Tenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

Religion and politics have depended upon and influenced one another since the origin of Pakistan. Madrasas are formal Islamic boarding schools in the South Asia region, where the students can live inside the school’s dormitory and study for years. These Islamic boarding schools have insufficient resources of formal and informal education, and it is even hard to evaluate their performance in any way. In fact, it is difficult for the government to establish such laws to evaluate their enactment. These Madrasas play a central role in Muslim societies. Islamic political leaders are usually the owners of these Madrasas. They are properly managing Madrasas and getting donations from societies and other sources. Between the 2013 and 2018 General Elections in Pakistan, it is seen that Madrasa students are regularly participating in political events, such as protests and streets demonstrations. Despite receiving religious education and being limited to the boarding schools, they are exploiting students for their political agendas. Thus, a new typology by the Islamic political parties in Pakistan are using students for their political benefits and exploiting them in the name of religious participation in protests and such political events. The conclusion of this study shows that Islamic boarding schools are providing shelter, food, education, and many other free services to the Madrasa students, and those students have very strong religious affiliations with their teachers and schools. Thus, it is also found that religion became an effective instrument to control and mobilize the Madrasa students in Pakistan.