‘Don’t malign all madrasas’
Express News Service | Kolkata | Posted: October 21, 2014 5:04 am | Updated: October 21, 2014 5:05 am
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| Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind’s peace rally at Curzon gate in Burdwan, Monday 20-10-14(Source_ Express photo by Subham Dutta) |
Alleging that the Burdwan blast incident was being used by certain circles with vested interests to malign the entire madrasa system and those associated with it, speakers under the banner of the state unit of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind organised a rally in Burdwan on Monday to condemn the attack on madrasas as breeding ground for terror activities.
Claiming that such attacks on madrasas will not help the community, Siddiqullah Chowdhury, general secretary of the state committee of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind said no madrasa in West Bengal should be closed down either on account of panic or as an administrative measure. Urging all madrasas to resume normal classes and teachings, Chowdhury said any attack on madrasas will have serious repercussions.
“Some bearded criminals are involved in the Burdwan bomb blast. But this incident of criminals should not be used to malign an entire madrasa system,” Chowdhury said, while demanding exemplary punishment for the culprits. He added that people linked to madrasas should take a vow that no untoward incident be allowed to be perpetrated in these.
Chowdhury said that the previous government under Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee fell soon after he described illegal madrasas as cradle of terrorist activities that spewed anti-national elements, adding that the present Mamata Banerjee-led government will also have to face the same fate if it does not restrain the police excesses. “You do not need to take shelter behind a madrasa to indulge in a subversive activity. One can do it from any platform,” he said.
The Muslim leader said if one goes by the BJP’s analysis of five to seven per cent of Muslims in madrasas to be involved in “jihadi activity” in West Bengal, this would imply that no less than 15 lakh Muslims have a “jihadi” background. “These are dangerous utterances,” Siddiquallah warned, adding that these could alienate the entire community.
Earlier, Rafiqul, a spokesperson of the All India United Democratic Front, said it was pointless to malign the entire madrasa system. “The land of Bengal is the land of democracy and communal harmony. It should not be vitiated by narrow political gains,” he said.
Maulana Imtiaz, a Burdwan-based leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind said a madrasa is no place for violence. “It preaches peace and amity. Muslims are as much patriotic and nationalist as any other citizen in the country,” Imtiaz said.
Asim Chatterjee, a former Naxalite, who joined the rally said Muslims should not think they are alone and assured them that thousands of Hindus will stand to support them if any attack was launched on their community.
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Are unregulated madrasas turning into terror hubs?
Ravik Bhattacharya, Hindustan Times Kolkata, October 10, 2014
First Published: 01:24 IST(10/10/2014) | Last Updated: 02:17 IST(10/10/2014)
A bomb blast in Burdwan on October 2 has started a debate on madrasas emerging as nurseries of terror in West Bengal after police found that all four people arrested in connection with the blast met at madrasas.
Investigators visited a few madrasas suspecting many more links to emerge out of these religious schools, an issue that has since kicked up a political storm.
“There are madrasas that provide computer and English education along with religious training. They are doing a good job. But there are small, unrecognised ones mushrooming everywhere in Bengal, which are breeding grounds of terror, especially from Bangladesh,” said a senior home department official.
There are 614 madrasas under the West Bengal Board of Madrasa Education, while
thousands are spread all over the state.
thousands are spread all over the state.
Within days of coming to power, chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced that her government would grant recognition to 10,000 madrasas. People who run madrasas say it is wrong to label these schools as terror hubs just because of some individual cases.
“Why blame the institution when individuals are guilty? There have been Maoists who have hailed from Jadavpur University, Calcutta University and Delhi University. Do you call them terror hubs?” asks Siddiqullah Chowdhury, general secretary Jamiat-e Ulema-e-Hind that runs nearly 900 madrasas.
According to police sources, private madrasas are the real concern. Intelligence officials say these madrasas run as autonomous bodies that are funded by countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and the UAE.
Students in these institutions become soft targets for recruiters of different terror groups, who sometimes pose as teachers.
Those receptive to the indoctrination are taken to camps in Bangladesh, where they are trained to use weapons and make bombs. Some talented recruits are even taken to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and Afghanistan for advanced training, sources say.
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Updated: October 20, 2014 10:33 IST
‘Madrasas made a scapegoat’
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In the wake of Bardhaman blast, say minority organisations
: Alleging that in the aftermath of the accidental blast case in Bardhaman district, the madrasas in Bengal are being made a scapegoat by the police, eight minority organisations of West Bengal have decided to write to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday seeking an appointment with her to discuss the issue. The decision was taken in a convention of various minority groups here on Sunday.
Recently, a madrasa located at Simulia village in Bardhaman came under the scanner of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is probing the case.
An 11-member delegation consisting of six Muslims and five leaders from other religions will meet Ms. Banerjee if she gives an appointment. “We will urge her to form a committee with leaders from Islam and other religions to probe the issue,” said Md. Qamaruzzaman, general secretary of the All Bengal Minority Youth Federation. Alleging that after the Bardhaman blast case, the police are “regularly visiting madrasas,” he said that this is not “proper” since madrasas are educational institutions.
The delegation will also demand an impartial probe and adequate punishment for those involved in the blast case. The minority organisations have threatened to hit the streets in protest if Ms. Banerjee refuses to meet them. “We will ask for an appointment with her within one week. If she does not meet us, we will hit the streets in protest,” said Md. Qamaruzzaman.
Siddiqullah Chowdhury, general secretary of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, also alleged that madrasas are being made a scapegoat in the Bardhaman blast case. Claiming that due to the certain sections of the media, a “negative view” of madrasas is being created, he said that representatives of the minority organisations will meet the “chief editors of various media houses” in this regard.
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