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'''Madrassa''' is the [[Arabic]] word for [[school]].  The concept of the madrassa goes as far back as the mid 9th century CE where they were an early form of private religious education.  Historically madrassas have served a function similar to post-secondary education in the west, including studies of [[Islam]]ic jurisprudence, medicine, and religious studies similar to seminaries in the west.  Madrassas today are private schools funded by charitable trusts and where public schools exist are not the primary form of education in the Middle East.

'''Madrassa''' is the [[Arabic]] word for [[school]].  The concept of the madrassa goes as far back as the mid 9th century AD where they were an early form of private religious education.  Historically madrassas have served a function similar to post-secondary education in the west, including studies of [[Islam]]ic jurisprudence, medicine, and religious studies similar to seminaries in the west.  Madrassas today are private schools funded by charitable trusts and where public schools exist are not the primary form of education in the Middle East.

As a neologism, the word madrassa has a connotation of being a school for young children where a radical version of Islam is taught.  Although some such schools have existed in parts of [[Palestine]], [[Taliban]]-era [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[Saudi Arabia]], that vast majority of madrassas are edifices of mainstream education.  The concept of the madrassa as a terrorist training school is ill-founded and there is no evidence that madrassas turn out individuals who hold the purpose of attacking the west.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/14/opinion/14bergen.html</ref>

As a neologism, the word madrassa has a connotation of being a school for young children where a radical version of Islam is taught.  Although some such schools have existed in parts of [[Palestine]], [[Taliban]]-era [[Afghanistan]], and parts of [[Saudi Arabia]], that vast majority of madrassas are edifices of mainstream education.  The concept of the madrassa as a terrorist training school is ill-founded and there is no evidence that madrassas turn out individuals who hold the purpose of attacking the west.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/14/opinion/14bergen.html</ref>