The Indian state prohibits government-run Islamic schools from teaching religious scriptures

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Each government-run Islamic school in Assam, known locally as the madras, will be converted by April, state education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed on Wednesday.

In a speech to local politicians on the same day, Sarma positioned the law as a move to empower the Muslim community. He said it would ensure “the right to an equal education for all children and pave the way for higher education”.

Madrasas provide an education system in which students are taught about the Qur’an and Islamic history along with general subjects such as mathematics and science.

According to the 2011 government census, Muslims represent 34.22% of the total population in Assam.

Once the law is passed, madrasas will become “secular schools” that will not teach students about the Koran, officials said.

Opposition politicians have criticized the move, saying it reflects anti-Muslim attitudes in the Hindu-majority country.

State opposition leader Debabrata Saikia claimed the new law was passed by the BJP to “consolidate more Hindu votes.”

“It’s a polarization tactic,” Saikia said. “(BJP) is trying to do it as an official. There is no such need for a law.”

Opposition politicians from the Indian Congress Party and the All India United Democratic Front held a contest during the discussion on the bill.

According to Imam Hussain, chairman of the Assam Education Committee, about 700 schools will be affected.

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“If parents sent their children to the madrasa just for theological studies, they could have a problem,” Hussain said. “But I believe in a good education, and if (students) are given a general education, it will be fine. It does not curse the (Muslim) community. This is not a policy against Muslims.

“I hope with the new law, (the government) will intensify the infrastructure in Madras.”

Religious discrimination in Assam became a topic of debate last year, when nearly 2 million people in the 33 million state were not included in the country’s National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Proponents of the registry have argued that the NRC will eliminate illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. But critics criticized the move, saying it was an attempt by the BJP to target the state’s Muslim population, which had been there for generations, but could not prove it with the necessary documentation.

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