The price of free education: How Madrassas shape extremist worldviews

The madrassa system in Pakistan occupies a paradoxical space: it is both a lifeline for the poor and a potential conduit for radicalization. This duality has made madrassas a focal point in debates on education, militancy, and global security. In the years following the September 11 attacks, Pakistan’s madrassas, Islamic religious schools, have come under intense scrutiny from both domestic and international observers. While many Pakistani intellectuals lament this attention as unfair and externally imposed, arguing that madaris are wrongly portrayed as “jihad factories,” the reality is far more complex. 

The government has long recognized the urgent need to regulate madrassas, viewing them as potential gateways to radicalism if left unchecked. Since the post‑9/11 era, successive administrations have attempted to introduce oversight mechanisms, driven by concerns that some seminaries foster extremism or serve as launching pads for militancy. While not all madrassas fall into this category, the sheer number of institutions makes it essential to ensure they do not promote sectarianism or intolerance. 

Current debates around the 2024 Act highlight this awareness, as policymakers stress the importance of creating a technically sound framework, whether through provincial legislation or parliamentary consensus to monitor curricula, prevent radical indoctrination, and equip students with vocational skills that broaden their opportunities beyond purely religious vocations. The Societies Registration (Amendment) Act 2025 is a step toward regulating madrassas, but its limited jurisdiction means that without provincial legislation, seminaries across Pakistan remain caught in a legal and administrative deadlock.

Some scholars often defend madrassas by highlighting their role in expanding literacy, especially among economically marginalized communities. Christine Fair, for instance, questions any direct link between madrassas and militancy. She argues that since 1991 madrassas’ market share has stayed the same or declined.

In a country where public education is chronically underfunded, madrassas offer free instruction, food, and shelter, an attractive proposition for families struggling to survive. Contrary to popular belief, not all madrassa students are destitute, and not all madaris are linked to militancy. 

Security expert Amir Rana, in his book on jihadi organizations in Pakistan, has explored their linkages with madrassas. International Crisis Group (ICG), an international think tank, has reported how madrassas recruited fighters for the Afghan war and fed sectarian violence in Pakistan, too. Some scholars have presented empirical evidence to these ends

The emphasis on literacy often masks the absence of critical thinking, scientific inquiry, and pluralistic values in the curriculum. The dominant syllabus, Dars-i-Nizami, is rooted in the preservation of classical Islamic texts and resists modern pedagogical innovations. This educational model, while revered by orthodox Ulama, discourages intellectual engagement with contemporary realities and reinforces a static worldview.

The evolution of madrassas in Pakistan reflects a deeply entangled relationship between religion, politics, and education, shaped by the broader historical currents of the subcontinent. Originally conceived as centers of Islamic scholarship, these institutions have undergone significant transformation under the influence of colonial interventions, post-independence statecraft, and shifting global geopolitical dynamics. Over time, madrassas have been repurposed, sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly, as instruments of ideological consolidation and strategic leverage.

Indoctrination Through Dependency

One of the most troubling aspects of the madrassa system is the psychological dependency it cultivates. Many students are separated from their families at a young age, creating a vacuum of parental authority that is filled by clerics and teachers. These figures often become surrogate fathers, wielding immense influence over impressionable minds. The loyalty fostered through free education and boarding is further cemented by strict disciplinary regimes. Students are prohibited from accessing external media, and any deviation from prescribed norms is met with harsh punishment.

This environment of control and isolation makes students particularly vulnerable to indoctrination. According to Azhar Hussain, a consultant on madrassa reform, the curriculum rarely includes subjects like mathematics or science, disciplines that encourage analytical thinking. Instead, teachings center on narrow interpretations of Islam, often infused with anti-Western sentiment. Firebrand sermons depict the United States as a threat to Islamic values, reinforcing a narrative of siege and victimhood.

The Culture of Martyrdom

Radical madrassas go a step further by glorifying martyrdom and reframing jihad in militaristic terms. The concept of suicide bombing, explicitly prohibited in Islam, is reinterpreted as a noble act of resistance. The “greater jihad,” which emphasizes personal struggle, is overshadowed by the “lesser jihad”, the jihad of the sword. This shift in emphasis is not merely theological; it is strategic. By portraying Islam as under attack, clerics justify violence as a defensive necessity. Phrases like “teach the enemy a lesson” become rallying cries, repeated by students who have internalized these distorted doctrines.

This culture of martyrdom is not incidental, it is cultivated. As psychologist Jerrold Post and others have noted, the reframing of jihad and martyrdom by terrorist leaders serves to legitimize violence in the name of religion. In madrassas where such teachings prevail, students are not just educated; they are groomed.

The State’s Role in Radicalization

Efforts to reform madrassa education have repeatedly faltered, hindered by entrenched mistrust between the state and religious authorities, fluctuating political priorities, and the tactical use of religious institutions during periods of conflict. Notably, the Afghan-Soviet war and the post-9/11 War on Terror catalyzed a reconfiguration of madrassas into spaces not only of religious instruction but also of political indoctrination. These developments were further compounded by the state’s own role in embedding Islamic ideology into the national curriculum, particularly under General Zia-ul-Haq’s regime, which sought to align education with a narrowly defined religious nationalism.

Since General Zia-ul-Haq’s 1979 education ‘reforms,’ the state has actively infused Islamic ideology into the national curriculum. Zia’s policy aimed to “reorganize the entire content around Islamic thought,” a vision that has endured across successive governments. The military’s dominance over education policy has ensured that textbooks glorify jihad, vilify India, and marginalize religious minorities.

The response from many Pakistani researchers on terrorism is that madrassa education lacks sufficient modern and technical instruction to provide graduates of the caliber of known al-Qaeda terrorists. But the reality is that several madrassas have known and overt links to regional militant factions operating in South Asia.169  One of the most famous of these relationships is between the Taliban of Afghanistan and the Haqqania Madrassa located in North-West Frontier Province town of Akora Khattack.  Mullah Omar and other leaders of the Taliban were reported to have attended this madrassa. The headmaster, Maulana Sami ul-Haq, boasts of closing the school and sending the students off to fight with the Taliban when they called for support.

LeT was established in 1993 as the military arm of the prominent Markaz-ad-Da'awa-Wal-Irshad madrassa located in Muridke, Pakistan.Even with LeT outlawed, its parent madrassa, Markaz-ad-Da'awa-Wal-Irshad, continues operate and promote its Kashmir and India jihad centric agenda.  The reach of this madrassa is extended through its 130 satellite institutions located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The international community has long expressed concern over the role of madrassas in fostering extremism. John Brennan, former chief counterterrorism advisor to the White House, emphasized how extremist groups exploit Pakistan’s educational vulnerabilities to recruit and indoctrinate youth. The offer of free education is not just charitable, it is tactical.

In response to these concerns, the United States pressured Pakistan to reform its madrassa system. General Pervez Musharraf, initiated the Pakistan Madrassa Education Board Ordinance and the Education Sector Reforms (ESR). These efforts aimed to integrate modern subjects into madrassa curricula and bring religious schools under state regulation. However, political setbacks including the Lal Masjid siege in 2007, a violent confrontation between Pakistani security forces and Islamist militants at Islamabad’s Red Mosque, triggered by the mosque’s defiance of state authority and militant activities derailed these initiatives. 

A Growing Concern for the Future

The madrassa landscape remains largely unregulated. Estimates of registered madrassas range from 10,000 to 40,000, with no credible data on unregistered institutions. This opacity makes oversight difficult and allows radical elements to operate with impunity.

The role of madrassas as primary education providers for Pakistan’s poor is a double-edged sword. On one hand, they offer essential services in a country where the state has failed to deliver. On the other, they perpetuate a system of ideological indoctrination that undermines social cohesion and global security.

The challenge is not to demonize madrassas wholesale but to distinguish between institutions that genuinely serve educational and spiritual needs and those that exploit vulnerable youth for political ends. While some madaris continue to provide essential services, especially to children from impoverished communities, their pedagogical isolation, ideological rigidity, and resistance to curricular reform have rendered them vulnerable to exploitation by extremist networks.

The absence of critical thinking, the glorification of martyrdom, and the propagation of anti-Western and sectarian narratives contribute to a worldview that is insular, combative, and susceptible to militant recruitment. As primary education providers for Pakistan's most vulnerable populations, their influence is profound, and increasingly concerning.