Perhaps someone from India or Pakistan knows if the word "madrassas" which has suddenly entered the public consciousness following the London bombings has anything in common with the fabric "madras" which apparently originated in India.

Still reeling from the bombings, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw has turned the spotlight on Pakistani madrassas that churn out radicalized Muslims.

"We are concerned about what goes on in some, though not all, of the madrassas in Pakistan," Straw told reporters this week.

Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, has called for ambitious reforms to radical madrassas, calling on them to broaden their syllabus beyond Qur'anic recitations. Back in 2002, his government ordered the estimated 8,000 to 15,000 religious schools to register and reform.

But he has been forced to concede failure, giving the madrassas free rein with their estimated 600,000 to 1.7 million students, including about 18,000 foreigners — of which Tanweer was briefly one."

Madras is a lightweight cotton fabric with patterned texture, used primarily for summer clothing -- pants, shorts, dresses and jackets. The fabric takes its name from the former English name of the city of Chennai, India.

Madrassas hothouses of radicalism
Britain turns the spotlight on Pakistan
Musharraf concedes reforms failed
Toronto Star, Saturday, July 16, 2005

http://snipurl.com/gaty