ISLAMABAD -- The order from the government of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, to impose the syllabus of mainstream schools upon Islamic ones, known as "madrassah," is yet another attempt by a Pakistani regime to rein in what many consider to be the first stop for militant training.
The madrassah have been under the spotlight of successive Pakistani regimes for years. The cadres of students in the religious schools are thought to receive not only training in theology but also instruction in how to use weapons. The next stop for the graduates from such schools is said to be some of the world's most notorious war zones.
Afghanistan, where the Taliban regime is trying to impose the world's most Puritan brand of Islam, or Indian-administered Kashmir, where Muslim separatists are waging an independence struggle against Indian troops, comes to mind immediately. In more distant locations, claims by Western officials that they've seen reports of Pakistani volunteers fighting along side Chechen separatists add to the anxieties. For Pakistan, the most profound reality of such militancy is how domestic law and order is affected, as religious militant groups attack each others' followers.