Chained Childhoods

During the Afghan war against the Soviet Union, both western governments and Islamic countries were a major source of funding the Madrassas in Pakistan as they were the recruitment grounds to attract mujahideen to fight this war on their behalf.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: KABOB Fest
By Dur-e-Aden | December 21, 2011

Pakistan is the second largest Muslim country in the world. With a population of about 180 million, it is a country where many people identify themselves largely along religious lines. Ask an ordinary person about their identity and they would describe themselves as a “Muslim” first and then a Pakistani. However, the country whose name literally means “the land of pure” has been polluted by those who are using the garb of religion to commit the most horrendous crimes. From suicide bombers who have killed 35000 of their fellow Muslims in the name of God to systemic violence against minorities, Islam has been hijacked by the very same people who claim to be the guardians of it. One of such horrific episode involved the rescue of 45-50 students from what was supposed to be a safe space for learning. Within the Pakistani context this news may not be a big deal considering the daily tragedies and difficulties that people go through; nevertheless, it is still a story that demands to be told to the outside world. Those rescued were between 12 and 50 years of age – some 34 adults and 14 children.


The setting was at a religious seminary, known as a Madrassa (the Arabic word for school), where these children were supposed to be receiving religious education. This particular Madrasa however, also claimed to be specializing in “rehabilitation” of drug addicts. Again within a Pakistani context, it is not surprising as establishing rehabilitation centers that are specifically designed to help the victims of addictions have never been exactly on top of any government’s agenda. Even though there might be some private institutions, they are very few in numbers and are not always affordable or accessible by common public.

As a result, people are forced to put their trust in quacks who claim to be providing help to such patients, manipulating religion so that innocent people do not question the integrity of such an institutions or the personalities within it. For an ordinary Pakistani, always neglected by the government, religious institutions tend to provide services from time to time to which the public, out of necessity, have to trust them.

The sad irony is that throughout history Madrassas have been an important player for the progression and growth of Islam and Islamic states. Emerging during the tenth and eleventh century, a typical Madrassa consisted of a common prayer area with classrooms where teaching took place alongside residential accommodations for both teachers and students. The richer Madrasas incorporated charitable institutions and social services such as hospitals and soup kitchens that catered for general public. It was in these places where scholars and students practically followed the Quranic emphasis on reflection, learning and contemplating the universe. Vigorous debates took place on difficult ethical, theological and philosophical dilemmas along with vibrant discussions on religious text interpretations of religious texts. The  education and knowledge imparted in these Madrassas produced renowned scholars like Al-Biruni, Ibn-Sina, Al-Khawarzmi and Jabir ibn-Hayyan, to name but a few.

Even in contemporary times after the creation of nation-state Pakistan, the government saw religion as an important part of this new society. One of the earlier leaders of Pakistan, Ayub Khan, formed an advisory Council of Islamic ideology. “The purpose of this council was to make recommendations to the government on issues relating to Islam.” He also established the institute of Islamic Research, “whose purpose was to interpret Islam in a liberal manner and in the context of the modern world.”

However, due to the negligence on part of the government to fulfill such promises, strengthen these institutions, and the lack of attention to the type of religious education system in Pakistani society, extreme right-wing elements were more successful in establishing and spreading religious schools that fit their reactionary and rigid political agendas.

Furthermore, during the era of Zia-ul-Haq, one dictator in the history of Pakistan, Madrassas were seen as a shortcut to fulfilling the government’s duty to provide affordable education to poor. As a result, their degrees received government recognition of equivalence with college degrees and young men holding these certificates “were quickly pronounced fit to preside over Sharia courts.”

The role of international community cannot and should not be ignored in helping the spread of these Madrassas. During the Afghan war against the Soviet Union, both western governments and Islamic countries were a major source of funding the Madrassas in Pakistan as they were the recruitment grounds to attract mujahideen to fight this war on their behalf. However, after the war ended, the funding from countries like Saudi Arabia hasn’t stopped. The Kingdom, to this day, is the “biggest source” of official and private funding to Islamist and jihadist organizations in Pakistan, and it is to their credit that certain Deobandi and Ahl-e-Hadith extremist organizations became so powerful with the growth in their size.

Currently there are about 18,000 registered Madrassas in the country, but unofficial sources put the number closer to 30,000. No real effort is in place to monitor the type of education being given to students; mostly, students are asked to memorize the verses of the Quran, without even being taught their meaning or interpretations. Also absent is the knowledge regarding other important subjects such as Science, Math and philosophy – which was always central in these institutions during the classical period of Islam. The greatest attraction in sending children to these institutions is that they claim to provide free food, clothing, and shelter therefore easing the burden off families.

Due to a non-existent system of checks, it is not surprising that stories of abuse and neglect exist. It is one of those public secrets. In case of this particular Madrassa in Karachi, the rehabilitation process included drastic methods such as being chained to pillars, regular whipping and lashing, sleeping in painful positions, and denying use of washrooms at night, to name a few.  Also as some administrators had weapons, children and others were threatened into silence if they spoke out about the abuse.

What’s even more distressing in this story, is that the families of the rescued, instead of showing outrage, were reluctant to take their kids back into their homes. In some cases, some families were complacent in this torture.  According to reports by Express Tribune, a leading Pakistani newspaper, one of the victims, Muhammad Sheikh, said that he had provided the chains himself to the authorities used to beat his brothers. According to another man, Ameer Hamza, the seminary was pure like ‘jannat’ (heaven), and that severe punishments are necessary towards drug addicts and thieves. One of the most striking response  made in the report was this:

I brought my grown up son here because he is a drug addict and he was making my life miserable, I don’t want to take him back.‘

While people can either blame the failed government policies or indulge in apathy, the biggest victims are children whose lives were meaninglessly destroyed. Who can imagine the pain and trauma they are experiencing after being tortured by their teachers and facing rejection by their families? Its incidents like these that make it very clear that “the land of the pure” has to go a long way in order to get rid of the impurity that is destroying its future generations under the cover of religion.

Dur-e-Aden is a Political Science student from Pakistan currently studying at University of British Columbia, Canada and can be followed @aden1990.


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