California-born Muslim Imran Raza takes Americans behind the doors of the radical madrassa Jamia Binoria in his upcoming documentary, The Karachi Kids. The film focuses on the story of two American boys from Atlanta who were sent by their Islamic father to the Taliban-affiliated madrassa in Pakistan.
The film takes place over a four-year time period, showing the progression of brainwashing that happens at these madrassas. At the beginning of the film, the boys are eager to go back to America and be with their families. By the end, they want to go back to America, but for a different reason—to spread the radical anti-American teachings they learned at the Jamia Binoria.
Unlike other educational institutions, madrassas such as the Jamia Binoria do not teach math, science, or art. They focus solely on the Koran. Mufti Muhammed Naeem founded the Jamia Binoria and is a supporter of Deobandism, the religion of the Taliban.
According to the film’s executive producer Dan Perrin, “Deobandis want to engineer the view and beliefs of children.” The Jamai Binoria currently enrolls 80 American students, hoping to indoctrinate them and send them back to America.
Although, according to the documentary’s translation, Mufti Muhammed Naeem claims that “There are no terrorists being produced here, nor is there any training ground,” four of the top senior figures in the Taliban graduated from the Jamia Binoria. In addition, Osama bin Laden addressed the students about the importance of Jihad shortly before the September 11, 2001 attacks upon America which he orchestrated.
The film shows unprecedented footage of the daily life for children living in madrassas. Most madrassas enroll children as young as six years old, teaching them to memorize all 6,666 verses of the Koran.
Executive producer Dan Perrin stressed the importance of getting American kids out of Pakistani madrassas. “We know what happens if these kids stay there, they will become radicalized,” Perrin said.
Imran Raza is an American Muslim of Pakistani descent. While living and working in London, Imran Raza narrowly avoided the destructive July 7th 2005 terrorists attacks.
He discovered that two of the four British terrorists involved in the attacks had attended madrassas in Pakistan. He wondered what kind of education would persuade students to bomb their own countrymen. Raza set out to discover what happens behind the doors of these madrassas. His shocking discoveries are exposed in his documentary, The Karachi Kids. Because the film is very controversial, distribution has been halted temporarily.
Robin Beshear is an intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.
