Is Sunday School Corrupt?

Once upon a time madrasas were equivalent to Sunday School, now they are institutions of learning in Pakistan that are much more advanced then public Pakistani schools. Families that can afford to, send their children to madrasas because the Ministry of Education in Pakistan is so corrupt. In class we watched a documentary about the mis-education of Pakistan. In the documentary we saw startling statistics and footage of what literacy looked like. Deobandi scholar Maulana Zahid ul-Rashidi offers his insight on Pakistani madrasas. Read the article and reflect on what you’ve read.
http://www.sikhspectrum.com/112005/madrassas.htm

FRONTLINE offers an analysis into madrasas and the Saudi influence throughout Central Asia. We know that madrasas are bias Islamic organizations and effectively educating Pakistan’s youth, but how are they affecting other regions of the Middle East? What message are they sending?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/madrassas.html

US oil in Afghanistan?

The US has supported Hamid Karzi’s campaign for election as Prime Minister of Afghanistan. Karzi suppports US intentions to build a pipeline running from Turkmenistan to Pakistan, through Afghanistan. The Bush Administration claimed to have dropped such negotiations, but progress in the pipeline has been made. The concern is that US troops have will shift their focus from fighting the Taliban to protecting the pipeline, creating an even more controversal image of American intensions in the Middle East.
To read more about Karzi’s relations with the US Government, see http://prorev.com/2009/10/karzai-story-media-doesnt-tell-you.html .
Do you feel that US diplomatic intentions are skewed by the economic needs of our country?

Who Has A Better Message?

Western portrayals of Islam and the Middle East have stirred up controversal attitudes in the Arab community, but why? A cartoon with a bomb strapped to the Prophet's head and South Park's depiction of Muhammad seem like mere acts of free speech to us, but Arab media in the Middle East is far more limited than ours. This is why independent news agencies, permitted by governments in only several countries, like Al Jazeera have become so popular within the Arab world. Offering differing perspectives and gaining a reputation far from biased government media sources, independent news sources are prominent voices in the Middle East. Nations that do allow independent press include Turkey and Israel. Most of the pubic press though in Israel is known for being pro-Israel. Why do you feel that Arab nations are controlling the press? Is such control healthy to a religion plagued with misinterpretations throughout the world? Why or why not? Could government control of the media contribute to the rapidly rising number of Arabic blogs and websites?