In Afghanistan, the “hijackers of Islam” run the Islamic schools. From Reuters, with thanks to Jeff Lastname:
KABUL, Afghanistan – A probe into a bomb blast that killed nine children and an adult at an Afghan school has focused on a mullah who taught in the same building, a local official and sources close to the investigation said on Thursday.
The Taliban, Afghanistan’s ousted hard-line Islamist rulers, are active in the district of Zormat in the southeast province of Paktia, where the school was located, but a Taliban spokesman has denied any involvement in last Saturday’s attack.
But Paktia Governor Haji Assadullah Wafa said the mullah whom police want to question had links to the Taliban. A source close to the investigation said the mullah, or religious teacher, had not been seen for almost a week.
The bombed building was shared by the mullah’s madrassah, or religious school, and other teachers who taught a more progressive curriculum.
“Mullah Nawab was teaching pupils at his madrassah how to use explosives and mines,” Paktia’s governor told Reuters….
A school in neighboring Zabul province was recently forced to close because of threats from Taliban elements angered by its modern curriculum.