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"school"
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"school" |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan 
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“The word madrassa in the Arabic language means "school". The word can also appear transliterated as madrasa, as madrash, or as madressa. The word is used in Arabic in all the contexts that the word school is in English: for private, public and parochial schools, and for any elementary or secondary schools, whether Muslim, of other religions, or secular. Like the English word school, madrassa is not used to refer to a university. In traditional contexts in which governments do not supply education, religious establishments have taken the role of running educational systems. In this context, madrasa refers to an Islamic school for Muslims, just as parochial schools for Catholics or yeshivas for Jews. All of these institutions are responsible for general education, but also have the purpose of teaching children about religion. In the case of madrasas, Islam. Both males and females attend traditional madrassas: they sit in separate classes to learn in an Islamic context. A madrassa typically offers two courses of study, a "hifz" course to memorize the Qur'an and become a hafiz, and an Alim course to become a scholar or mullah. A regular curriculum includes learning Arabic, Qur'an memorization and interpretation, Islamic law, hadith, and the history of Islam. Depending on the individual madrassa, it may teach additional courses like Arabic literature, English, science and history. People of a variety of ages attend, and many often move on to becoming imams and sheikhs. A mullah typically requires more than 12 years of study. Many huffaz, or people who memorize the entire Qur'an, come from madrassas. Some madrassas resemble colleges, where people take afternoon classes and some reside in dormitories. An estimated 10,000 madrassas operate in Pakistan. A number also exist in North America and in Europe. The oldest madrassas still exist today in the Middle East. They take in orphans and poor children, and provide them with an education. Recently, some people have come to see madrassas in a negative light, amid accusations that many of them indoctrinate students with extremist views. Some have accused extremist madrassas and "Deobandi seminaries" of fostering the Taliban's reactionary policies during its rule in Afghanistan.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrasa What if any limits should a government put on a religious school and its teachings? |
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| © Copyright 2004 John Pawlik - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas |
Depends on how you define government, and which category it fits into. |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
Alicat Let’s say an American state or federal government in regard to a madrassa as exists in Pakistan that includes the inculcation of murderous hatred for a particular social or religious group as part of its curriculum. John |
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Alicat Member Elite
since 1999-05-23
Posts 4094Coastal Texas |
You can't readily transpose one system of government over another, since each is unique based on the populous. Any limits a government puts upon religion will be based purely on what the populous, or subgroups of the populous, wants. As an aside, there really isn't a reason to copy and paste an entire article, as a simple url link would be sufficient. And since you didn't give your own views, I can only surmise that you endorse governmental restrictions on religious education based upon your quoted-in-full source material. |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
Alicat, I’m indifferent. I pasted only to give a full context. Thanks for the advice. John |
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