Are Madarsas run by non-Muslims too? Enquiry sought

Lucknow: Ordering an inquiry into madarsas run by non-Muslims just for the sake of grant, Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Education Board Iftekhar Ahmed Javed said, “Legally non-Muslims are not allowed to run madarsas because they cannot teach Islamic subjects as they don’t have any knowledge about Islam. However, the madarsas are open to all human beings and people from all faiths can take education there.”

While claiming that Madarsas run by non-Muslims can lead to misuse of government funds, Mr Javed observed that madarsas are facing massive fiscal challenges, and they are also going through rigorous reforms. Calling for immediate and desperate reforms he stressed the need to check malpractices in the madarsa education system.

Informing that the government is working aggressively to “modernise” madarsas to empower Muslim youths who have been educated in these institutions, Mr Javed said that the madarsas are trying to overcome the lack of scientific and secular subjects in the curriculum.

Aiming at making students fit for employment, the government wants Muslim youths to study science and modern subjects like computers along with Quran.

Writing a letter to the officials, Iftikhar Ahmed Javed asked them to find madarsas being run by people of other communities, as they are not entitled to do so. He pointed out that a madarsa can only be run by a Muslim.

Hindustan Times quoted Javed as saying, “People often accuse madarsas of misuse of government funds. If funds go to madarsas which are not run by Muslims, then obviously it is sheer misuse of funds.”

He added, “The board has inputs about the madarsas run by people of other communities in various districts of the state. I have directed the officials to identify such madarsas so that action can be taken against them.”