The news is unfortunately all too familiar. A cleric in a madressah sexually assaults one of his students, the matter comes somehow into the public domain, the authorities expresses the intention to punish the culprit, civil society tut-tuts and shakes its collective head in condemnation, and then the matter is swept under the carpet when the next ‘hot’ story comes, and takes away public attention with it. A case has been registered against Mufti Azizur Rehman, a teacher at the Jamia Manzoorul Islam by a student, for sexually assaulting him over a period of time. Part of the interest in the case comes from the Mufti’s having been Naib Ameer of the Lahore chapter of the JUI. He has been arrested from Mianwali, having been sacked from the madressa and suspended by the JUI. He claims that he was intoxicated and was the victim of a conspiracy, but the fact is that everything happened after a video of him in the act went viral on social media.
The problem exists. It is not as if madressahs are being targetted. The Roman Catholic clergy worldwide has been accused the world over for molesting little boys. Then too every effort was made to keep the problem hidden. It did not work. Similarly, attempts at concealment will not work. The parade of childhood victims, now grown to adulthood, has not yet started. However, it is a safe prediction that some will find catharsis in unburdening themselves. Before that happens, clerical leaders have an opportunity of acting. True, the Muslim clergy are not hierarchically organised like the Catholic Church, but they do have political parties.
Not only are such assaults inhuman, but they are also against the precepts of Islam. The only issue about madressahs that the government has taken up is that of syllabus, and their potential to act as conduits of terrorism. It must not just seek the aid money for reform, but also tackle the issue of child abuse. It must take on board the religious parties, and make them be a part of the solution than the problem.
