Publisher's Synopsis
Since the rise of organizations like the Taliban and Al Qaeda, the traditional Islamic school known as the madrasa has frequently been portrayed as a terrorist hotbed. For much longer, the madrasa has been considered by some as a backward and petrified impediment to Islamic social progress. However, for an important segment of the poor Muslim populations of Asia, madrasas constitute the only accessible form of education and an opening to the wider world. This comprehensive volume presents a representative overview of the unknown world behind the walls of these institutions in nations such as China, Indonesia, Iran, and Pakistan, showcasing the educational changes and transnational networks that help to produce an alternative form of globalization.
