Engineer demands law to regulate 'Madarsas'

Varanasi, Jul 16: Noted social scientist Asghar Ali Engineer today demanded that a national law be enacted to regulate the functioning of 'madarsas,' especially in the light of fingers raised over the seminaries after every terrorist act in the country.

''Every time a terrorist act, be it the Mumbai serial blasts or twin blasts in Varanasi, takes place, fingers are raised on the integrity of Madarsas, especially by the media to further the cause of sensational journalism, Mr Engineer told newspersons here.

The Chairman of Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai, further said that a national law was urgently required to regulate the madarsas in the country. Such a law should not only make the registeration of every madarsa compulsory, but proper maintainance of students records should also become mandatory.

Charging the media and a segment of politicians for raising doubts over the integrity of madarsas, Mr Engineer alleged that while the media did it to further sensational journalism, politicians replicated the act for gaining electoral mileage from the Hindus.

He further charged the media of adopting double standards in reporting acts of madarsas and saffron outfits. ''While the Madarsas, after every terror strike are painted in bad light, Hindu outfits like the Bajrang Dal who in the past have violently targeted mosques in Maharashtra, were given a clean chit by the scribes,'' Mr Engineer maintained.

Blaming ISI and Pakistani military establishment for carrying out the Mumbai blasts via terror outfits to derail the Indo-Pak peace process, Mr Engineer said that the recent musings of ex Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his recently published biography, prove that ISI which is not within the control of the government across the LoC has been trying to de-stablise India and Bangladesh.

By diverting the attention of Pakistani people towards Kashmir, the military regime in Pakistan wants to ensure that no popular voice was raised for restoration of democracy across the LoC.

''Pakistan by supporting terror outfits like LeT and JeM has brought shame and disgrace to Islam. No other Islamic country is home to so many terrorists as Pakistan is,'' he alleged.

Terming groups like LeT and JeM as ''anti-Islamic'' the veteran social scientist said that by their name it sounded that they were holy army, but any army that kills innocent people or non-combatants can never be an 'Army of the Prophet.' ''Killing of non-combatants is forbidden under the rules of the Shari'ah,'' Mr Engineer maintained.

UNI

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