Madrassas: Resources for Peacemaking

In his inaugural address, President Barack Obama offered hope to those of us working to bridge the gap between America and the Islamic world when he said, “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”

While his words were intended to extend his vision of better days ahead, currently this vision is threatened by a myriad of misconceptions which we in the U.S. have about Muslims and Muslims around the world have about us – misconceptions which need to be overcome if we are to be able to move forward.

One area of mutual misperceptions is with madrasas (Islamic religious schools). Many Americans associate madrasas with violence, citing links of certain madrasas to the Taliban, Osama bin Laden, or other extremists.

Yet what is often overlooked is the power of madrasas to be resources for peacemaking. Holding positions of respect and influence as religious authorities, madrasa leaders have tremendous potential to positively shape the development of their society and the larger world.

How do I know this? As a Program Manager at the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy (ICRD), I have seen this successfully realized through teacher training programs which provide madrasa leaders with opportunities to explore how Islamic principles can be better utilized in the causes of peacemaking and educational enhancement.

ICRD was founded in 1999 to address identity-based conflicts by incorporating religion into the solution. Since 2004, we have engaged over 2100 male madrasa leaders in promoting religious tolerance, human rights, peace, and educational enhancement, forging inroads of change where statecraft has not. By enabling religious leaders to recognize their critical role in resolving conflict, these programs have inspired paradigm shifts in how religion is taught and how others of different faiths are perceived.

One madrasa leader used Islamic principles of forgiveness to prevent the tribal elders in his village from executing a girl after she was deemed to have violated tribal codes by contacting a boy in a neighboring village. Another madrasa leader risked his life to secure the release of the Koreans held hostage by the Taliban in the summer of 2007, using Islamic teachings to do so. Other madrasa leaders are conducting peace programs of their own.

Encouraged by these developments, I went to Pakistan to visit various girls’ madrasas in the Punjab province (in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, and Gujrat) and to explore how female madrasa leaders could be engaged in similar efforts. As an American Christian, I was initially a bit anxious about how I would be received. Yet the teachers and students welcomed me with great hospitality.

I was touched not only by their warmth and acceptance, but their desire to be understood and accepted by Americans. People earnestly want Americans to know that, “Islam is the religion of peace and love”, “Islam condemns terrorism”, “We are not against Americans,” and “We want peace education and interfaith dialogue.”

Things then took a unique turn when I visited the Red Mosque in Islamabad. At that time, this mosque ran both a male and female madrasa, which had threatened to carry out suicide bombings if the Pakistani government did not implement Islamic Shariah law. When I arrived at the mosque and saw men walking around with Kalishnikov rifles, I wondered what I had gotten myself into.

Initially, the Principal of the girls’ madrasa did not want to talk or even look at me. She refused to let me visit their classrooms, saying that visitors only see things from their own point of view and then write negative things about them. “People in America just see madrasas as terrorists,” she said.

I listened to her views, and when the opportunity came, I told her about ICRD – that we work for peace through religion, and that we respect and collaborate with madrasas. I said I desired to understand their point of view, and that I wished to bring a message of peace from America.

“We have no problem with Americans,” one teacher said. “Our religion says to love all people. We are just against U.S. government policy.”

The Principal then asked if I would like to visit their classrooms. Having initially refused, they now sounded almost eager for me to see their school.

Before departing, I gave the Principal a gift—a decoration with the words “Peace on Earth”. Having initially refused to talk to or look at me, she now smiled and had English-speaking teachers translate everything I said. I realized that misconceptions had begun to give way to mutual understanding. The ability to move forward had come about through demonstrations of respect and openness.

It is this openness and respect that is critical to improving American-Islamic relations. The people of America and the Muslim world share many common interests – mutually desiring security, peace, and respect.

We also share many values in common. The values upon which America was founded—obedience to God, equality, human rights and freedoms, service to the greater good, and peace—are also fundamental values of Islam. Problems in American-Islamic relations have occurred not because Americans and Muslims adhere to opposing or problematic values, but because some Americans and Muslims have failed to live up to their own values.

The problem, perhaps, is that we don’t know that we share these things, making it harder to solve problems together. We must begin to better communicate and get to know each other if we are to realize our potential as partners in peacemaking. In this regard, ICRD is exploring opportunities to bring madrasa leaders to America to promote mutual understanding and cooperation.

As a personal project, I have founded the American-Islamic Friendship Project, which collects messages of peace and friendship from Americans to people of the Muslim world and vice versa to be published in a book and distributed in both parts of the world. The goal is to build greater understanding and friendship between our countries by allowing the voices of “ordinary” people to be heard.

A better relationship and a more peaceful world are possible. To achieve this, both religious leaders and ordinary citizens must play a critical role in exchanging our misconceptions for understanding and cooperation.

For more information about ICRD or the American-Islamic Friendship Project, please contact Rebecca Cataldi at rec@icrd.org or visit www.icrd.org or http://www.american-islamicfriendshipproject.blogspot.com.