Madrassa
A madrassa, in its most basic form, is a religious school that teaches Islam. While the term has become associated with schools indoctrinating in extreme Jihadist theologies, theology and curriculum vary from region to region and from school to school.
Saudi-supported Sunni fundamentalism
A significant number of madrassas, teaching extreme doctrines, have direct or indirect funding from Wahabbist sponsors in Saudi Arabia. Many Taliban were schooled in Pakistani madrassas, of the Deoband school of Whhabism.
During the [[Afghanistan War (1978-92), "a new kind of madrassa emerged in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region -- not so much concerned about scholarship as making war on infidels."[1]
Sh'ia
Iraqi Shi'ites, have long had madrassas, but obviously based in Sunni Wahhabism. They first appeared in the Shi'ite holy cities of Karbala, Kadhimaym, Najaf and Samarra, in the eighteenth century. Najaf, in particular, also gained the reputation of being Arab rather than Persian Shi'ite. In the Ottoman provinces that made up modern Iraq, they also served as an alternative to Sunni madrassas.[2]
References
- ↑ "Analysis: Madrassa", Frontline, Public Broadcasting Service
- ↑ David Wurmser (1999), Tyranny's Ally: America's Failure to Defeat Saddam Hussein, American Enterprise Institute, ISBN 084474073X,pp. 77-78