July 11, 2008

Exclusive: How You Can Help Save American Kids from Pakistani Madrassas

Bernard B. Kerik

More than a year ago, I became aware of two Pakistani-American boys who were being held against their will in Karachi, Pakistan, at the Jamia Binoria Institute - a school, or "madrassa". Both the U.S. and Pakistani governments have recognized Jamia Binoria as one of the most radical schools in Pakistan.

Since 9/11 and the London subway bombings three years ago, madrassas have come under intense international scrutiny for their anti-western sentiment and links to terrorism. Three of the four suicide bombers who carried out the London plot were British nationals of Pakistani descent; two attended madrassas in Pakistan. The Binoria madrassa prominently displays a banner supporting the Taliban, and it is documented that Osama bin Laden spoke to students at Binoria before the 9/11 attacks. Another distinguishing feature of Binoria is that it is known to recruit Americans most aggressively, probably for their fluency in English which will help them "hide" back in American society when they are graduated.

Noor Elahi Khan, 17, and Mahboob Elahi Khan, 16, of Atlanta, Georgia, were enrolled at Binoria in August 2004. They are well into their high school years, and yet they have been denied a formal American education. They are currently being held in Karachi by Mufti Muhammad Naeem, the head and founder of the Binoria madrassa, in a show of political chutzpah and strength against the Pakistani government. The boys have pleaded to be freed and have expressed their desire to leave Pakistan since their arrival.

It is estimated that these two boys are among 80 Americans enrolled in this madrassa alone. It is believed that there are another 600 American boys currently being educated in 22 madrassas throughout Pakistan. According to researchers, the sole curriculum in these institutions is to memorize the Koran and to indoctrinate their students into Islamic extremism. They are known to mass-produce extremists with a political agenda, including a cripplingly narrow view of society and zero tolerance of western culture. They radicalize Muslim youth and are seminaries for violent jihad.

While I would encourage religious education to any child of any faith - Christians, Muslims and Jews alike - these particular political madrassas spread their message of hatred and murderous violence toward our country and others that live in freedom, including those in the Arab region and throughout the Far East. These institutions are creating a new breed of terrorist who learn to infiltrate our society as American citizens, to come and go as they please, to live as our neighbors and teach our children, yet their true beliefs will go completely undetected until they determine it is the right time to strike. They can therefore be potential time bombs planted in our communities, "hiding" in plain sight, and waiting to explode just as they did in the United Kingdom.

Recently, Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX) personally urged Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to help free these two American boys and have them returned to the United States. Within hours of Congressman McCaul's meeting with President Musharraf, Pakistan's new civilian government announced it would continue Musharraf's madrassas' reform policy which includes the expulsion of foreign students, registration with the federal government, control of their funding and standardization of their curricula.

You may want to join with Congressman McCaul in calling for the return of these kids and others like them. For their safety and ours, this is an issue that can't be left alone. You can find contact information for your own congressional representative here, where you can also find Congressman McCaul. He is a member of the House Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees. Before he was elected to Congress, McCaul served as chief of Counterterrorism and National Security in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Texas, and led the Joint Terrorism Task Force charged with detecting, deterring and preventing terrorist activity.

To get a better idea of the dangers and threats we face if this problem isn't addressed, I urge you to watch this documentary trailer created by documentary filmmaker Imran Raza, who is of Pakistani descent: http://www.karachikids.com/. It was Raza who discovered the Khan brothers in the Binoria madrassa in 2005. He embarked on his documentary "Karachi Kids", immediately after the London subwaybombings. Raza has spearheaded the effort to remove the Khans from Binoria and bring them back safely to America.

You can help in this fight. Let your Congressional representative know how you feel, and Congressman McCaul, too. They need to hear from you.

FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Bernard Kerik is 40th Police Commissioner of the City of New York (Retired).