Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2013-12-05

Madressas are usually thought of as Muslim-only schools where children study only theology and end up as religious teachers or clerics.

After 9/11, many in the non-Muslim world viewed South Asia's tens of thousands of madressas with suspicion, regarding them as a breeding ground for radical strains of Islam.

But in recent years, defying the stereotype, nearly 600 government-recognised madressas in West Bengal have introduced a mainstream school curriculum, and non-Muslims are studying in almost all of them.

A report has revealed that as many as 15% of children attending traditional Islamic madressas for education in India are in fact Hindus.

After Islamic madressas accepted to incorporate the Indian national curriculum into their institutions, their success at not only teaching Islamic theological sciences, but also the secular sciences such as Mathematics, English, Biology and Physics, have earned them a good reputation throughout the state of West Bengal.

Although when the change was made in 2007 to ‘modernize’ Islamic madressas in India, many Muslims protested against the idea, the change has now allowed the image of madressas to change.

According to Al Jazeera, 60% of the 1,400 students, as well as 11 of the 32 teachers at the Chatuspalli High Madressa in Orgram village in India's West Bengal state, are Hindus.

The fact that the madressas are state-funded institutions mainly located in rural areas of West Bengal, charging no fees, makes them a perfect alternative for poor families. They also provide free school uniforms and meals.

Mohammad Fazle Rabbi, president of West Bengal Board of Madressa Education, told Al Jazeera, "The modernisation of the madressas was originally aimed to expose an increased number of Muslim children to modern education and to empower the backward community. But our madressas have ended up helping Muslims as well as non-Muslims."

The scheme has also helped to create better understanding and cohesion between the Muslim and Hindu community.

One Hindu student at the madressa was quoted saying, "Before I came to study in this madressa, I was told that Islam was a militant religion and Muslims could not be friends of Hindus. I also heard that Muslims were biased against other religions…But now after studying in this madressa for five years I have found that people have many incorrect beliefs about Islam and Muslims."

North Eastern Hill University professor and social activist Prasenjit Biswas said madressas based on strong intellectual traditions that draw from other cultures and religions can help overturn the historical divide between Hindus and Muslims, as easy access to Islamic tradition combined with other such traditions shall build up inter-cultural and inter-religious bridges. – Al Jazeera

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