It seems radicalization begins at home in some areas of Kashmir. In a video, a small school boy tells his mother and some others that he wants to become a shaheed (martyr) fighting India.
The boy proudly tells an admiring audience how he would blow himself up by tying bombs around his bust. His only aspiration in life is to kill Indians and become a martyr. At the end of the video, the boy runs away from elders saying “I will pounce on the kafirs”.
Some madrasas in Kashmir and elsewhere in India are teaching young children extremist ideas and hate, making them highly radicalized individuals.
It became a big controversy when it was found that schools run by a prominent Islamic preacher in Kerala had textbooks telling young kids how to convert a non-Muslim to Islam.
According to EA Jabbar Master, a textbook prescribed for upper primary classes in madrasas run by Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, considered to be liberal sect, has a chapter on namaz and there is a question at the end: Who are to be killed? The answer: Those who do not perform namaz five times a day.
Such dangerous lessons are being taught in madrasas.
There were also reports about radicalisation being imparted in madrasas in Karnataka.
Modernization of madrasas
Pakistan plans to streamline the curriculum of madrasas in that country in order to stop radicalization of youths. According to reports, India’s neighbor plans to take control of a network of over 30,000 madrasas as part of a drive to bring them under state control.
Although it is a thorny issue, modernizing madrasa education is of high importance. India should take a cue from the Pakistan move and modernize its madrasas before it is too late.
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