A recent news report in the monthly Herald informs us that many parts of peri-urban Karachi are taken over by self-styled Taliban who are now trying to impose their writ and control in those areas. The source of origin of this breed of organised religious groups are the religious seminaries spread across the country.

Despite claims of reform by various governments, madressahs continue without any change in approach, curriculum, standards and enrolment. The status quo, however, keeps the fundamental question alive — are the madressah graduates equipped with the life skills and competence needed to perform in society and earn a living beyond holy pursuits?

The exponential rise in the number of madressahs and their recruits was not without a political motive during the last quarter of the 20th century and beyond. As a ‘holy war’ was to be fuelled by a zealot crop of ‘holy warriors’, even all kind of state patronage was extended to this otherwise esoteric branch of learning. The worthy West was also composing new hymns to recognise the valiance of the youthful Mujahideen. All that was connected to the madressah was held in high esteem. Components of the establishment, predominantly the armed forces, carved a special niche for madressahs in their operations manuals.

But the Western perception changed after the Soviet retreat. Influenced by the West and irked by the misdeeds of the mercenaries disguised as clerics, the establishment changed its course in the late 1990s. As times have adequately proved, it was too big a movement to be regulated by the state apparatus.

The centuries old Dars-i-Nizamiyah is still the backbone of the madressah curriculum. Demands of reforms are being raised from different quarters mainly due to the fact that the taught curricula are labeled as outdated and not responsive to contemporary educational requirements. The state apparatus has also started exercising pressure in a bid to diffuse the potential threat of militarism thought to be evolving due to obscurantist practices. Narked by the demands, the clerics obviously refuse to acknowledge the need for reforms, at least those fostered by the state.

As a common norm, the bright students focus their attention on disciplines which offer lucrative employment and plush lifestyle. Thus this lot adopts the fashionable channels of learning right from the beginning to be prepared for future challenges. Madressahs receive the bottom strata of the youth for several reasons.

• Parents who cannot afford to raise their children — let alone handle their educational expenses — are forced to send them to madressahs as the only choice. They know the fact that the madressah at least would be able to provide for food, boarding and lodging to the children. The parents also draw satisfaction from the assumption that letting their children receive religious education and awareness would open the way to heaven for themselves as well as the child.

• Destitute and orphans, who do not have any relation to look after them, normally end up in the madressah. The whole Taliban syndrome is an example where a sizeable number of such orphans and destitutes joined the madressahs as the only choice.

• The ultra orthodox households send their children to madressahs with an aim to provide them with religious education only.

• Urban households who wish to send their children to madressahs to learn Nazra Quran (recitation) or Hifz-ul-Quran (learning by heart). However, since most of the first three categories of students do not have any choice or outlet available to them, they become the captive clientele of the seminaries.

An impartial assessment of the situation seems to be a prerequisite in the rapidly changing geopolitics, sociology and economics of regions as well as the overall world. Besides, madressah administrations follow an introverted pattern of operation. They are reluctant to engage into dialogue and discussion with the other components/streams of the educational sector. By taking this isolationist stand, the madressahs now seem to be losing the traditional sympathies of the masses in general and middle classes in particular.

Skill development with particular reference to the prevailing circumstances is nonexistent. Alumni of madressahs have almost no avenue for gainful employment ahead of them. Either they opt for becoming prayer leaders (pesh imam) or prayer callers (moazzin) — both professions are extremely limited due to the few opportunities. Due to supply side pressure, it is often observed that more and more mosques are built — some often at sites not legally allocated for them. Of late, some alumni offer tuitions to neighbourhood children of middle and upper income groups. But all these options are temporary and limited in scale and operation.

There are many tangible ways ahead. The ulema/madressah administrators need to analyse the prevailing circumstances in an impartial and honest manner. The harsh realities of both the local society and global environment must be understood to equate the potentials and threats. Very little improvement can be expected unless this is done. The clerics need to open up to the outside world so that people can freely access their viewpoints and vice versa. They need to see the important realities of life as they stand today and put their acts together accordingly. For example, the learning of English as an international language; computer literacy as a tool for information and media as a powerful mode of communication may be accommodated in the system of learning.

These elements do not pose a threat to the essentials of the curricula already taught at madressahs. They would only enlighten the pupils’ mind and help him/her relate to the world they live in. Corporal punishments and sexual harassments must be strictly checked and the culprits who indulge in them need to be punished. If madressahs bring about improvement in their ranks and folds, it will help reform a very wide segment of society where their influence is overwhelming. If the government does not initiate participatory reforms in seminary education, we will continue to be haunted by the ghosts and acts of fanatic alumni and sympathisers of the self righteous.

The writer is professor and chairman, Department of Architecture and Planning, NED University, Karachi.