A suffocated society is a brewing ground for various kinds of criminal, even inhumane activities. Suffocation is a product of unnaturally imposed restrictions, which are created with a view to control minds and bodies. A person who enjoys freedom of speech will even be mindful to speak in gentler tones, and will seldom speak out of turn. Excess of suffocation results in a volcanic eruption which has the power to wash away all signs of coersion.
On the whole, the Muslim societies everywhere suffer from excessive sexual suppression. The culture prevelant in Madrasas takes this feeling to another level. Slowly and gradually, incidents of sexual abuse have started to come out in India as well, when previously these kind of monstrous, continual acts of depravation were heard of only from Pakistan or perhaps Bangladesh. This was bound to happen as the Muslim communities in both countries are an extension of each other. There was a time when it could be assumed that such acts are lesser in number in India. However, there is a higher possibility that they could have been hidden from public eye all this time. Be as it may, there is an urgent need to understand how the Madarsa culture works.
All education imparted in Madrasas is foused around women and wealth. It is forbidden to look at a woman, even her voice should stay in a purdah. When you get out, you must be mindful of (protect) your glances. If you come across a picture of a woman where any of her body parts are showig, you must blacken the picture using a pen. This whole narrative is their to control what one is permitted to say, hear, see. At the same time, words and phrases like nudity, sybaritism, lust and adultery are passionately used over and over again. A normal student who spends 5 to 10 years listening to these phrases morning and evening finally becomes a living, walking bomb. This ‘quality’ is then used towards wielding physical Jihad, which is a sure shot way for the Jihadis to reach Jannat and enjoy the bounties of their virtues with Hooris. Recently, Jamiul Huda madrasa in Moirabari area run by Mustafa alias Mufti Mustafa, was demolished for defying the under Disaster Management Act and UAPA Act. Also, Mufti Mutafa was recently arrested for his links with Bangladesh-based terror outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team and AQIS. In other words, human bombs ready to detonate were being curated in this institute.
Sexual abuse is generally a matter of routine in Madarsas across Pakistan, and there is little doubt that at many levels there are commanilities among the community on both sides. It is wrongful to assume that these are off-chance isolated incidents to be blamed on mental depraity of individuals. The fact is, this sexual culture is prevalent in all Deeni institutes. At times, teachers and senior students also ‘propose’ to juinor students. The Molvis involved in teaching to read and memorise scripture carefully select students who are responsible for waiting on them. When these Molvis and senior students sit together, they discuss in great detail and with intense passion, the ‘boys’ who wait on them.
The people in position inside a Madarsa hold a very pivotal position in the lives of the students. They are considered equal to a respectable member of the family, and wield the same kind of revreance as offered to a Mama or TauJi. It is considered equally shameful for a little girl or a boy to complain against these Molvis as it would if they did this against their uncles. Childern can neither approach the adminsitration nor their parents.
Those students who come from a relatively afluent background are less likely to become victims of abuse, becuase usually their parents donate a lot of money to these Madarsas. This is something the Molvis would never want to risk.
People who are made to spend decades of their lives in such seminaries, specially those who are boarding students, find it extremely difficult to adjust in normal societies as they are trained to look at women or consenting couples with lustful suspicion. Deep in their minds it is imbibed that a woman portrays sin, and anyone who is with a woman is therefore being sinful. At the same time, their natural instinct which has been systematically suppressed all their lives starts to raise its head. The collision of the two sentiments drive them absolutely crazy, and they become capable of carrying out acts of criminal violence against men, women, children, and animals.
According to information provided by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, India has 24,010 madrasas. This figure reflects only those Madarsas which are being run in any kind of official capacity. There are probably hundreds which are being run inside closed communities, without papers, or under the premise of boarding houses and non regisered orphanages in some states. Then we also have Matabas, schools where it is taught to speak and read Arabic language. In many Muslim communities, it is mandatory for the children to go to these Maktabas. If we assume that, on te lower side, each Madarsa has 30 students, the total number of students churning out each year from these seminaries would be over 700,000. Imagine having to assimilate this many people who have been trained to become a robot programmed to harm humanity, into our society.
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