Education and Radicalization; Is There Any Causative Relationship? A Case Study of Pakistan

The concept of radicalization has remained an intense part of human history. The features of this process are significant to understand human behaviour and encountering the social construction of any society. Several studies suggest that radicalization or extremism can be described as violent expressions, manifesting in the shape of extreme views, ideology or acts of violence against any individual, community, sect or even country. For this, several countries have spent substantial financial resources to pledge such threats and a spate of legislation to safeguard their respective national security. Research into radicalization, unfortunately, does not pay much consideration to education. This is extraordinary and may also, possibly, misses an important effect on the process of radicalization. Therefore, this study establishes a cognitive approach towards this term and examines whether radicalization has any linkage or causative relations with education as well. For this study, we have borrowed different denotations and connotations of radicalization and education by numerous scholars to determine the interconnectivity between radicalization and education. After going through existing the literature review, we establish that radicalization and education have strong connections. Education, be that formal or informal, can be used as an extensive tool to radicalize youth anywhere in the world. In this regard, we have studied Pakistan’s history vis-à-vis its education system in religious seminaries and public schools. We determine that the government of Pakistan has accepted the reality that its education system at the public schools and Madrassahs have remained an instrument to radicalize the youth in the country, which has raised fear for the internal security of Pakistan and for global security as well. In the end, we suggest that despite numerous steps by the Government of Pakistan, the international community must come up to assist Pakistan in terms of revitalizing its overall education system vis-à-vis curriculum changes to evade any further (emerging) extremism, which is rooted through radical textbooks at the public schools.