Madrassa enrollment in Pakistan
 

Apparently, it is much lower than was previously thought. The highest enrollment rate is near the border with Afghanistan, but even there it is only 7%. It would be interesting to see similar statistics for other countries in the region. Maybe the gene pool for future terrorists is fairly small, after all.

http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/ksgnews//...waja_study.htm

Opinions, please. :munchin

The only other country where enrollment in a madrassa played a significant role in the eventual transformation into a terrorist is Indonesia.

Why do you think that is?

I forget the reason he gave, but Marc Sageman discusses it in his book Understanding Terrorist Networks.

I don't know about primary education (ages 6-10), but for secondary and tertiary education, here is the breakdown for Bangladesh:

General Education - 8,851,102 students (83.07%)
Madrasah Education - 1,587,373 students (14.90%)
Technical Vocational Education - 122,309 students (1.15%)
Professional Education - 94,624 students (0.89%)

Madrasahs in Bangladesh are run or supervised by the state, and a Madrasah Education Board supervises curriculum and administers the country's education testing (which basically mirrors the British system, O and A levels and the like).

Saudi Arabia may be the reverse of Bangladesh. While Bangladesh has lots of madrasahs, education is controlled by the state, so the madrasahs are not incubators of jihadism. In Saudi Arabia, education is controlled by the state in accordance with Wahhabi ideology, so all schools are incubators of jihadism.

Bahrain, Students by Type of Schools and Sex, 2000-01:

Primary - 56,425
Primary / Intermediate - 12,479
Intermediate - 22,124
Intermediate / Secondary - 2,097
General Secondary + Other Tracks - 13,125
Commercial Secondary - 4,346
Technical + Technical Commercial Secondary - 4,659
Religious Institute - 460