Three sources of extremism in Pakistan

The military operation is important, but extremism runs deep in the national psyche, and will take more than bombs and bullets to counter

While the army is hunting the terrorists in North Waziristan, nurseries for their propagation remain intact all over the country. Three factors provide fresh recruits to militant networks. One, the text books taught in schools and colleges. Two, brainwashing inmadressas or seminaries, which inculcate extremist thinking, Three, an unhindered flow of hate material through videos, audios and the continuous misuse of loudspeakers in mosques.

The PMLN government remained unwilling to launch a military operation till the attack on Karachi airport, combined with mounting pressure by the army, forced it to agree to Operation Zarb e Azb. The insistence on continuing the talks was partly on account of the PML-N sharing some of the views with Taliban and partly due to fear of militant backlash.

A number of studies have been conducted to underline the way text books have been used to inculcate an extremist outlook among the students in mainstream educational institutions. The pioneering work was done by KK Aziz in ‘The Murder of History’, which is a detailed critique of history textbooks used in Pakistan. History, as he puts it, has been turned into “national mythology” while social studies and Pakistan studies have become vehicles of political indoctrination.

After a painstaking scrutiny of 66 textbooks read by the students of classes 1-14, Aziz concludes that our children don’t learn history. They are instead ordered to read a carefully selected collection of falsehoods, fairy tales and plain lies. The text books among other things, support military rule, glorify wars, and spread hatred against India.

KK Aziz wrote the book in 1993. With more of the same added to text books, they have created a generation which believes that the entire world is conspiring against Islam and Pakistan. These books also inculcate the view that religious minorities and smaller sects are enemy agents.

Two years back an NGO by the name of National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), launched a content analysis report of the books published by Punjab and Sindh textbook boards. It maintained that hate content had increased manifold with the passage of time.

Two years back an NGO by the name of National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), launched a content analysis report of the books published by Punjab and Sindh textbook boards. It maintained that hate content had increased manifold with the passage of time. Many textbooks that had no hate material in their earlier versions, now carry such material.

Hundreds of thousand university graduates have been brainwashed during the last three decades. Those who adopted an extremist outlook can therefore be found among the business class, legal community, civil servants, media persons and politicians.

There is a dire need to purge the text books of hate material and falsehoods. The PML-N government is as reluctant to undertake the exercise as it was to initiate the military operation. The extremist thinking has helped the terrorists set up sleeper cells in hostels. Thus it came as no surprise when al Qaeda and TTP operatives were arrested from some of the hostels in Lahore. .

Madressas are the second fountainhead of extremist thinking. They have produced almost the entire leadership of the TTP. Some of the top Afghan Taliban are the alumni of Pakistani seminaries. Many Madressas are funded by Gulf countries having rivalry with Iran. These seminaries are required in create anti Shi’a sentiment in Pakistan .

Hundreds of new madressas were set up during Ziaul Haq’s eleven year rule with foreign assistance.

“There were 570 madressas in the country in 1979,” according to Amir Rana, an expert on religious militancy. “Ten years later, by the time the Geneva Accords were signed, there were more than 7,000” As more funds came, Salafi madressas proliferated. Unlike the old locally funded seminaris, the new ones focused on political Islam.

The government underrates the problems some of these religious schools pose. The interior ministry seems to be clueless about their exact number or the source of funding. Replying to a query at a Senate Committee meeting in April, Minister of State for Interior Balighur Rehman admitted that he possessed information only about 15 madressas receiving foreign financial support during the year.

The danger some of the seminaries pose can be gauged from a number of media reports which appeared in April and May. Quoting military and civil intelligence sources Dawn reported on May 1 that some of the seminaries which operate inside the capital are assisting the TTP with the collection of extortion and ransom money.

The danger some the seminaries pose can be gauged from a number of media reports which appeared in April and May. Quoting military and civil intelligence sources Dawn reported on May 1 that some of the seminaries which operate inside the capital are assisting the TTP with the collection of extortion and ransom money. These seminaries also sometimes arranged deals between militants and their victims. The seminaries also provide courier service to the TTP by arranging for the money to be transported to pre-determined locations easily accessible to the militants. The report named a retired Lt Gen who became a victim. The report also named the seminaries involved.

Another report, prepared jointly by the special branches of Islamabad and Rawalpindi police suggested that TTP got support from some of the religious seminaries and worship places of the Deobandi school of thought. The report identified 20 seminaries, all located in Rawalpindi, which were used by Taliban for terrorist attacks in the city. No action was taken by the Interior Ministry on the reports.

The third source of extremism is the freely available audio and video material fanning sectarian hatred. Some prayer leaders who were educated in seminaries known for spreading hatred continue the mission. Itching to lynch or kill minority members and burn their homes, they use the slightest and unconfirmed reports of blasphemy to create mayhem. Often the target is not only the supposed blasphemer but his entire family and even other members of the minority community who come handy.

Pogroms were initiated after a call from the mosque loudspeaker in Gujranwala last month. The mob killed four Ahmadis and burned five houses over an alleged ‘blasphemous material’ posted on a Facebook page by a single individual.

Police knows that the attacks started after the announcements were made in mosques against the Ahmadis. There are regulations regarding the use of the mosque loudspeaker. These are however not being enforced as the government does not want to stir the hornets’ nest. The mischief thus continues unabated.