Governments of the UK and the US attempted to influence Islamic education in Bangladesh as part of their counter-terrorism strategies, a WikiLeaks release of US embassy cables said.
British newspaper The Guardian reported that James F Moriarty, US ambassador to Dhaka, mentioned in one cable how the British asked Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to develop and implement a ‘standardised’ curriculum for unregulated madrassas.
The move followed a proposal for a madrasa ‘curriculum development programme’ to the Bangladeshi government by the US government development agency, USAID.
Bangladesh government last week ordered an investigation into funding for madrassas after claims that banned Islamic militant group Hizb-ut-Tahrir had been establishing bases here.
And yet another embarrassment for this ummah is it any surprise that we are heading down the same hole as bani israel with leadership like this