Foreign madrassa students allowed to stay on

Ray · 12-11-2005, 14:52 PM

Quote:

Foreign madrassa students allowed to stay on

By Hasan Mansoor

KARACHI: The government and the Ittehad Tanzeematul Madaris Deeniya (ITMD), an alliance of five education boards that control around 14,000 seminaries, have reportedly reached an agreement that allows foreign students studying in Pakistani madrassas to stay till they complete their studies.

“Some influential personalities have mediated between us and the authorities to have the matter settled,” an ITMD source told Daily Times on Saturday. “The agreement is expected to be made public in a few days.”

President General Pervez Musharraf had said shortly after the July 7 bombings in London that all foreign madrassa students must leave Pakistan. This was reiterated recently when the president re-promulgated an order amending the Societies Act, which requires all madrassas to register with the government by the end of this month.

The ITMD opposed the government’s decision to expel foreign students and the ones that did leave Pakistan some two months ago have returned and rejoined their seminaries.

ITMD leaders said these students had not actually been expelled, contrary to the claims the government made. “They had gone home for two months of vacations after the annual examinations,” said one seminary administrator. Many of the students who have returned have valid visas for a year or more, and some with a few months left have applied for extensions. Under the new agreement, sources said, the government would allow all foreign madrassa students – there are estimated to be around 1,400 - to stay in Pakistan until they complete their studies. In return, the seminaries would not admit new foreign students.

Fresh admissions to seminaries concluded recently across the country. The madrassas registered a negligible number of new foreign students who, according to their officials, have received formal approval from their embassies and the Interior Ministry. At least 3,000 applications from foreign students are pending with the Interior Ministry. “For the time being we have agreed to the government’s condition that new students will not be admitted from outside Pakistan, but we’ll certainly take up this matter at an opportune time,” an official of a major seminary in Karachi said. “We cannot deprive our Muslim youth from abroad of Islamic teachings, for they ultimately become goodwill ambassadors of Pakistan and not terrorists.”

Though the ITMD has accepted the amended Societies Act, it wants a six-month extension in the registration deadline.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-12-2005_pg1_7

As predicted.

Mushrraf's rhetoric was just a run with hare, hunt with the hounds ploy!

Notwithstanding all the tough talk, the Islamists still rule the roost.

Ray · 01-04-2006, 13:20 PM

Quote:

Wednesday, January 04, 2006 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version

Govt reluctant to expel foreign madrassa students

By Hasan Mansoor

KARACHI: The provincial home department has been asked to wait for sometime in carrying out its plans to expel hundreds of foreign students enrolled with the seminaries in Sindh, sources in the government told Daily Times.

The home department had initially issued notices to most of the Islamic seminaries asking them to expel all the foreign students enrolled with them and surrender their passports to make arrangements for their deportation.

Senior officials in the Sindh home department said they had originally planned to get all the foreign students, including girls, expelled from the seminaries by the end of last year and start repatriating them to their native countries. For this, sources said, the government had negotiated with Edhi Foundation and some other charities to arrange temporary lodgings for these students.

“These students were to be lodged at those temporary abodes until their final deportation but the seminary administrations totally refused to hand them over to us,” said an official. Sources said Wafaq-ul-Madaris al-Arabia, the largest among the five religious education boards that form a confederacy called Ittehad Tanzeematul Madaris-e-Deeniya Pakistan (ITMDP), had made it clear to the senior authorities in Islamabad that any attempt to expel foreign students forcibly could create a huge law and order situation in the country.

“Such an attempt could enrage the rest of our students, which would make it far difficult for us to control them effectively,” said a leader in the Wafaq. Sources said the provincial home department had got instructions from Islamabad asking them to defer its plans of expulsions for quite some time until the authorities had some negotiations with the ITMDP.

The ITMDP leadership had made a clear-cut announcement in its press conference in Karachi on December 31 that they would defy the government’s orders for the expulsion and would resist it.

The seminary alliance also held a convention in Islamabad in which various political parties including the ruling PML-Q had been invited on the first day of this year. The ITMDP reiterated its stance vis-à-vis the expulsions and got support from many of the religious and political parties for that.

The home department had recently asked the police department to serve a notice to the seminaries in Karachi and other parts of the province asking them to surrender the foreign students. The police complied with the orders but was confronted with a defiant response.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-1-2006_pg7_33

God shows it is a good show to get the government get knees that are weak!

Flip Flop.

Totally running scared!

Hope against hope!

Neo · 01-06-2006, 14:20 PM

Some 65 per cent of the foreign students studying in various seminaries of the country have returned to their homelands voluntarily.

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told Dawn while speaking about the issue of ‘forced’ return of seminary students.

Mr Sherpao denied that the government had fixed Dec 31 as deadline for their return.

He said there was no resistance against the return of those foreign students who had been asked to leave the country under a government policy.

The interior minister challenged the statement of the NWFP chief minister that his government would not expel foreign students from the province and asked, that how could anyone stay back unless his ministry issued a visa.

He, however, made it clear that his ministry had already issued instructions about the government policy on foreign seminary students to the provincial governments and it would keep a check on is implementation.

Meanwhile, the Ittehad Tanzeemat-i-Madaris Deeniah (ITMD), a conglomeration of five major religious institutions, has demanded that the government should withdraw its decision of expelling foreign students from seminaries.

Speaking at a news conference here, Qazi Abdul Rashid, deputy secretary of Wafaqul Madaris Arabia Pakistan, a member of ITMD, said that if the government did not withdraw the decision of disallowing foreign students in the country’s seminaries, a countrywide campaign would be launched against it.

He said a convention of the ITMD had been scheduled for Sunday, in which ulema from all over the country would participate. Besides others, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Raja Zafarul Haq have been invited to discuss and draw a unified strategy on the issue.

The ITMD leader asked the Supreme Court to take a quick action against the government for violation of fundamental human rights by disallowing continuation of studies to the foreign students.

Meanwhile, Secretary Religious Affairs Vakil Ahmed Khan, when contacted, said his department was not concerned with the foreign religious students nor he had any knowledge about their status.

He said the ITMD had sought some more time to complete their registration under the newly enforced registration law and as many as 2,400 of over 6000 seminaries had been registered after August.

Ray · 01-06-2006, 14:46 PM

Neo,

One does not know if the madrassas teach terrorism or not.

The majority believes they do. If that it not a correct surmise, I am afraid because of the torrent of terrorism worldwide and because Pakistani madrassa repeatedly surface as the source of terrorism, people believe that Pakistani madrassa indeed teach terrorism! It has become a fact of life.

The fact that the religious "scholars" (as they are called which again has become a point of doubt that they are scholars since most mouth rabid thoughts and same is the case of crooks calling themselves as "pious Moslem" - another cliche that not believed since a pious chap does not breed hatred!)

Therefore, it is would do a world of good, if the Pakistan govt and the public back Musharraf's ideas (right or wrong) and send these chaps packing.

The issue that these Moslems also come from Islamic countries where there are madrassas, why have they to come to Pakistan? Egypt has Islamic schools and they have the scholars who are authorities in Islam. So, why don't they go there?

Now, two facts makes Pakistani madrassa suspect in the game of terror teching schools.

1. Pakistan has been the home and the education pit to the Talibans who have espoused the Wahabi style. These Talibanis have become the cynosure of the world.

2. Since Islam is an Arabic generic religion and the seat of Islamic learning is in Arabia and Egypt, these chaps from Africa, Europe should go there because of the quality of Islamic education should be better there as also it is closer to their countries.

The fact that they come to Pakistan, which has bred Talibanism with devastating result to USSR and now the world, makes Pakistan a very serious suspect in the game of terrorism!

That is why the madrassa of Pakistan must rein in themselves and that is why all foreigners should be shunted out.

01-06-2006, 14:20 PM	#3 (permalink)
Neo Silent lurker *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 04-06-05 Location: Amsterdam Posts: 7,920 Country:	Sherpao says 65pc students returned voluntarily Some 65 per cent of the foreign students studying in various seminaries of the country have returned to their homelands voluntarily. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told Dawn while speaking about the issue of ‘forced’ return of seminary students. Mr Sherpao denied that the government had fixed Dec 31 as deadline for their return. He said there was no resistance against the return of those foreign students who had been asked to leave the country under a government policy. The interior minister challenged the statement of the NWFP chief minister that his government would not expel foreign students from the province and asked, that how could anyone stay back unless his ministry issued a visa. He, however, made it clear that his ministry had already issued instructions about the government policy on foreign seminary students to the provincial governments and it would keep a check on is implementation. Meanwhile, the Ittehad Tanzeemat-i-Madaris Deeniah (ITMD), a conglomeration of five major religious institutions, has demanded that the government should withdraw its decision of expelling foreign students from seminaries. Speaking at a news conference here, Qazi Abdul Rashid, deputy secretary of Wafaqul Madaris Arabia Pakistan, a member of ITMD, said that if the government did not withdraw the decision of disallowing foreign students in the country’s seminaries, a countrywide campaign would be launched against it. He said a convention of the ITMD had been scheduled for Sunday, in which ulema from all over the country would participate. Besides others, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Raja Zafarul Haq have been invited to discuss and draw a unified strategy on the issue. The ITMD leader asked the Supreme Court to take a quick action against the government for violation of fundamental human rights by disallowing continuation of studies to the foreign students. Meanwhile, Secretary Religious Affairs Vakil Ahmed Khan, when contacted, said his department was not concerned with the foreign religious students nor he had any knowledge about their status. He said the ITMD had sought some more time to complete their registration under the newly enforced registration law and as many as 2,400 of over 6000 seminaries had been registered after August. __________________ Administrator @ Defence.pk

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01-06-2006, 14:46 PM	#4 (permalink)
Ray Postmaster General *Military Professional* Join Date: 08-20-03 Posts: 28,373 Country:	Neo, One does not know if the madrassas teach terrorism or not. The majority believes they do. If that it not a correct surmise, I am afraid because of the torrent of terrorism worldwide and because Pakistani madrassa repeatedly surface as the source of terrorism, people believe that Pakistani madrassa indeed teach terrorism! It has become a fact of life. The fact that the religious "scholars" (as they are called which again has become a point of doubt that they are scholars since most mouth rabid thoughts and same is the case of crooks calling themselves as "pious Moslem" - another cliche that not believed since a pious chap does not breed hatred!) Therefore, it is would do a world of good, if the Pakistan govt and the public back Musharraf's ideas (right or wrong) and send these chaps packing. The issue that these Moslems also come from Islamic countries where there are madrassas, why have they to come to Pakistan? Egypt has Islamic schools and they have the scholars who are authorities in Islam. So, why don't they go there? Now, two facts makes Pakistani madrassa suspect in the game of terror teching schools. 1. Pakistan has been the home and the education pit to the Talibans who have espoused the Wahabi style. These Talibanis have become the cynosure of the world. 2. Since Islam is an Arabic generic religion and the seat of Islamic learning is in Arabia and Egypt, these chaps from Africa, Europe should go there because of the quality of Islamic education should be better there as also it is closer to their countries. The fact that they come to Pakistan, which has bred Talibanism with devastating result to USSR and now the world, makes Pakistan a very serious suspect in the game of terrorism! That is why the madrassa of Pakistan must rein in themselves and that is why all foreigners should be shunted out.

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