Madrasas and Yeshivas Have a Common Objective

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 2 May 2023 New Age Islam and a host of publications have reported that British Muslim gangs are telling inmates to convert or get hurt and offering protection to new prisoners if they take up Islam. But barring NAI, no Indian publication has even fleetingly mentioned the name of Yeshivas as Mr Bloom's report also suggests religious schools such as Yeshivas should be regulated. By the way, the report also mentions that ' Sikh extremism' and ' Hindu nationalism ' are growing threats in the United Kingdom. Either the Indian publications are not aware of the word, Yeshiva, or they may have ignored it deliberately. For the unversed, Yeshivas are equivalents of Islamic madrasas. A Yeshiva is a traditional Jewish Educational Institution, focused on the study of Orthodox Rabbinic Literature, primarily the Talmud and Halacha (Jewish Law). CIA's Strafford Giles opined in 2000 that Madrasas and Yeshivas had the same intention all over the world and that was: Churning out fanatics. He further added that if Islamic Madrasas were medieval in their mind-set, so were Yeshivas in imparting hard-core Talmudic teachings. Coming back to the news of Muslim gangs in the UK prisons threatening and insinuating non-Muslim inmates to embrace Islam, one can but say that this is ingrained in the hearts and minds of 50 per cent Muslims to convert others to their faith ( read Islam). Do sane and sensible Muslims ever think that when goons, jail-birds and bad guys instigate others to take up Islam, will that help build Islam's image of a universal religion, committed to peace? Does pristine Islam approve of such criminals and prisoners, spreading Islam resorting to cajoling, force or coercion? Certainly not. In fact, one hardly finds an intrepid Muslim who openly condemns the practice of conversion. Stop this charade of Dawah. There's a Hindi adage, 'Tujhe Parayee Kya Padi, Apni Nabed Tu' (Instead of interfering with others, you had better attend to your own issues). At the same time, it must be stated with a sense of concern that religiosity is fast polluting the British way of life. A fortnight ago, all newspapers reported that Hindu students were facing religious discrimination at British schools. Their Christian and Muslim counterparts were making fun of their innumerable deities and vegetarianism. The Muslim and Christian students were suggesting that the Hindu students should accept Islam or Christianity to avoid persecution. This is sad. That the kids are getting indoctrinated is really alarming. Schools in Europe must do away with the mandatory religious studies. Instead, the impressionable minds should be taught how to become good humans sans god and religion. Once every Muslim or Christian understands that other faiths are equally valid, a bulk of problems plaguing mankind will automatically subside. But the problem is that mankind is still not mature to envisage a world without any stupid religion, meaningless screeds and a battery of gods. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/madrasas-yeshivas-common-objective/d/129682 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism