On the Death of a Student in an Islamic Madrasa

I am deeply shocked to read on the Face Book wall of Ms. Iffat Rauf the note of Dr. Naveed Khalid Tarar about the death of a young boy who was mercilessly beaten with an iron rod by Qari Ghulam Rasul in the Madrasa in Bahawal Nagar. There are two reasons for such social tragedies. First; population explosion. Illiterate and poor people produce more children. They have no education and no social sense. Then, some retrogressive Mullahs say that family planning is un- Islamic. So, there illiterate followers do not practice family planning. Hence, in every house, you find more than a half dozen kids. Who is going to educate them and feed them? Theses innocent children, either are the victims of Child Labor or are sexually abused in some religious institutions. Second point of consideration is that Pakistan is not a welfare state. There is no system. It is a feudal and capitalist state. The poor families have no other choice but to send their children either to work shops or to hotels or to religious schools. Our rulers belong to upper class. Their children get education from American and British schools and universities. We have class society and retrogressive mindset. Such tragedies will happen. In this month, three incidents have been reported on Facebook, in which the students of different religious schools and mosques have been raped and killed by these Mullahs. Who is responsible? The state and the society. We are absolutely oblivious of people around us. We are like blinkered horses. We are selfish. According to the saying of the Holy Prophet, the man who is ignorant and careless about the affairs of other Muslims, is not a Muslim. Social responsibility is one of the fundamental principles of Islam. We think that only prayers and fasting will save us from the flames of Hell. No; it is not like that. Personal salvation is the concept of other religions. Islam believes in Communal service for salvation. 

What ought to be done? In my opinion basic and free education must be provided to every child. Basic education, like America and Europe must be made compulsory. It is the responsibility of Islamic government to ensure that every child gets free basic education. Islamics as a subject is already compulsory subject in all schools. It should be made compulsory in colleges as well and basic principles of Islam with modern rational thought and progressive ideas should be imparted to students. Religious seminaries/ Madrasas must be banned. These Madrasas are producing sectarian hardliners. Mosques were the Houses of Worship and sanctuaries sanctioned by God. Now, they have become the abodes of sectarian hardliners and the houses of Mullahs.

I strongly appeal to the wise element in our society to raise voice against the evil deeds being promoted and practiced in the mosques by hardliners. Take Islam out of mosques and practice it in public life as ordained by the Holy Prophet. 

Dr. Maqsood Jafri

Islamabad

June 29, 2026