For Pakistani kids, 'J' is for jehad, 'B' for 'bandook'

The UN should declare Iran and Saudi Arabia along with Pakistan, as terrorist states because of their silent support and funding of "Jihadi Terrorism".

Islamabad: Thousands of Pakistani schoolgoing children are growing up learning that the Urdu equivalent of the letter A stands for Allah, B for 'bandook' (gun) and J for 'jehad'.

Though not officially prescribed for pre-schoolers, books printed by Iqra Publishers are being used in several regular schools and madrassas across Pakistan.

The three examples of Allah, 'bandook' and jehad are not the only ones which sound like a "blueprint for a religious fascist state".

The Urdu letter for the T sound stands for 'takrao' (collision), K for 'khunjar' (dagger), H for 'hijab' (veil) and Z for 'zunoob' (sins) - which includes watching television, playing musical instruments and flying kites.

According to the National Bureau of Curriculum and Textbooks, Class five children are expected to 'acknowledge and identify forces that may be working against Pakistan, make speeches on jihad and shahadat, understand Hindu-Muslim differences and the resultant need for Pakistan, India's evil designs about Pakistan and demonstrate by actions a belief in the fear of Allah", said a report in Newsline magazine.

In an article titled "The Saudi-isation of Pakistan", renowned physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy argued that "a stern, unyielding version of Islam is replacing the kinder, gentler Islam of the Sufis of Pakistan".

"Pakistan's self-inflicted suffering comes from an education system that, like Saudi Arabia's system, provides an ideological foundation for violence and future jihadists," he wrote.

"It demands that Islam be understood as a complete code of life, and creates in the mind of a school-going child a sense of siege and embattlement by stressing that Islam is under threat everywhere," Hoodbhoy said.

Hoodbhoy was appalled at the syllabus which expects Class five students to make speeches about jehad. "This is the basic roadmap for transmitting values and knowledge to the young. By an act of parliament passed in 1976, all government and private schools (except for O-level schools) are required to follow this curriculum.

"It was prepared by the curriculum wing of the federal ministry of education, government of Pakistan. It sounds like a blueprint for a religious fascist state," he wrote.

He debunked former president general Pervez Musharraf's policy of "enlightened moderation", saying: "General Musharraf's educational curriculum was far from enlightening. It was a slightly toned down version of the curriculum that existed under (former premier) Nawaz Sharif which, in turn, was identical to that under (late former premier) Benazir Bhutto who had inherited it from General Zia-ul-Haq.

"Fearful of taking on powerful religious forces, every incumbent government has refused to take a position on the curriculum and thus quietly allowed young minds to be moulded by fanatics. What may happen a generation later has always been secondary for a government challenged on so many fronts."

Hoodbhoy said the Afghan jehad changed everything in Pakistan and gave a push to the enrolment of more children in a large number of seminaries.

He wrote that "according to national education census, which the ministry of education released in 2006, Punjab has 5,459 madrassas followed by the NWFP with 2,843; Sindh 1,935; the Federally Administrated Northern Areas, 1,193; Balochistan, 769; Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), 586; FATA, 135; and the Islamabad capital territory, 77".

"The ministry estimates that 1.5 million students are acquiring religious education in the 13,000 madrassas... These figures appear to be way off the mark. Commonly quoted figures range between 18,000 and 22,000 madrassas. The number ofstudents could be correspondingly larger.

"The free boarding and lodging, plus provision of books to the students, is a key part of their appeal. Additionally, parents across the country desire that their children be 'disciplined' and given a thorough Islamic education. The madrassas serve this purpose, too, exceedingly well," he concluded.