Amid the deteriorating circumstances in public colleges in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib and lack of funding, with academics who’ve labored with out getting paid for years occurring regular strikes, along with the excessive value of dwelling and the dangerous financial state of affairs, spiritual colleges have proliferated throughout the realm.
One of the distinguished spiritual colleges in Idlib is Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif, which consists of an academic establishment that teaches the Quran and Sharia by way of a number of affiliated colleges. It’s affiliated with the Ministry of Schooling of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) so-called Salvation Authorities. Nevertheless, its curricula isn’t issued by this ministry and isn’t taught in different colleges within the space. The curricula is ready by Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif officers, who’re affiliated with HTS.
Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif, which opened in Idlib in late 2017, works to draw giant numbers of pupils within the space, providing enticing incentives and advantages, in a bid to teach a extra ideological technology that may carry HTS’ concepts and serve its pursuits.
Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif’s colleges are primarily based on gender segregation for each college students and academics, limiting feminine academics to feminine college students.
HTS chief Abdullah al-Shawi is the chairman of the board of administrators of Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif. Hashem al-Sheikh, who served because the group’s head in 2017, is a member of the establishment’s board.
Muhammad Zaidan, director of Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif’s media division, advised Al-Monitor, “Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif has 42 Quranic colleges and 6 kindergartens distributed throughout Idlib, particularly within the cities of Jericho, Maarat Misrin, Binnish, Kelli, Hazano, al-Atareb, Atmeh, Kafr Lusin, Babsaqa, Sarmada, Salqin, Harem, Barisha, Qorqaniya, al-Yaqoubia, Armanaz, Sheik Yusuf, al-Fuah, Taftanaz and al-Bardakly.”
He mentioned, “We purpose to open different affiliated colleges within the cities of al-Dana, Khirbet al-Joz and Jisr al-Shughur. Now we have 7,000 male college students and 6,500 feminine college students. Our curricula combines Sharia and common programs.”
Zaidan famous, “Schooling at Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif is free versus public colleges that cost college students a small tuition payment every semester, which has turn out to be burdensome for households which have many youngsters. Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif additionally offers personal bus transportation, which reassures the mother and father. Our courses are outfitted with heating and cooling techniques.”
He added, “We additionally give college students free uniforms at a time when many mother and father can now not afford to purchase college uniforms for his or her youngsters amid the deteriorating financial circumstances. In the meantime, academics receives a commission on the finish of the month with none delay. We additionally maintain competitions and supply rewards to encourage college students to excel of their research.”
Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif is funded by HTS by way of its border charges. The Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, and the crossings between HTS areas of management and people held by the Turkish-backed Syrian Nationwide Military, impose a payment of $10 on imported items, dubbed the “schooling charges.”
Different charges are deducted from official transactions within the departments which can be affiliated with the Salvation Authorities and are devoted to Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif.
Additionally, the General Zakat Authority, shaped by the Salvation Authorities, offers logistic help for Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif’s colleges.
Abbas Sharifa, knowledgeable on radical Islamic teams and researcher on the Jusoor Heart for Research in Istanbul, advised Al-Monitor, “HTS has adopted a scientific plan by way of a sequence of steps to regulate the civil schooling sector in Idlib and switch it into an ideological spiritual schooling in keeping with the concepts it espouses. It began by closing many impartial Sharia institutes or these affiliated with different factions. HTS made certain to have a robust presence within the Schooling Ministry [of the Salvation Government] and all key positions by appointing figures which can be near it.”
Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif isn’t the one spiritual college that holds sway in Idlib. There are different, albeit much less influential and fewer unfold, colleges such because the Little Hearts Orphan School that has an analogous program to that of Dar al-Wahi al-Sharif, however targeted on orphaned youngsters.
Fadel Abdul-Ghani, director of the Syrian Community for Human Rights, expressed his considerations concerning the future generations that may develop with fundamentalist ideologies, and blind allegiance to HTS leaders, who seem like critically engaged on spreading their affect in all administration and energy clogs in Idlib.
“This might have a very dangerous impression in case HTS determined to benefit from these youngsters and recruit them to struggle in its ranks. It already makes use of numerous child soldiers,” he advised Al-Monitor.
He mentioned, “The Quranic colleges, though they provide benefits and incentives, are normally the mother and father’ final resort in Idlib. They’re torn between paying cash for an excellent schooling for his or her youngsters or going into the unknown by eradicating their youngsters from college. HTS takes benefit of those vulnerabilities and loopholes in all sectors to instill its concepts, which is similar to the fashion of the Iranian militias that endeavor to open Hussainiyas [congregation halls for Shiite ceremonies] to unfold its Shiite ideologies and inculcate them in pupils and civilians.”
