Thakur Raghuraj Singh, Minister of State (MoS) in Yogi Adityanath’s cabinet in Uttar Pradesh, has pushed for the closure of all operating madarsas in the country accusing them of fostering extremism.
In a video statement, the minister said that Madarsas are a hotbed for terror activities and asserted that all the terrorists studied at madarsas. He said that if he is given a chance he would shut all madarsas operating across the country.
योगी सरकार के दर्जा प्राप्त राज्यमंत्री ठा. रघुराज सिंह का विवादित बयान, बोले- ‘मदरसे से निकलते हैं आतंकवादी…वानी भी मुस्लिम यूनिवर्सिटी से निकला था, अगर भगवान ने मौका दिया तो पूरे देश के मदरसे बंद कर दूंगा’ pic.twitter.com/CyddZRkHs5
— Newsroom Post (@NewsroomPostCom) November 25, 2021
All terrorists study in madrasas: Uttar Pradesh MoS Raghuraj Singh
Blaming madarsas for producing terrorists, the UP minister asserted that these religious schools promote Islamic extremism and militancy. Stressing that the madarsas essentially provide training to terrorists, he stated that in order to eradicate terrorism from the country, all madarsas must be closed first. “We have to annihilate terrorism from the country. May God provide me with the opportunity to shut all the Madarsas operating across the country”, said Raghuraj Singh.
According to Minister Raghuraj Singh, the number of madarsas in Uttar Pradesh is also steadily increasing. The number of Madarsas in Uttar Pradesh, which once stood at 250 has now gone up to 22,000, said the minister, further urging the Modi government to ban madarsas across the country.
When further asked to elaborate the basis on which he claimed that madarsas produce terrorists, the minister was quick to give the example of the slain Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Mannan Wani. He said that Wani, who passed out from the Aligarh Muslim University, had studied in a madarsa in Jammu and Kashmir. In fact, all the ISIS agents are products of some madarsa or the other, said the UP minister.
Raghuraj Singh then went on to draw attention to how radical Islamists in Kerala are exploiting women in the state. He insinuated that Kerala has become a hub for ISIS at the behest of the communist government in the state.
It is pertinent to mention here that many ‘Love Jihad’ cases, where Hindu women are targeted, converted and later brainwashed into joining ISIS have been reported in Kerala. The number of cases seems to be way higher at 92, but acting on the Supreme Courts order, the NIA is already scrutinising 32 love jihad cases. Most of these love jihad cases have a deep-rooted connection with ISIS.
Islamic terror module busted in Madarsas
Many reports in the past have suggested that madarsas are extensively used for radicalization and recruitment activities by many terrorist outfits.
Last year, NIA had arrested a madarsa teacher Abdul Momin Mondal for being a part of the Al-Qaeda module that has been operating in West Bengal and Kerala. NIA officials have recovered incriminating materials including digital devices, documents, jihadi literature, sharp weapons, country-made firearms, locally fabricated body armour, and literature on homemade explosives.
Following his arrest, the NIA had informed that this was the 11th arrest that they have made since September 2020 after they apprehended nine terrorists associated with the module.
In fact, in 2019 the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had also confirmed the inputs on terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) using madrasas in Burdwan and Murshidabad in West Bengal for radicalization and recruitment activities. The terrorists had not only been using these areas as hideouts but have also carried out recruitments for the bordering areas. These recruitments are done through madrasas and mosques. Their networks are especially active in the Murshidabad, Malda, and Nadia districts of West Bengal and parts of Muslim-majority districts in Assam.
