Apolitical madrassahs implies accepting the concept of "separation of church and state", and the concept that the Koran should not be an all-encompassing guide to all action, including political action. That's a stretch, a bigger ideological stretch than pacifist madrassahs.
That's not quite what I had in mind. I was thinking of devoting "religious education" time to theoretical work and history: not actively preaching separation of church and state, just skirting the issue. The main emphasis of the school would be on traditional academics, the purpose being, as I said before, to give quality education to muslim youths, and to qualify them for decent-level jobs. I think this is a bigger draw, especially in "borderline" areas where fundamentalist control is not cemented, than most Americans realize.
The program of such madrassahs would still be political, and would almost certainly be very critical of Western society. They would concentrate on personal discipline, and have a political program that seeks to empower Muslims through economic development, not military conquest. I'm thinking something like the policy of Malaysia. In fact, the Malaysian government would be a likely candidate to fund what I have in mind.
We think along similar lines there.
I think the existing madrassah system would inevitably, and immediately, see them (accurately) as a competing meme, an Alternative, who they are in a zero-sum contest with.
Doubtless. Again, a strong incentive to begin in areas not under fundamentalist control. I think that once parents see graduates of one madrassah going off to decent universities and taking on leadership roles, while graduates of the other are blowing themselves up, the alternative will begin to be sought after.
We're not going to convert the hard core, but the point is not to convert them. The point is to provide an alternative.
Look at what happened to that timid HeartsAndMinds attempt by the U.S. to run ads in Muslim nations, showing Happy American Muslims. It was instantly seen in the Muslim world as an ideological threat, and shut down. |
