Here is yet another illustration of the folly of the Administration's toeing the PC line on Islam and jihad. They admit that "there is a risk that they will be vulnerable to radical Islamic preachers," but they are leaving it up to the Afghan governor to "try" to "ensure that there is some sort of control over the curriculum, to ensure that radical Islam is not being fomented through these schools." But who is checking on the governor himself? Are their heads so stuffed with Esposito/Armstrong whitewash that they assume that it's only a remote possibility that jihadists will take over these madrassas? Are they really so utterly ignorant of the mindset of the jihadists that they actually think that refurbishing mosques will win over hearts and minds? Yes, of course they are. Here, mutatis mutandis, is an explanation of why that will never, never work.
By Gethin Chamberlain in the Sunday Telegraph, with thanks to Dane:
American forces in Afghanistan are building madrassas in an attempt to persuade parents not to send their children across the border to Pakistan for instruction at hard-line religious schools.Work has started on two "super-madrassas" in Paktika, which borders Pakistan, and more are planned. The American government is also paying for the refurbishment of mosques in the area, in the hope of winning over religious leaders. The coalition has been under growing pressure over the deaths of civilians and American military commanders say they hope the moves will convince Afghans - many of whom rely on madrassas to provide bed and board for their children - that they are on the same side.
"We are saying that we respect their culture and religion," said naval commander Eduardo Fernandez, the man in charge of American aid efforts in the Sharana district of Paktika. "We have to give the religious leaders the respect they feel they deserve."
Each madrassa will accommodate 1,000 boarding pupils, all of them boys.
The US military insists that the schools, which it calls "centres for educational excellence", will be administered by the Afghan education ministry, but admits there is a risk that they will be vulnerable to radical Islamic preachers. Madrassas in Pakistan have frequently been linked to the indoctrination of young Muslim men who have joined the insurgents in Afghanistan or been trained to become terrorists in the West.
"In Afghan terms it is a madrassa, but those words have baggage and if word gets back to a Western public that we are building madrassas, that is a bad thing," said Major Jason Smallfield, 37, an American officer in Sharana. "It is a religious school, but it is not a religious education. The governor is trying to ensure that there is some sort of control over the curriculum, to ensure that radical Islam is not being fomented through these schools."
Who is behaving like Good Dhimmis now-why the Americans that's who-Madrassas paid for by the American taxpayers!!Incredibly stupid that Infidels will fund Taleban who want to murder them...By the way isn't Paktika [on the border]the place where
angry Pakistanis exploded a bomb which killed 24 people-great location folks??
what is the problem?...Saudia Arabia running low on funds for Allah....
Rather than madrassas (super-sized or regular), how about some actual conventional schools?
You know, reading, writing, arithmetic? Stuff we used to teach in our public schools?
Hard to do in Muslim counties, the Islamic terrorists keep killing the real teachers...
Aside from being a violation of the separation of church and state concept, this is the very last thing we should be doing with regard to madrassas.
They should be blowing them up everywhere, not building them anywhere.
You might as well dig pits for vipers in your back yard or install ponds for migrating alligators on your property.
You won't get anything from such folly but contempt, ingratitude and fresh terrorism.
Or do they plan to use the same Iraqi engineers who build schools with bombs inside the walls... just in case?
There isn't a better example of insane suicidal 'diplomacy'.
I cannot recall the name right now - there was another government official (military?)(featured here months ago)with a hispanic surname (fluent Arabic) who received accolades for his diplospeak nonsense in the middle east. Is this the same fellow?
I think this is an important development. We can note the date of this effort in an about 10yrs(probably even earlier) Americans will have the gratitudes of the graduates of this noble institutions...Suicide bomb/suitcase bombs/dirty bombs/nukes everything is 'halal' for infidels. An event of such when it happens(for it is when and not if--for have you heard of a Madrassa produce anything else?) would make a suicide bomb truly deserve its name since Americans would have built the facilities to enable it.
RT
I hope we also include necessary items-rifles, mines, manuals on bomb making, etc. We want to be sure they REALLY love us because what's a madrassa without the essentials?
Are there any nations left in this world that don't aid Islamania in one form or another? Or do they all follow the lead of the "Great Satan"?
After the Islamaberg story about enclosed islamic villages in the US ( 2 of them within 200 miles of me)3 days ago, it is getting so bad for my blood pressure now that I now have to take 10 deep breaths , an aspirin, and pray for the best when I log on to my PC and get my morning JihadWatch update. I hope for good news but prepare for the worse.
Then I open to find this. I swear it took me 5 minutes after reading the headline to calm down enough just to read the story. What ignorance.
I keep thinking Bush is going to send us a sign that he gets it and that he was wrong. Just a sign. He could never, with so much committed to the war, announce it publicly. He hasn't signaled any confirmation of his belief of islam being a Religion of peace for a while, before this.
Each presidential candidiate ought to be asked if he /she supports this colossal and foolish idea. It will tell us, without having to ask in a more direct way, what they think about the "war on terror" whether these madrasses are a good idea.
(please don't let a lighting bolt strike me for this but..) I hope some dhimmicrat, maybe Chuckie Scumer ooops Schumer, will attack this foolish idea in the press today. I will support him for doing that.
Also, profitsbeard says:
"Aside from being a violation of the separation of church and state concept, this is the very last thing we should be doing with regard to madrassas."
Interesting. The military would NEVER get away with assisting the construction or financing of this project if it were located in the US.
I am going to write the ACLU ( or any other foundation that supports seperation of church & state) to see whether they think they can stop this.
Good luck, Leave Iraq Now, in contacting the ACLU. The ACLU will no doubt applaud the U.S. efforts to build Madrases. The ACLU (imo) is pro-Islamic...they are not neutral. but please let us know if/when/what the ACLU response is...and, when you find out, you might want to take another aspirin. (meanwhile, as the saying goes, "hope for the best, prepare for the worst.").
Is it unconstitutional for the US gov't to build these madrassahs? Either within, or outside, the borders of the USA? Is a court case worthwhile? Any lawyers have an idea on this?
The mission in Afghanistan is under NATO control and command (isn't it?)...so I don't think U.S. (domestic) law applies (but, I'm not a lawyer, just a guess).
I just did a very brief Google search and discovered that the U.S. is funding religious, madrassa schools world-wide, including in such places as Indonesia, and this has been going on for years. In 2003, GWB approved a $157 million dollar package to build schools (including religious ones) in Indonesia. A congressional committee hearing heard from a panel of "experts" who insisted that the funds were insufficient and were requesting additional monies to go to "schools" (of all kinds, including religious ones).
not one more dime....
Maybe President Bush can go over and read the children a goat story.
Muslim goat stories are quite different than Christian goat stories..
do Madrassases or Mosques have windows?......
R. Spencer has told me that I am not welcome at this site, but since no one else has taken the time to write a letter, I have. Feel free to change it if you feel the need to. I have already sent this letter to my senators and representative. I encourage you to do the same. Perhaps not perfectly worded but it gets the point accross, and hey, I work long hours and dont have all the time in the world.
Dear Representative/Senator/President/Secretary:
I stand in strong opposition to the building of Madrassas in Afghanistan by American troops as reported on May 15, 2007, in the Daily Telegraph of the UK. From a legal standpoint, I consider taxpayer funds diverted to construct such projects to be gross violations of the establish clause of the Federal Constitution. Accordingly, any such financing of religious projects must cease at once. Moreover, from a tactical viewpoint, I consider this move extraordinarily naïve and misguided because it presupposes that merely providing funding for religious construction projects will somehow endear the congregants of the newly built madrassas to those who funded the structures. Those of us who have spent time studying Islam are also unable to accept the notion that there will be a different set of Islamic principles taught in the madrassas, especially since the schools will doubtless be scrutinized for their genuine Islamic quality and must also “compete” for the sons of tribal parents who would otherwise send their sons to "reputable" schools across the border in Pakistan. There exists no empirical evidence that any such schools would teach any “version” of Islam other than that contained in the commonly accepted schools of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. Lastly, from a logistical and resource standpoint, all monies should be spent on the war effort. Money for the war effort is finite. To the extent that there is an increased level of aid to the weak Afghan government, the money would be better spent on infrastructure, schools and higher pay for Afghan troops combating the insurgent Taliban.
I ask that you address these issues with this administration and consider the denial of future appropriations to the Afghan war should construction on these unconstitutional continue.
Dan XXXXXX, Esq.
XXXXXX, CA
Kafir Nonbeliver,
Thank you for the letter.
It seems immediately obvious to me (a non lawyer) that this action by our government, as described in the newspaper report, is a violation of our Constitution.
Would a court case need to be filed in the Federal District Court for Washington, DC (possibly eventually going to the Supreme Court)?
How do private citizens actually challenge government action taken outside the USA?
Each madrassa will accommodate 1,000 boarding pupils, all of them boys.
That fact alone should be enough to disgust and disturb any thinking person. Building madrassas is an insane idea.
Are western countries in some kind of competition ? A game show, perhaps ? "Who's the Best Dhimmi" ?
"Each madrassa will accommodate 1,000 boarding pupils, all of them boys."
...and they said the catholic priests were perverts...
It never ceases to amaze me what our leaders and soldiers will do to try to "win hearts and minds." What a phrase...lifted from a Patrick Swayze movie.
Accomodating this faith, at great cost of human lives and taxpayer dollars, trying to redeem an ideology that advocates the murder of unbelievers, honor killings, and a compendium of human rights violations.
If we insist on dragging the old lady across the street when clearly she doesn't really want to transition to the other side, what will we get for our efforts?
We may "win hearts and minds" in the schools, only to lose them to the mosques.