The South Asia Foundation for Educational Reform (SAFER)
- To raise global awareness of madrassas, specifically their growing attraction to and recruitment of American and other western boys.
- To begin a public policy discussion within statehouses and Congress as to the potential societal, security and humanitarian issues related to madrassas.
- To work with other advocates, academicians and policy experts in the U.S. and South Asia to bring true education reform to these religious schools.
Read the latest CRS Report on Madrassas
The South Asia Foundation for Education Reform (SAFER) is a newly formed non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)(3) committed to raising global awareness of Muslim religious schools known as madrassas. In particular, SAFER is focused on the growing number of American youngsters, predominantly of Pakistani descent, who are being sent by their parents to madrassas in their ancestral homeland. While madrassas have been characterized by some as breeding grounds for religious fundamentalism, SAFER’s primary concern is for the long-term well-being of these boys as they re-acclimate to American society. Children schooled at Pakistani madrassas, and others throughout the region, are solely dedicated to memorizing and reciting the Quran. By western standards, they are deprived a basic education-reading, writing and arithmetic- and therefore face limited opportunities for higher education and employment upon their return to the United States. As history has illustrated, these circumstances will significantly impact the quality of life for these young men and may ultimately place a societal burden on all U.S. citizens.