They have been called “universities of jihad,” and they’re going to stay that way. But note that they are not teaching terrorism — they no doubt do not believe that what the jihadists do constitutes terrorism. “Clerics adamant against ‘interference’ in madrassas,” from the Pakistan Daily Times, with thanks to Nicolei.
ISLAMABAD: Leaders of madrassas (Islamic seminaries) said on Sunday that they would not allow the government or anyone else to interfere in madrassa matters such as their syllabi and examination system.
In a communiqué issued after the Deeni Madaris Convention arranged by the Wafaqul Madaris Al Arabia, madrassa leaders said seminaries would continue working towards making Pakistan an Islamic and democratic state and would stay united and would not allow anyone interfere in madrassa matters. It also said they would not accept the imposition of embargos to fulfil the agenda of the West. “Religious schools weren’t involved in any kind of politics or terrorism and they don’t want to fight the government, but they want it to accept their demands through dialogue because religious schools will not accept any imported philosophy in the name of so-called enlightened moderation,” the declaration added.
Syllabi reforms in madrassas would continue because they (madrassa leaders) believed that teachers in religious schools had the capability to teach conventional education, it said, adding that madrassas would also not accept the government’s financial assistance at any stage…
Pakistan Muslim League President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain told participants that madrassas were not preaching terrorism. “As a former interior minister, I conducted an inquiry to examine whether seminaries were involved in terrorism and found that not a single one was involved in such activities,” he said…