Madrassa

A madrassa, in its most basic form, is a religious school that teaches Islam. While the term has become associated with schools indoctrinating in extreme Jihadist theologies, theology and curriculum vary from region to region and from school to school. Not all such schools are not categorically tied to militancy, and their students are not necessarily poor. They are, as are mosques and public proselytizing events (tabligh) "“gathering” places where militant groups, religious ideologues, and potential recruits can interact."

Pakistan

A major source of young insurgents, however, are radical Islamic schools,madaris in Pakistan. Some madari leaders issue fatwas authorizing violence and a snall number of madaris actually conduct militant training. While it is more likely that a madari student will support violence, the 70% of Pakistani students in public schools also have a high approval for violence. Long-term solutions to reducing violence requires, therefore, educational reform.

Saudi-supported Sunni fundamentalism

A significant number of madrassas, teaching extreme doctrines, have direct or indirect funding from Wahabbist sponsors in Saudi Arabia. Many Taliban were schooled in Pakistani madrassas, of the Deoband school of Whhabism.

During the Afghanistan War (1978-92), "a new kind of madrassa emerged in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region -- not so much concerned about scholarship as making war on infidels."

Sh'ia

Iraqi Shi'ites, have long had madrassas, but obviously based in Sunni Wahhabism. They first appeared in the Shi'ite holy cities of Karbala, Kadhimaym, Najaf and Samarra, in the eighteenth century. Najaf, in particular, also gained the reputation of being Arab rather than Persian Shi'ite. In the Ottoman provinces that made up modern Iraq, they also served as an alternative to Sunni madrassas.