In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

79  c h a p t e r 3 Pakistan the madrassah as a mirror of society The defining features of madrassahs in contemporary Pakistan are their close connections with political activism, their transformation into institutions of indoctrination from predominantly educational institutions, and their interplay with national and international politics. An intimate relationship between madrassahs and politics is not new in South Asia, as the history of madrassah education discussed in the previous chapter has demonstrated. Since the late nineteenth century in colonial South Asia, madrassahs have played a significant role in the political process, including the anti-colonial struggle; but the tie between politics and madrassahs as witnessed in Pakistan over the last three decades is not a continuation of this tradition; instead, it has taken a new shape. This relationship has been forged under different circumstances and has been propelled by varied dynamics almost three decades after the country came into existence. Therefore, understanding Pakistani madrassahs—their nature, scope, and roles—requires closer examination of domestic political dynamics and the interaction of the Pakistani state with the global political system. Domestic constraints, the external compulsions imposed on the Pakistani state, the choices made by the elites of the society, and the ulama’s perception of their roles have shaped the contours and the content of madrassahs in Pakistan. Thus, the interplay of the madrassah and politics in Pakistan is multilayered and multifaceted. Categories and Organization of Madrassahs Madrassahs in Pakistan usually come into existence as a result of local initiatives , often by local devout Muslims and philanthropists, and tend to center on mosques, but that does not mean that they remain completely autonomous. Instead, most of the madrassahs are affiliated with one of the five national 80 faithful education boards (wafaq). Of these, four are organized according to sects and schools of thoughts, while the fifth board is associated with the prominent Islamist political party—the Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan (JIP). Based on their affiliation, the madrassahs in Pakistan can be categorized into five types. There are three Sunni madrassah boards: the Wafaq al-Madaris al-Arabia (Deobandi tradition, established in 1955), the Tanzim al-Madaris al-Arabia (Barelvi tradition, established in 1959), and the Wafaq al-Madaris al-Salafia (Ahle -Hadith tradition, established in 1959, initially named the Markaz-e-JamiatAhl -e-Hadith). Shi’a madrassahs are under the Wafaq al-Madaris (Shi’a) Pakistan (established in 1959, originally named the Majlis-e-Nazarat-e-Shi’a Madarise -Arabia). The fifth board—the Rabat al-Madaris al-Islamia (established in 1983)—is a suprasectarian umbrella organization. Until the early eighties, the affiliation of madrassahs with one or another board was a matter of choice. Since 1983/84, it has become a de facto requirement , because without affiliation a madrassah cannot award an officially recognized shahadah al-alamiyaah degree. Although the lower degrees awarded by madrassahs have not been recognized as equivalent to any general education degrees, in 1982 the University Grants Commission (UGC) recognized the shahadah al-alamiyaah as equivalent to a master’s in Arabic or Islamic Studies.1 It is worth mentioning that the UGC has little control over these boards with regard to the curriculum and texts used in the courses. Table 3.1 documents the number of madrassahs affiliated with these boards in 1988. As is evident from these figures, Deobandi madrassahs were high in number, and spread throughout the country, with the largest numbers of the Deobandi madrassahs located in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The largest concentration of the Barelvi madrassahs was in the Punjab. The pattern is still true to date. The salient feature of these boards is that while national in scope, with one exception they are organized along strict denominational lines. These educational boards are meant to design curricula and syllabi for affiliated institutions, to conduct examinations, and award the sanads (diplomas) to the graduating students of these madrassahs, but these are often treated as secondary responsibilities. In practice, their primary responsibility lies with representing the interests of madrassahs at the national level, particularly in relation to state policies that may have a bearing on them, and fostering denominational or sectarian interests within society. The denominational nature of these boards can be traced back to the circumstances of their emergence. Three of the boards emerged as a direct response to the government’s reform initiatives in the late fifties (see details in chapter 6), but their emergence is also linked to their goal to define and preserve their...

Share