The recent earthquake in South Asia which has killed thousands and laid waste to the regional infrastructure could end up benefiting the area madrassa system. With so many government schools having been destroyed, localities may need to take the initiative in order to educate their own children. Able and more than willing are the local madrassas, from Rediff.com:
The destruction of the education infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and some parts of the North west Frontier Province due to the October 8 earthquake may force parents to enroll their children in madrassas run by jIhadi groups.The earthquake has flattened all schools in the region. Bagh district, 100 km from Muzaffarabad, had 341 schools including a degree college for a population of 500,000 people. Muzaffarabad had 1,512 schools for a population of 900,000 people.
Thousands of students face an uncertain future and may lose the academic year if their schools are not rebuilt. The Pakistan government has expressed its inability to restore the infrastructure in the immediate future. Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that reconstruction and rehabilitation of the quake-hit areas would take decades.
"The Bagh Degree College was the best in the region. It took us decades to build it. And now it is going to take us decades to restore it. You know how difficult it is to develop infrastructure in this country," says Sajid Iqbal, a teacher at the college. He is mourning the death of more than 700 students -- still buried in the college's wreckage.
"I have enough food. What I really need is education. I don't want to lose my academic year. I want to be in school as soon as possible," says Shahid, an eighth grade student in Bagh.
"Bagh was already short of schools. The government will take years to reconstruct the destroyed schools. Only Allah knows what will happen to our children," says Aslam Manzoor, whose daughter is in the 10th grade.
Zafarul Haq Kiani, a 46-year-old engineer employed by the public health division in Bagh, plans to migrate to Rawalpindi if the schools are not opened soon.
"If the schools are not reconstructed immediately or no alternative is provided promptly, then the children will lose interest in studies," says Muzaffar Khan, a social worker in Bagh.
And the fear is they might be lured by jihadi groups.
Since, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is a disputed territory, it is the hub of jihadis. Almost all the buildings in the province display a slogan prominently -- 'Kashmir will become Pakistan through jihad!'
OT - I would hazard a guess that review checkers on Amazon, don't read the New York Times.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0963206702/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/103-7886441-4778260?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Almost all the buildings in the province display a slogan prominently -- 'Kashmir will become Pakistan through jihad!'
How is Kashmir going to become part of Pakistan through an individual's spiritual struggle to better one's self?
If almost all of the buildings bear this slogan, surely the majority there must really misunderstand islam? Looks like CAIR has a lot of work to do over in Kashmir.
Nothing new here:
http://fjordman.blogspot.com/2005/07/extremists-rip-off-tsunami-charity_31.html
CHARITABLE donations to help people affected by the Asian tsunami disaster are falling into the hands of radical Islamic groups linked to terrorists in Indonesia, a leading expert on the global al-Qaeda network warned yesterday. Relief money had become the "primary source" of income for two militant groups, including one founded by a Muslim cleric serving a prison sentence in connection with the Bali bombing in 2002 in which more than 200 people were killed. Dr Rohan Gunaratna, head of the international centre for political violence and terrorism research at Singapore's Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, told the Asia-Pacific Financial Crime Conference that the Boxing Day disaster had given "unprecedented opportunities for these groups to expand their areas of influence". "Around mosques, there are lots of people standing outside with boxes asking people to give to charity," he said. "It is rare that people who donate money know exactly where it is going. Organisations banned in this country - like Hamas - raise funds like that here."
I suppose this is where some strings should be attatched to foreign relief aid. I am torn between giving money to a nuclear Islamic power, and the fact that if we don't, our Islamic enemies will.
With the aid - I only hope our governments bite the bullet and create real schools for these kids.
Fjordman - while your post doesn't surprise me - it also saddens me. Where is the mainstream media on this?
It's one of the reasons I will only give money to Christian charities that are already established in such areas (as I know that they DON"T just hand the money over to the Muslims - and the Muslims themselves can see that it is infidels who are helping). I know some here will dispute such things - but I also make it a habit of asking such charities how much per dollar actually reaches the ground, and where this is documented.
Just moments ago I posted stories on education in India and Pakistan. Jihadis murdered an education minister, schools in India are falling to pieces and can't find teachers to show up for work, and yet there is a hunger for knowledge that devours, even if all there is to learn is the Koran and Islamic hatred.
In British Columbia today in western Canada, school teachers are defying the government's order to return to work. Both sides probably have legitimate concerns. Mine is that I'll take a job teaching in India if anyone bothers to respond to my inquiries.
Not everyone can go to America, but America can go to everyone. I'll go. America is in the mind. I'll take it with me and give it away.
Take heed, dont buy any cheap flat pack furniture made in Pakistan