An islamic institution of higher education.
Madrasahs (Arabic "school") combine a theological seminary with a law school. The curriculum is based on the Qur'an (Koran). Other topics of instruction include Arabic grammar, literature, mathematics and in some cases natural sciences.
Attendence of a madrasah was free and included food, board and medical care. The running costs of madrasahs were borne by princes and wealthy families.
Madrasahs flourished from the end of the 12th century, when they were a major instrument for the promotion of education, civilization and culture and played an important role in the promotion of science. After a period of declining influence during the 19th and 20th century they are again gaining importance today as centres of education in impoverished countries of Africa and Asia. Neglected by the developed world, these countries receive assistance from affluent Arab oil nations.
The new Islamic schools offer free education for all. They teach a fundamentalist ultra-conservative form of Islam. As a result, resistance against exploitation by the developed world, and in particular resistance against the USA as the only superpower since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, often takes the form of religious extremism and promotes a return to social norms of previous centuries.