Do Al-Huda schools' conservative teachings breed extremism?

A popular network of Islamic religious schools for women, which espouses aconservative ideology, is facing questions about its teachings after revelations thatTashfeen Malik, one of the San Bernardino shooters, and at least four other women who attempted to join ISIS studied there.

The school'sfounder, Pakistan-bornFarhatHashmiwho lived in Canada for several years, has denied any links to extremist groups. Shesaid in a statement on her websitefollowing the shootings in San Bernardino, Calif.,that the schools preach non-violence and promote only a peaceful message of Islam.

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"No organization can be held responsible for personal acts of any of its students,"Hashmi'sstatement reads, adding a truly devout Muslim "will never involve (themselves)in violent acts."

But critics of these teachings warn immersion ina conservative religious community can make people more susceptible toradicalizationfor a number of reasons.

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Al-Huda schools 'all over' Pakistan

Hashmi, a scholar with a doctorate degree in Islamic studies from the University of Glasgow,founded theAl-HudaInternational Welfare Foundation more than two decades ago in Pakistan to teach women about theQur'an.

Hashmi's schools teach a conservative Islam ideology that many, including many Muslims, find controversial.

For example, she encourages women to stop working, cover their bodies and faces, permit polygamous marriages and disassociate from non-Muslims, according to some who have studied Al-Huda.

"It's very, very stringent ideology," saysRaheelRaza, president of the Toronto-based Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow, whosefamily member in Pakistan once devoutly followedHashmi'steachings. Razaalong with the Muslim Canadian Congresspetitioned the Canadian government about a decade ago to remove Hashmi from Canada, where she had resided for several years.

Pakistan's middle- and upper-class women have increasingly embraced Al-Huda, which translates to "guidance,"according toTransforming Faith, a book bySadafAhmad, an associate professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences who did her doctoral research onAl-Huda.

The country now boasts about 70 schools, estimatesFaizaMushtaq, who has also extensively researched the organization, including for her PhD dissertation.

When you learn about religion from a narrow lens... then you tend to have a less tolerant view of the world.- FarhamaQazi, researcher

"It's all over," saysRaza. "Upshoots all over the place."

That spread now includesan elementary andhigh school, theAl-HudaInternational School, in Islamabad, Pakistan, as well as branches in Canada and the U.S.

The organization's Canadian branch, which opened in 2004, is located inMississauga, Ont., and includesan elementary school. It closed for the day Tuesday because of the controversy generated by the CBC story about its four former students, and its operations manager issued a statement saying the school had never been approached by law enforcement agencies about this allegation.

Together, the schools have taught"hundreds of thousands" of students at their campuses, online and through audio recordings, according to the founder's site, including "scores" of male students.

Mushtaq estimates thata more conservative 15,000 women hadcompleted either a diploma or course atthe schools by 2010, but that figure doesn't include those who access lectures online or through audio recordings.

Formerstudents linked to ISIS

Malik, who along with her husband, Syed Farook, shot 14 people and injured 21 others at a work holiday party last week, attended the Multanschool between 2013-14,while simultaneously studying pharmacy at a local university.

She started a two-year diploma course, but left the school before completing it,according to a statement from the founder.

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Malikattended six classes weekly,FarrukhChaudhry, aspokeswoman for theAl-HudaInternational Seminary, told Associated Press.

Malikhadinformed the school she would be getting married and moving to the U.S. soon.Shepromised to finish her studies by mail after handing in her last paper for her first year on May 3, 2014,Chaudhrysaid, but never did so.

Malikreceived her university degree in 2013 andmoved to the U.S. the next year.Prior to theattack,Malikallegedlyclaimed allegiance to ISIS on a Facebook page, the FBI said.

Meanwhile, a girl and three young women who studied at Al-Huda'sCanadian branchleft Canada to join ISIS, sources told CBC News.

The former students, who ranged in age from 16 to early 20s, left in the past two years. One of the women has been living in Syria since the summer of 2014, her sister says; the other three were brought back to Canada after security officials intercepted them in Turkey. The woman's family believes she was radicalized online by an Edmonton-based
recruiter.

Increased susceptibility to extremism possible

The organizationdenounces "extremism, violence and terrorism of all kinds," reads a statement on the founder's site.The Canadian contingent also "unequivocally condemns violence and terrorism," according to thestatement by ImranHaq, the school's operations manager.

The Canadian branch is completely independent from the Pakistan operation, he said in an interview with CBC News. While the premise of teaching Muslim women theQur'anremains the same, the teachings at the different institutes may vary, he said.

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"We understandand work within the Canadian context," he said, adding the teachings, "equip and help students become a part of the fabric of Canadian society."

TheAl-Hudaorganization has never been linked to a terrorist organization or extremist, says Washington-basedFarhanaQazi, a researcher, who studies conflicts in the Islamic world.Itisnot identified asa terrorist entity by the government of Canada.

Al-Hudadid not radicalizeMalik, says Qazi. Her attendance is likely a "coincidence," as the school is very well known in Pakistan. It gives women "an outlet" for participating in religion and learning about Islam, she says.

But while the school doesn't encourage violence, itsconservative views can make someone more susceptible to extremist ideology, like that of ISIS, both Qaziand Raza say.

Qazispent years researching madrassas,or Islamic religious schools. Qazisuggests conservative schoolssometimes teachwhat she callsa "misinformed" ideology, without question or analysis, butrather taking the imam's word at face value or simply memorizing theQur'an.

"When you learn about religion from a narrow lens ... then you tend to have a less tolerant view of the world," she says.

As a result, those people are more vulnerable to fall into extremist ideology, which preaches the fight for justice, the need to save a persecuted group and an individual calling, she says.

Those ideals may "fit neatly into someone's mindframe who has already developed a black and white kind of lens from which to see the world."

The Mississauga branch of Al Hudahas expressed concerns about the radicalization of its former students.

"We are very clear that terrorism is against Islamic teachings and anyone espousing or pledging allegiance to terrorist movements like ISIS or ISIL have clearly deviated from the religious teachings," the Al Huda Institute said in a statement to CBC News.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with additional reaction from the school and more information about one of the four students.