in total opposition’ to Islam. ‘Western’ culture is said to be wholly decadent, and is seen as being in complete contrast to an idealized, indeed romanticized, understanding of the Islamic tradition, defending which the madrasa sees among its principal tasks. Students are taught, the brochure proudly announces, that the ‘only reason for the rapid degeneration of the world’ is because human beings have ‘moved far from Islamic culture’. Thus, the only solution to the manifold problems of the world, the students must learn, is for people to strictly follow the path of the Prophet. The students of the madrasa are seen as ‘practical models’ for women in the rest of the world to emulate. In addition to religious subjects, the madrasas’ six-year course also includes some modern subjects, although the standard of teaching is poor because the madrasa cannot afford the high salaries that qualified teachers of these subjects generally demand. Students are taught basic English, although their level of comprehension of the subject leaves much to be desired. They are also taught stitching, knitting and embroidery. Great stress is paid to regular observance of prayers, and students are expected to pray together five times a day. A major focus of the teaching imparted at the madrasa has to do with the internalization of appropriate gender norms as defined in the Deobandi vision. Thus, strict purdah is rigidly enforced. Girls are not allowed to step outside the madrasa, not even for a walk or to make purchases in the local market. The only occasions when they can leave the madrasa are when their male guardians come to pick them up before the annual holidays, or in case of a medical emergency, when they must be accompanied by a close male relative. All their teachers, with one exception, are females, most of them graduates of the madrasa itself. The only male teacher is not allowed to see the students. He delivers his lecture into a microphone while seated in a room on the ground floor, and the girls sit in rooms on the first floor and listen to his discourse. If they have any questions they relay them to him through a microphone. While recognizing that in

the Prophet’s time Muslim women could appear in public, the manager of the madrasa justifies the strict purdah that is followed in his school on the grounds that ‘today circumstances have changed and people are no longer as pious as they were in the past’. Hence, he insists, women need to be ‘protected’ from the ever-present threat of fitna or ‘strife’. While the Deobandi girls’ madrasas reflect one form of Muslim girls’ religious education, other, somewhat less conservative, forms of the girls’ madrasa exist that have arrangements for Islamic as well as modern education. A good example is the girls’ wing of the Jami‘at ul-Falah in Azamgarh, eastern Uttar Pradesh, which now has some 2700 girls on its rolls. Students here train to become ‘alimas and fazilas, religious authorities in their own right. Besides Islamic subjects, they also study various modern disciplines till the high school level. Their course of studies is largely similar to that of the boys, except in matters of Islamic jurisprudence, where greater attention is paid to matters particular to women. Home science is also taught as a regular discipline. While many female students of the madrasa marry soon after graduation, several have taken up independent occupations, such as teaching in girls’ madrasas or setting up such madrasas on their own. Some have even gone on to enroll in courses to train as doctors of Unani medicine. Another similar experiment is the Jami‘at us-Salihat in Rampur in northern Uttar Pradesh. Some 4000 girls, mostly from middle-class families, study in the school. Around a fourth of the students come from outside the town and live in hostels located in the campus. It provides religious education along with regular subjects, for which it follows the syllabus of the National Council for Educational Research and Training. All subjects are taught through the medium of Urdu, although English is a compulsory subject throughout. From the fifth grade onwards, students are taught to handle computers. Yet another such modern girls’ madrasa is the Siraj ul-Uloom girls’ madrasa at Aligarh. It provides a general education till the fifth grade, following the government-prescribed syllabus, along with basic Islamic studies. For higher Islamic studies it offers a six-year ‘alima course, which includes the standard religious subjects, mathematics, the natural and social sciences and home science. ‘Alimas can go on to do a two-year fazila course, which consists of various standard traditional Islamic subjects, along with Islamic history and English. Among the school’s various future plans are a course in Unani medicine, a girls’ medical college and hospital and a computer-training centre. The school is affiliated to the government-run Arabic and Persian Education Board, Allahabad, which conducts examinations for the ‘alim, Maulvi and munshi degrees. Madrasas such as these are seen as providing Muslim girls with a more culturally relevant and appropriate form of education, and hence their growing attraction among many Muslim families, especially among the poor and the lower-middle classes. Given the perceived insensitivity of the state educational system to Muslim cultural norms as well as the widespread opposition among many Muslims (as well as others) to co-education, the attraction of these schools is understandable. If those complaining about the alleged ‘mushrooming’ of madrasas at all care for the pathetic condition of Muslim education, they would do well to explore ways of dialoguing with such institutions to help them promote a more inclusive and less restrictive ethos and at the same time enable them to enhance their role in promoting Muslim girls’ education.

Madrassa education needs urgent reforms; | Dec 14, 2014, Hyderabad, which has witnessed at least four major terrorist attacks in the last 10 years or so, has become an interesting case study for the State and national intelligence agencies. In fact, some western countries too are now showing interest in analyzing Hyderabad's history, culture and demography; and digging deep into the social, economic, political and religious issues faced by people here. The latest incident that intrigued many was when about two dozen youth were found by the police to be "actively watching" on the internet the activities

of the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria __ ISIS. Against such a backdrop, even the functioning of madrassas has become a point of interest, despite none from Hyderabad (with a madrassa background) still found involved in militant activity anywhere in the country or outside. Yet, they remain under watch. "No madrassa is teaching extremism or militancy. They are in fact supplementing the main education system that has failed to reach out to the entire population," Hafiz Peer Shabbir, Member of the Legislative Council, said, while speaking of the change in the way madrassas function. They are now more in line with the requirement of time, he added. A case in point is the 140-year-old and arguably the biggest Islamic seminary in Hyderabad, Jamia Nizamia. Ensconced in the densely populated area of Shibli Ganj near Hussaini Alam police station, this institution has 1,500 students on roll. Of these, 800 are day scholars and 700 boarders. But that's not all. The Jamia also runs an exclusive school for girls in Shah Ali Banda where 400 students study as boarders. A large number of these students do not pay any fee for education or food. The Jamia has also extended affiliation to about 200 schools across Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In a major departure from the traditional form of Islamic learning, the Jamia has recently established a department of languages and linked it with the main madrassa where Darse Nizami or the age-old way of education is followed. The study of English language, at this department, has been made compulsory. "If a student fails in English, he/she will not be promoted to the next class," Mufti Khaleel Ahmed, vice-chancellor of Jamia Nizamia, said. Introduction of English, Urdu and Arabic-English translation studies is just the beginning that is expected to be followed up soon with other subjects required to prepare a student to take on the competitive job market, authorities confirmed. In another experiment, aimed at loosening up the straitjacket madrassa education system in Hyderabad, the newly inaugurated M S Rahmania School has decided to offer Islamic learning along with modern education. The school is a tie-up between Al-Mahad Al-Islami institution and M S Group of Schools and Colleges where English is the medium of instruction. The medium of instruction at madrassas is Arabic. These two experiments, though praiseworthy, do not tell the whole story of the madrassa education system, a major portion of which is still outdated. Those who control the madrassa system do not believe in keeping pace with the time. They think that the Darse Nizami system that has produced noted Islamic scholars in the past will continue to do so in spite of major changes taking place in the life of Muslims. Leading this group is Darul Uloom, Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, founded by Maulana Muhammed Qasim Nanotvi in 1866. Some in this group also believe that if students in Islamic schools are offered modern education they would not remain associated with the preaching of the religion and instead get sucked into lucrative jobs. The other group of seniors who believe in bringing about change, albeit slowly, is led by Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow. There are also many groups of Ulamas (Islamic scholars) who are trying to create a balance between modern and traditional Islamic education. But their attempts have met with little or no success so far. Many academics teaching Islamic sciences in government-run universities and colleges lament at the pace of slow change. "We need to prepare individuals who can take forward the word of Islam but at the same time be equipped to live a life of dignity. How can that be achieved without achieving excellence in modern education?" they ask. The question is extremely relevant. It is the community that has to find the right answer as early as possible.

Are madrassas in Africa educating or indoctrinating?November 05, 2014 Kampala, Uganda — Rocking her slim body back and forth, 17-year-old Aisha Mutonyi softly reads her Quran, sitting on a wooden desk in an almost empty class. Her head covered in a white scarf, she wears a light blue short-sleeved sweater and a long sleeved white shirt. I interrupt the Sumaiya Girls High School student’s reading and she looks up at

me with a smile. After the introductions, I ask her why it is important that she reads her Quran. “I have benefited how to behave in the society, how to treat different people even if a person is a Muslim or he is not or she is not, you have to treat her or him in a good way.” She adds, “And in the Quran they always teach us that, we girls, we have to respect ourselves and dress up nicely in our hijabs.” Asked whether she doesn’t feel hot covered all over, Aisha responds, “In the first place, I wasn’t used to it and I could feel bad, but with time you get used [to it].” Sebagala Muhammed the headmaster of Sumaiya Girls, a privately owned Muslim high school in Uganda, says they run a dual curriculum, including secular studies and Islamic theology. He says even though none of his students has graduated in Islamic studies, “We give them the basic Islamic knowledge to take them through their lives to be responsible women of tomorrow.” He argues that once you have responsible women in a locality; you have a good country, children and citizens. “So you are looking at an all-round education that shapes a responsible girl, it has not been easy but we are on course and we cannot be diverted.” Muhammed insists his school knows what the girls need. “We are not enforcing it, but we are encouraging and showing them the good side in appreciating the Islamic discipline and knowledge.” He believes that what brings about problems are people without fully formed religious beliefs. “It is a must that our girls learn the Quran, it is educational, because there is nothing that has been left out in the Quran.”At the Nabisunsa girls Secondary School in Kampala, I meet Shiekhat Jawhara Nakiboneka. She is the head of Quran lessons at the school. This “girls-only” school was founded by Prince Badru Kakungulu in 1954, with an aim to cultivate Muslim doctrines and way of life. The prince at the time felt that Muslim girls needed a good education in a school founded on Muslim grounds, for fear of being converted into Christianity. These doctrines continue today.Sheikhat Jawhara, who herself has gone through Madrassa schools, believes learning the Quran nurtures the girls spiritually and gives them a purpose in life. But most of all it makes them yearn to do more for the sake of Allah. Shiekhat Jawhara says, “First of all I am exceptional. I am the only lady in this big institution who can speak Arabic and am the only teacher who teaches Arabic.” She argues that those who do not study the Quran miss something. “Because when you have only one side, you can speak English, but you don’t have anything to add on that.” But many worry that madrassas in sub-Saharan Africa may breed Islamic extremism and indoctrination. Both Uganda and Kenya have had suffered terrorist attacks at the hands of Islamic extremists. So, as a result, both governments keenly watch and investigate any reports of extremist teachings in Muslim schools. But Shiekhat Jawhara rejects the idea that extremist teaching happens everywhere. About the critics, she says, “They are ignorant, because in madrassas they teach us good morals, because Quran teaches us good morals.” At many of the madrassas in this region, they learn their “good morals” from Quran lessons that start early in the morning before the secular curriculum starts. They resume again after 7 p.m. During these sessions, students are taught how to read the Quran, and they learn how to write, recite, and translate, or tafsir, in Arabic. They also learn the sayings and practices of the Holy prophet and the “oneness of Allah.”On a Friday at exactly 1 p.m. the call for prayer is made at Nabisunsa girls high. Dressed in long black prayer hibayas, the girls walk in silently while others softly recite the Quran to the rhythm of the recording playing off the loud sound speakers in the mosque. In no time the mosque is filled to capacity with some girls left to pray outside the veranda.The school sheikh in his summon encourages the girls to spread the word of God, be good members of the society and remember their rights as women “Oh people it’s true that you have some rights in regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. If they abide by your rights, then to them belongs the right to be fair.” The girls listen as he says, “Treat your women well and be kind to them.” He then poses the question, “But how can we want people to respect our rights when we don’t in turn respect them.” In Uganda, madrassas are not as

prominent in the education system or in the social system including as they are in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Ofwono Opondo, a Ugandan government spokesperson, says the majority of Muslim children go to mainstream, secular schools and so far they have not had problems with Islamic institutions in Uganda. Opondo attributes this to the fact that Uganda is multi-ethnic and multi religious. It is a country that discourages extremism, he says. “Even if you are a Muslim being taught extremism, when you come out to the community the chances of remaining an extremist is really low.”Analyst Shiekh Hamiid Byamugenzi of the Islamic University in Uganda says perhaps it is also because of the disorganized origins of the madrassa system. Arab traders from countries such as Yemen, Oman, South Sudan and Egypt haphazardly established the system and as a result, he says, the level of teaching experience and training of the sheiks is low.Reporting on madrassas in Uganda was much easier than trying to do it in Kenya. In Kenya I approached two schools: the Nairobi Muslim Academy in South C, and the Mahadi Girls Training Institute in Pangani. The Mahadi Girls School never answered repeated requests for an interview. And at the Nairobi Muslim Academy, which sits next to a mosque, the manager angrily told me “I would never have allowed you to step into my compound had I known you are here to discuss about Madrassa.” According to him, his school was the subject of several security raids by the government. This outraged him because he was as a Kenyan of Somali origin and a former civil servant for more than 20 years. He also added that “I was stopped five times along different road blocks on suspicion I could be involved in terrorism.” So to me he said angrily, “Spare me and leave my school!” And that ended my visit.Mohammed Mwijuma Mwinyipembe is the director of quality assurance and standards in the Kenyan Ministry of Education, which oversees the all-round performance and curriculum of all of Kenya’s schools. To the claim that the government had been raiding madrassas Mwinyipembe replied, “I am not aware that the government is targeting any madrassa. And for your information the government respects madrassas.” His daughters, he added, go to madrassa classes and according to him, “Only those who would be carrying out unusual activities would have something to hide.”Kamwana Abdullah is the vice chairman of Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims, the umbrella body of all mosques and madrassas. He says that the effects of these sorts of raids in Kenya are apparent. Muslims feel discriminated against, profiled and targeted and this is true especially of the youth. “Madrassas are meant to impart religious morals and acceptable knowledge as exemplified by the Prophet Muhammed.”Abdullah adds, “When Muslims are denied this they feel their basic right of religion is being encroached upon and they feel the raids are a ploy to fight Islam as a religion.” In the long run, according to Abdullah, Muslims will lose sympathy and trust in their government.He argues that there ought to be a special committee comprised of the security arm of the government, professionals, especially lawyers and teachers and the main religious organizations, to vet Islamic teachers. He insists, “Raiding and closing madrassas should and ought to be done by this committee, ad hoc closure and raids will only make a bad situation worse.” The rate at which girls are entering madrassas in Kenya is still low. Kenyan education official Mwinyibembe blames this low rate of education, especially for young girls, on Kenyan culture. He stresses that the Quran obligates all Muslims to seek knowledge regardless of their gender. Many Kenyans, he said, still marry off their girls for a few thousand shillings. “Because 20,000 Kenya shillings, will give you how many cattle or cows?” Rather, he said, that the goal should be to educate girls, as it is in the Muslim tradition, “... if that girl becomes an advocate, an engineer, she will buy you cows every month until you die.” This is true especially in the very poor areas of the North Eastern Province and the Upper East in Kenya. So the government, along with the Muslim Supreme Council, is working to incorporate a blended Madrassa and secular curriculum, even into

public schools. Kamwana Abdullah of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims says, “We are also working with the Cabinet Secretary of Education to ensure that the school feeding program is taken back to schools in arid and semi-arid areas.”He says they want girls to be given sanitary pads to ensure they remain in school. “When a girl becomes of age, she might spend four days in a month, in a year it becomes over 36 days and she might lose that education.”As to the question of extremism, Abdullah says that the worry over this emerged after the terrorist bombing attacks of 9/11: ”The bombing of the twin towers in 2011 and President George Bush started this issue about terrorism and fighting them.” To counteract that negative image within Kenya, Abdullah said he and others are working through the Inter Religious Council, which is an interfaith group that brings together different religions in that country. Abdullah says, “We always give them the true picture of Islam and some of them are surprised.” In addition, this past February, Kenya’s Ministry of Education piloted new curriculum in 50 schools in three major cities. Shiekh Abdilatif Abdulkarim, executive board member with al-Mutanda al-Islami Trust in Nairobi, was quoted as saying that failure by the government to have a unified Islamic madrassa studies curriculum has left opportunities open for extremist clerics to exploit radicalize youths. So he was pleased with the initiative saying it would help as one way to streamline Islamic studies and to deal with Islamic extremism.