AP PHOTOS: Life in a madrassa as Afghanistan enters new era
An Afghan student reads the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
A teacher talks to students during class at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An Afghan student takes notes during class at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students read the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan boys read the Quran, Islam’s holy book, during class at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students walk out of the mosque at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa after morning prayers in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students read the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students wake up before the morning prayer at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An Afghan student reads the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at the mosque of the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan madrasa director Sebghatullah Samadi, right, talks to students during class at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students wait for breakfast to be served at the dining hall of the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students read the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students walk out of the mosque at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa after morning prayers in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan boys read the Quran, Islam’s holy book, during class at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An Afghan boy reads the Quran, Islam’s holy book, during class at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An Afghan boy remove his shoes before entering the mosque for class at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan boys read the Quran, Islam’s holy book, during class at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
The niece of a teacher sits alone in a classroom as boys attend a class to memorize the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Shoes of students are placed at the entrance of the dining hall of the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An Afghan student reads the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An Afghan student reads the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
A teacher talks to students during class at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An Afghan student takes notes during class at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students read the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan boys read the Quran, Islam’s holy book, during class at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students walk out of the mosque at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa after morning prayers in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students read the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students wake up before the morning prayer at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An Afghan student reads the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at the mosque of the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan madrasa director Sebghatullah Samadi, right, talks to students during class at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students wait for breakfast to be served at the dining hall of the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students read the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan students walk out of the mosque at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa after morning prayers in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan boys read the Quran, Islam’s holy book, during class at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An Afghan boy reads the Quran, Islam’s holy book, during class at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An Afghan boy remove his shoes before entering the mosque for class at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Afghan boys read the Quran, Islam’s holy book, during class at the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
The niece of a teacher sits alone in a classroom as boys attend a class to memorize the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Shoes of students are placed at the entrance of the dining hall of the Khatamul Anbiya madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
An Afghan student reads the Quran, Islam’s holy book, at a madrasa in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — In a school in a remote corner of the Afghan capital, a cacophony of children’s voices recite Islam’s holiest book.
Sunshine streams through the windows of the Khatamul Anbiya madrassa, where a dozen young boys sit in a circle under the tutelage of their teacher, Ismatullah Mudaqiq.
The students are awake by 4:30 a.m. and start the day with prayers. They spend class time memorizing the Quran, chanting verses until the words are ingrained. At any moment, Mudaqiq might test them by asking that a verse be recited from memory.
Attention is turning to the future of education in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, with calls among urban educated Afghans and the international community for equal access to education for girls and women. The madrassas — Islamic religious schools for elementary and higher learning, attended only by boys — represent another segment of Afghan society, poorer and more conservative.
And they too are uncertain what the future will hold under the Taliban.
Most of the students hail from poor families. For them, madrassas are an important institution; it is sometimes the only way for their children to get an education, and the children are also sheltered, fed and clothed. At night they lie on thin mattresses, preferring the ground over rickety bunk-beds, until sleep comes. Like most institutions in Afghanistan, madrassas have struggled in the decline of the country’s economy, which has accelerated since the Taliban takeover on Aug. 15.
The Taliban — which means “students” — originally emerged in the 1990s in part from among the students of hard-line madrassas in neighboring Pakistan. Over the past two decades, madrassas in Afghanistan have steered clear of militant ideologies, under the eye of the U.S.-backed government fighting the Taliban. Now that government is gone.
Staff at Khatamul Anbiya were cautious when asked if they hoped for greater support from the new Taliban rulers.
“Regardless, with or without the Taliban, madrassas are very important,” explained Mudaqiq. “Without them, people will forget their religious sources … The madrassa should always be there no matter what government is present. It doesn’t matter the cost, it should be kept alive.”
Historically, the Afghan government has lacked the resources to provide education in rural areas, enabling madrassas to grow in influence. The madrassa system has been kept alive largely through community-driven efforts; most of its funding comes from private sources. But with financial shortfalls as a result of U.S. sanctions and freezes from international monetary institutions, public salaries have not been paid. Madrassas are not seeing the same funding they used to.
The young boys who grow up in the madrassa system can qualify to become religious scholars and experts. The schools usually teach a conservative interpretation of Islam and have been criticized for an overreliance on rote-learning over critical thinking.
But for some, the system is just a way to get basic education and stay fed.
Between religious study the young men convene in large seating areas for a meal of bread and hot tea. Before sunset, they play marbles until it’s prayer time — the last before nightfall.
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This story has been corrected to show the date of the Taliban takeover as August 15, not October 15.