CII welcomes legislation on madrassas registration

ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has said that the amendment to the Society Act and the issuance of the Madrassa Registration Ordinance is a welcome move.

“Now, madrasas registered with the Directorate General of Religious Education (DGRE) have got legal status,” CII said in a statement on Monday. CII Chairman Dr Muhammad Raghib Hussain Naeemi said that the ordinance “should be approved by the National Assembly as soon as possible.”

Also read: Madrassa registration bill enacted, gazette notification issued

“The differences over madrassa registration could have only been resolved in this way,” he added. Dr Naeemi said that the religious seminaries of both old and new boards are now enabled to register with whichever institution they want. “This demand has been fulfilled with the issuance of the new ordinance,” he said.

“The government has resolved the registration issues of madrasas by acting with utmost caution,” he added.

The CII also commended that with the new legislation, over 18,600 madrassas that are already registered with the DGRE will not need to get re-registered. “Other madrassas that are not yet registered anywhere will not have to make a decision,” the CII chairman said.

“This matter has now been permanently resolved, so let’s not make these matters political now,” CII Chairman Dr Naeemi said.

Societies Registration Amendment Act 2024

Yesterday, the registration of madrassah law was finally enacted after President Asif Ali Zardari signed the bill into law. The National Assembly Secretariat also issued the gazette notification of the Societies Registration Amendment Act, 2024.

Under the new Act, “Madrassa” has been defined as “a religious institution and includes a Jamia or Dar-ul-Uloom, called by any other name, established or operated primarily for the purposes of imparting religious education, which provides boarding and lodging facilities”.

Also read: Madrassa bill faces setback as President Zardari flags global implications

The signature and the notification came after a protracted battle between the government and religious leaders and seminaries’ representatives. Most significant of these battles was put up by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.