Today’s report from Simon

At the Jamiah Darul Ma’arif Al-Islamiah, teachers say they are trying to combine Islam and the modern world. Once he has the Koran memorised, Mohammad will also be offered classes in Arabic and basic English, maths as well as religious studies.

But many madrasas in Bangladesh do not make this gesture towards modernity.

And concerns are mounting that some schools could become breeding grounds for Islamic extremists, after a wave of bomb attacks around the country last month which led to the arrest of scores of people including teachers and students of madrasas.

“There are the same sets of problems in Bangladesh now that Pakistan faced,” said Samina Ahmed, South Asia project director for the International Crisis Group. “Who is keeping an eye on these kids and what they are being taught?”

There are thought to be around 15,000 unregistered, privately run religious schools in Bangladesh, known as Qaumi madrasas, teaching millions of children the Koran, Arabic and little else. Another 9,000 government-funded Aliya madrasas teach a mixture of religion and modern studies.

Police say some Qaumi madrasas were used to train militants or make bombs used in the Aug. 17 attacks, when 500 small explosives went off within half an hour of each other.

Full report here