A few weeks ago, CNN aired Generation Islam, a two-hour documentary by Christiane Amanpour that focused on a range of efforts being made in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Palestine to turn young Muslim children away from militant extremism. Amanpour, when asked in a recent interview if these efforts were working, noted, “The big aggregate news that is good and optimistic is that militant-ism and extremism is declining…Whether it’s in Afghanistan or Pakistan, the percentages are plummeting. That’s where the opportunity lies. Now is the time to grab that opportunity.”
Is militancy declining? The issue is not black-and-white, particularly since a survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan last month found that 59 percent of Pakistanis felt the greatest threat to the country was the United States [a statistic not helped by continued U.S. drone strikes or rumors of an increased Blackwater presence in Pakistan]. Meanwhile, only 11 percent of respondents said Taliban militants were the biggest threat to Pakistan.
Nevertheless, efforts to curb militancy and extremism are gaining traction in Pakistan. Below is Amanpour’s interview with Azhar Hussain, who has been working tirelessly with Pakistani madrassa [religious school] leaders to reform the system from the inside out. Often in our effort to address education reform in Pakistan we ignore the thousands of madrassas, acknowledging them only as the problem. Azhar’s work is unique because he engages these schools as a potential part of the solution. The results are insightful, to say the least:
CHUP! - Changing Up Pakistan 
I don’t think it’s really about who the enemy is. It’s a case of idle minds being the devil’s workshop. There is rampant corruption in Pakistan but only because there is rampant and uncheched inflation and rampant and growing unemployment.
If we can provide people with jobs (busy minds and eliminate power shortages which stop industries) and food on the table (a hungry man is always more dangerous than one who is stuffed), that should create an avenue to bring about a better change.
That said, maddrasah reforms should also be there. And I hope the US puts more of its efforts into this.
See, I disagree slightly. As I noted, the issue of declining militancy is not contingent simply on who we perceive as the enemy, but it does complicate matters. U.S. drone strikes, rumors of Blackwater guards in Pakistan, etc. can potentially add legitimacy to militants villifying the West and likening the Pakistani government to the West. It adds fuel to the fire. And while being anti-American or seeing the U.S. as the greatest enemy doesn’t mean you are extremist or support the Taliban, the fact that only 11% perceive the Taliban as the greatest threat to Pakistan is still telling.
And on your point about providing people jobs and food on the table, I completely agree. A lot of studies have shown that if government or other local schools can provide lunch to children, parents may be more willing to send their kids to that school over a madrassa. Addressing that problem is also key because it provides families with a positive option.
At the same time, reforming within the madrassa system is also needed because it acknowledges their existence and that they can be part of the solution rather than the majority of the problem. What’s telling about Azhi’s work (via ICRD) – which I really deeply believe in – is how many madrassa leaders are open to change and reform, they just don’t think the government is open to accepting them.
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I saw that documentary yesterday. Really good one!
The West has consistently vilified madrasah education as a key catalyst of religious extremism and terrorism. While this concern is understandable in view of the fact that there is some evidence of a link between Islamic education and terrorism, looking solely from this angle misses out on the bigger picture of the potential role of Islamic education in the development and poverty reduction of Muslim-dominated developing countries like Pakistan. There is considerable evidence to show that with proper reforms, madrasahs can be a low cost option for expanding education for a large number of poor children, thereby giving these children an opportunity to grow and get out of the poverty trap. The resulting human resource can contribute positively to development by changing regressive social norms and by becoming a part of the active labor force. Madrasahs can very much be part of the solution.