Efforts to curb religious extremism at madrassas

(24 Jul 2007) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of entrance to a madrassa (Islamic religious school)
2. Sign reading in English: Jawahirul Uloom Madrassa
3. Various of children arriving at the madrassa
4. Boy carrying a Quran
5. Students inside classroom before classes start
6. Female students in black robes with headscarves
7. Students attending classes
8. Close of book written in Arabic
9. Mid of boy speaking in Arabic
10. Wide of house
11. Wide of Latheef feeding his daughter Fathima, who attends the madrassa
12. Various of Fathima's mother ironing her school uniform
13. SOUNDBITE: (Malayalam) N. M. Latheef, father of Fathima:
"As far as the Muslim community is concerned, they give dual importance to it (Madrassa education), along with material education. Material means matters pertaining to the world. The other means what is Islam."
14. Various of students at assembly
15. SOUNDBITE: (Malayalam) Sheikh Aboobaker Ahamed, General Secretary, All-India Sunni Scholars' Association:
"The Madrassa is not a centre of activities; it's a centre of learning. The approved text books taught here include a lot of lessons against terrorism and extremism. There are lots of stories and historical accounts that stimulate religious harmony. Besides this, they have moral classes where they are told to oppose terrorism."
16. Wide of teacher conducting lessons
17. Various of female students
18. Wide of classroom looking through a window
19. Various of students coming out of Madrassa
STORYLINE:
The alleged involvement of young Indian Muslims in the failed United Kingdom terror plot has once again focussed attention in India on the traditional schools of Islamic learning, known as madrassas, and whether they are fuelling radicalism.
India has the second largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia, but up to now its citizens have not featured among those involved in terror attacks abroad, although several Islamist militant groups have been fighting in Kashmir since 1989 for independence for the Muslim majority state or a merger with neighbouring Pakistan.
But the detention of two Indian Muslims in the United Kingdom and one in Australia may be challenging that perception.
The three were arrested in connection to the failed plot to set off car bombs in London and at the international airport in Glasgow, Scotland.
The southern Indian state of Kerala is home to a large population of Muslims.
As the day dawns at the Jawahirul Uloom Madrassa, a madrassa near the city of Thiruvananthapuram, children arrive for their early morning religious instruction, followed by lessons in the normal school subjects.
There are about 10-thousand madrassas in the state of Kerala, where general schooling and religious education go hand in hand.
The children are taught traditional Islamic values, such as peaceful coexistence and respect for fellow human beings, in addition to their general classes of science, mathematics and history.
N M Latheef, whose daughter Fathima attends the Jawahirul Uloom Madrassa, says a madrassa education is important to provide his child with a balanced upbringing.
"As far as the Muslim community is concerned, they give dual importance to it (Madrassa education), along with material education. Material means matters pertaining to the world. The other means what is Islam," he said.
Sheikh Aboobaker Ahamed is the General Secretary of the All-India Sunni Scholars Association, which runs seven thousand madrassas in Kerala.
The recent detention of the three Indian Muslims in connection with the failed terror plot has therefore come as a shock to many in the community.

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