Abstract
Islam has always considered the acquisition of knowledge and learning both scientific and religious disciplines as an act of religious merit. Muslims gave the concept of Jamia or University to be a place of education and learning in all fields integrated to one another. Set up first under Seljuk rule in the 11th century by Nizamul Mulk Tusi, the grand vizir, Madaras were designed to produce trained bureaucrats for the Seljuk Empire. In their own time they had a modern curriculum that included logic, grammar, mathematics, history, law and administration. As a consequence, they produced renowned scholars like Al-Bairuni, lbne-Sina, lbn-alHoitham and lbn-e-Khaldun etc. After the Fall of Baghdad (13th century), although things had begun to weaken and the elements of distortion had started appearing in the system, the real disintegration of the Islamic system took place in the post- l8th century period. It was during the colonial rule that Madaras education lost many of its dimensions and shrank into the shell of limited religious learning. In the lndoPak society, Madaras have played an important role by preserving the traditions of Islam and reawakening the consciousness of Islamic solidarity and Islamic way of life. Over a period of time, the same Madaras, which produced moderate scholars, started fanning sectarianism and extremism due to which Pakistan’s internal security was threatened. From 1981 onwards, unchecked proliferation of Deeni Madaras also took place as a by-product of the Afghan Jihad particularly in those areas which lacked modern and basic educational facilities. Inside Afghanistan, first the former monarch and later his successors like Mohammad Daud Khan were against the religious institutions, therefore, the Afghans were compelled to approach the religious institutions of Pakistan and now itis believed that 90 % of Taliban leaders were educated from Pakistani religious institutions and 50per cent of them got educated from Darul Uloom Haqania alone. The aim of this article is to examinethe role of Madaras in promotion of literacy in Pakistan. To find out the extent to which (if any) the present set up is responsible for violence and sectarian disharmony in the society and whether their curriculum requires modifications and if so, what changes need to be incorporated?