POLITICS AND RELIGIOUS DYNAMICS OF FUNDAMENTALISM AND ROLE OF MADRASAH EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY

Abstract

This research looks into the intricate interactions among politics, religion, and education in Pakistan, particularly regarding the influence of madrasah education on the formation of fundamentalist ideologies. The study is grounded in the interpretive tradition of hermeneutic and thematic analysis and, as a consequence, is both historical and contemporary. The study contend that madrasahs serve as a primary means of providing children and youth with not only religious education but also a political ideology.  The research finds a sociopolitical dimension to madrasah education. It reports that students at madrasahs are not just more politically active than their counterparts in secular schools, but also hold more radical opinions. These findings imply that the successful reformation of Pakistan's madrasah educational sector necessitates subtle strategies aimed at fostering state-religious mutual trust, leveling socio-economic playing fields, and fostering a better-rounded platform for education. By bringing forward a case from the evolving political and religious landscape of Pakistan, the study adds to the still very limited material on the educational reform and counter-extremism strategies deployed or proposed in this part of the world.