Another Tahfiz Burns Down

Thankfully the 131 girls escaped injury.

There does not seem to be an end to this. 

The problem lies in a lack of political will power to either regulate or ban the tahfiz. 

The tahfiz are closely linked to the religious fraternity who can influence Malay voters. 

There is also another socio-economic element.  Parents who have issues or problems raising children by themselves send them off to the care of the tahfiz. Considering that tahfiz are very cheap "boarding schools" they are within reach of many people.

Religiously inclined parents also see the tahfiz as protecting their children against what they fear are negative influences from the outside world. The tahfiz is regarded as a safe cocoon - insulating their kids from the outside.

This is a completely mistaken belief. Not only do the tahfiz isolate their children from the real world but more sadly their children become misfits who cannot function in the real world. 

It does not stop there. There is no guarantee that the tahfiz will create well balanced and well educated children.  There is also the danger of indoctrination in extreme religious dogma. 

In Malaysia ISIS terrorists and other religious extremists have been connected to religious institutions and religious indoctrination. 

You may be an engineer but you do not learn to be a religious fanatic from reading your engineering text books. 

You may be an engineer but you learn to be a religious fanatic from reading your religious books.

This tahfiz problem is already a big problem.  It is set to become an even bigger problem.  Because the students who go through the tahfiz are also growing up and mingling in society. They walk among us.