EDITORIAL - Wrong lessons?

The Philippine National Police is checking reports that some Islamic schools in Mindanao are being used to indoctrinate the youth into the ways of terrorism. The reports said the schools, called madrassas, were being used to train students in guerrilla warfare and propagate terrorist ideas. Some of the schools are said to be funded by Islamist groups such as Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda.

Lanao del Sur Rep. Faysah RPM Dumarpa took exception to the report. He’s surely not the only Muslim offended by the idea that Islamic schools are being used as fronts for terrorist recruitment and indoctrination in Mindanao. The report, however, is not unique to the Philippines. A dispatch the other day from Kuala Lumpur said Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country, is considering changing its rules governing madrassas, to blunt the possible use of the schools for fomenting unrest. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad cited Pakistan, which is shutting down several madrassas believed to be training fighters to overthrow the government of President Pervez Musharraf. The Pakistani leader has sided with the United States in the international coalition against terrorism.

In certain parts of Mindanao, government efforts to introduce mainstream education have been stymied by peace and order problems. At the peak of the Abu Sayyaf’s strength, for example, the terrorist group raided regular schools and took Christian students and teachers as hostages. The threat of harassment, kidnapping and even death has kept away teachers from a number of schools. In some areas, parents allow their children to attend only madrassas.

This certainly does not mean that the religious schools are being used as fronts for terrorism. But it does indicate the influence wielded by such schools and the need to look, even occasionally, into what they are inculcating in young minds. Even regular schools need to constantly review and upgrade their curricula.

The PNP is not taking any chances and is reportedly keeping an eye on the Islamic schools. Because of the volatile situation in Mindanao, checking on the madrassas can best be undertaken by Muslim officials themselves. Newly elected officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, who have promised to push for the region’s development, should make education a priority. The same goes for officials of the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development. Moderate Muslims are speaking out against the twisted beliefs of people who perpetrate atrocities in the name of their faith. It would do no harm for leaders of the Islamic community themselves to make sure young Muslims are receiving the right lessons about their religion.