Don't be prejudiced against 'pondok' schools - Kelantan Mufti

Members of the public are urged not to doubt the 'madrasah', 'pondok schools' or the Arabic medium schools by linking them to the groups with extremist ideologies such as the Daish.

Kelantan Mufti Datuk Mohamad Shukri Mohamad said such institutions had never taught nor trained the extremist groups, in fact the students were taught to respect all religious ideologies.

"We are thankful for the statement by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that so far no 'madrasah' in the country had become factories or training grounds for the Daish militants or adopted extremist ideologies.

"It is an undeniable statement because the religious or Arabic schools scattered throughout the country had never taught the students to adopt extremist ideologies," he said when met at his office, here today.

On July 9, Ahmad Zahid was quoted as saying that the Home Ministry and the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) always monitored all the madrasah in the country to ensure that these study centres were not involved in activities of the Daish militant groups.

He was reported to have said that so far monitoring by the police and the respective state Islamic Religious Departments found that no madrasah was involved with the Daish militant activities.