Published: September 28, 2005
Op-Ed Contributor
Crossfire War: Bangladesh has 15,000 Private and 9,000 Government Madrasas
By Willard Payne
Night Watch: CHITTAGONG - Police claim some Qaumi madrasas were used to train militants to make the bombs used in the August 17 attacks. The accusation was rejected as "baseless" by the principal of Chittagong's Darui Ma'arif. He repeated the standard denial of Islam being connected with terrorism.
Samina Ahmed, South Asia project director for the International Crisis Group was quoted by Reuters, "There are the same sets of problems in Bangladesh now that Pakistan faced. Who is keeping an eye on these kids and what are they being taught?"
The answer of course is those who are financing them. In the last five years the number of religious schools have dramatically increased with financing from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The financing has been openly encouraged by Islamic parties in Bangladesh's coalition. With the involvement of the House of Saud, the Taliban with money, Wahabi beliefs are part of the discipline. Saudi Arabia has been doing the same in Indonesia.
Communist Party leader Mujahidul Islam Selim observed, "They create an unemployed section of youth who have no capacity to be employed in the productive sector of the economy. They are being lured into becoming carriers of bombs."
These schools are the only means of education for children of poor families or orphans. The Islamic teachings are intended to give them their sense of purpose and direction, to serve Islamic societies and of course, to fight for them against the enemies of Islam.
Night Watch Information Service
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