Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Transnational links of Afghan madrasas: Implications for the reform of religious education

  • OPEN FILE
  • Published:
PROSPECTS Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Described as “terrorist factories”, the South Asian madrasas have become the subject of great controversy since September 11, 2001. In Afghanistan, people commonly blame Pakistani madrasas for recruiting Afghan youth into militant groups. In response, the Afghan government has initiated a comprehensive reform of the Islamic education sector. Yet, little analytical attention has been paid to Afghan madrasas and their transnational links. This article examines more closely the role of religious education in Afghanistan, transnational connections with madrasas in Pakistan, the alleged links to militancy, and the scope for reform of the religious education sector in Afghanistan.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The word “madrasa” is rooted in the Arabic word “darasa”, which means “to study” (Noor, Sikand, and Van Bruinessen 2008, p. 9). In South Asia, “madrasa” is commonly understood as a school that imparts Islamic knowledge and is often a generic term for higher-level Islamic educational institutions including madrasa “dar ul uloom” (house of knowledge/high schools) and “jamia” (university). The madrasas differ from the “dar ul hifaz”—commonly called “Quran schools”—that teach children elementary Islam and memorization and recitation of the Quran (Bano 2007; Fair 2008).

References

  • Abdulbaqi, M. (2008). Madrassah in Afghanistan: Evolution and its future. Policy Perspectives, 5(2). Islamabad: Institute of Policy Studies.

  • Afghanistan: Taliban forces students out of schools into madrasas (2009, 17 February). IRIN [Integrated Regional Information Networks]. http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82963.

  • Axe, D. (2007, 19 June). Anatomy of a suicide bombing. Military.com. http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,139507,00.html.

  • Bano, M. (2007). Contesting ideologies and struggle for authority: State-madrasa engagement in Pakistan. Working paper 14. Birmingham: Religions and Development Research Programme (RDRP).

  • Bergen, P., & Pandey, S. (2006). The madrasa scapegoat. The Washington Quarterly, 29(2), 117–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borchgrevink, K. (2007). Religious actors and civil society in post-2001 Afghanistan. PRIO paper. Oslo: PRIO.

  • Borchgrevink, K. (2010). Beyond borders: Diversity and transnational links in Afghan religious education. PRIO paper. Oslo: PRIO.

  • Borchgrevink, K., & Harpviken, K. B. (2010). Afghanistan’s religious landscape: Politicizing the sacred. NOREF policy paper. Oslo: NOREF.

  • Evans, A. (2006). Understanding madrasahs: How threatening are they? Foreign Affairs, 85, 9–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fair, C. C. (2007). Militant recruitment in Pakistan: A new look at the militancy-madrasah connection. Asia Policy, 4, 107–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fair, C. C. (2008). The madrasa challenge: Militancy and religious education in Pakistan. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giustozzi, A. (2008). Koran, Kalashnikov, and laptop: The neo-Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. London: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Government of Afghanistan (2004, 17 March). Securing Afghanistan’s future. Report by Government of Afghanistan/International Agency. Kabul: Government of Afghanistan.

  • Haroon, S. (2007). Frontiers of faith: Islam in the Indo-Afghan borderland. London: Hurst & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, J. (2001). Transnational religious actors and international politics. Third World Quarterly, 22(2), 143–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hefner, R. W. (2007). Introduction: The culture, politics, and future of Muslim education. In R. W. Hefner & M. Q. Zaman (Eds.), Schooling Islam: The culture and politics of modern Muslim education (pp. 1–39). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ICG [International Crisis Group] (2002). Pakistan: Madrasas, extremism and the military. Asia report. Brussels: ICG.

  • Krueger, A. B., & Maleckova, J. (2004). Education, poverty and terrorism: Is there a causal connection? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17(4), 119–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loyn, D. (2008, 11 January). Bid to transform Afghan madrassas. Report on BBC Newsnight. http://www.afghanistannewscenter.com/news/2008/january/jan122008.html#13.

  • Malik, J. (1996). Colonization of Islam: Dissolution of traditional institutions in Pakistan. Lahore: Vanguard.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metcalf, B. D. (1982). Islamic revival in British India: Deoband 1860–1900. Karachi: Royal Book Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • MoE [Ministry of Education, Afghanistan] (2006a). National Education Strategic Plan 1385–1389. Kabul: MoE.

    Google Scholar 

  • MoE [Ministry of Education, Afghanistan] (2006b). Strategy for the development of Afghanistan’s centres of excellence: Model schools for a holistic education. Kabul: MoE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noor, F. A., Sikand, Y., & van Bruinessen, M. (2008). The madrasa in Asia: Political activism and transnational linkages. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Olesen, A. (1995). Islam and politics in Afghanistan. Richmond, England: Curzon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, T. (2008). Madrasas: The potential for violence in Pakistan? In J. Malik (Ed.), Madrasas in South Asia: Teaching terror? (pp. 61–84). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rashid, A. (2000). Taliban: Militant Islam, oil and fundamentalism in Central Asia. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roy, O. (1995). Afghanistan: From holy war to civil war. Princeton, NJ: Darwin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, B. R. (2002). The fragmentation of Afghanistan: State formation and collapse in the international system. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadowsky, Y. (2006). Political Islam: Asking the wrong questions? Annual Review of Political Science, 9, 215–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sageman, M. (2004). Understanding terror networks. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siddique, Q. (2009). Weapons of mass instruction? A preliminary exploration of the link between madrassas in Pakistan and militancy. Oslo: Norwegian Defence Research Establishment.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singer, P. (2001). Pakistan’s madrassahs: Ensuring a system of education not jihad. Brookings Institution analysis paper 41. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

  • Stern, J. (2000). Pakistan’s jihad culture. Foreign Affairs, 79(6), 115–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tariq, M. O. (2011). Religious institution building in Afghanistan: An exploration. PRIO Paper. Oslo: PRIO.

  • UNAMA [United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan] (2007). Suicide attacks in Afghanistan (2001–2007). Kabul: UNAMA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winthrop, R., & Graff, C. (2010). Beyond madrasas: Assessing the links between education and militancy in Pakistan. Center for Universal Education working paper 2. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

  • Zahab, A., & Roy, O. (2004). Islamist networks: The Afghan-Pakistan connection. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kaja Borchgrevink.

Additional information

Acknowledgements: The author thanks all those involved in this project. In particular, valuable cooperation, constructive comments, advice, and encouragement came from Mirwais Wardak, Kanishka Nawabi, and Idrees Zaman at the Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU), Kristian Berg Harpviken, the external reviewers, and Professor Lene Buchert.

About this article

Cite this article

Borchgrevink, K. Transnational links of Afghan madrasas: Implications for the reform of religious education. Prospects 43, 69–84 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-012-9258-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-012-9258-2

Keywords

Navigation