Pakistan's cricket-mad madrassas

By Haroon Rashid
BBC News, Islamabad

Twenty-four seminaries are represented in the tournament

Wearing trendy, colourful sports gear, the boys seem like any other cricket-crazed youths in Pakistan.

The only visible difference seems to be that all of them have the beginnings of beards.

The banner proclaiming the event proudly reads "Inter Islamabad Madarassa cricket tournament."

The cricket-playing youngsters are, in fact, from Islamabad's religious seminaries.

Less then a year back, students like these were seen on Islamabad's streets, armed with batons and guns, fighting security forces.

But the winds of change sweeping the country after 18 February's general elections seems to have affected them too.

Reputation

Batons have been replaced with bats and balls.

It looks as if the seminaries are trying to salvage their badly-dented reputation by holding this tournament - the first of its kind.

"We wish to bring them into mainstream," event organiser Tahir Inayat of Eclat Concepts told the BBC.

"We have been organising different sports events for regular schools and colleges. But we thought that we needed to do something for these uncared-for students of religious madrassas."

Twenty-four teams representing as many seminaries in Islamabad are vying for the top slot in the eight-day floodlight tournament.

The final is being played on Saturday.

Mosque siege

The event is taking place less than a year after the bloody Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, episode in Islamabad.

Players dispense with the traditional shalwar-kameez for the games

The siege of the mosque eventually ended with its storming by security forces, leaving over 100 people dead.

This then led to a torrent of suicide attacks, seen as revenge, by militants from the north-west of the country, from where most of the students in the mosque came.

However, things have calmed down since February's elections.

The tournament seems to some to hold the prospect of better times ahead.

It is being played at Islamabad's lush-green Embassy Road cricket ground, not far from the diplomatic enclave.

Appeals in English

A large number of passers-by are attracted to the venue - but there are also supporters from each team's seminary.

Sitting in a dozen-strong group away from the rest of the crowd, they cheer, whistle and laugh as loudly as they can.

The event has proved controversial - four teams pulled out

Appeals to the umpire are made in English, even by players with little knowledge of the language.

Abdul Hanan, a teacher from Jamia Salfia madrassa, thinks the championship will strengthen bonds further between the different religious schools.

"I think it's very positive. It will provide a badly needed platform to these students to come together. It should be a regular feature."

And the players certainly enjoy the tournament.

Though some are are not keen on the cameras, most welcome the media limelight with open arms.

Controversy

The matches are being played with a tennis ball and in track suits instead of the traditional shalwar-kameez.

But the event is not without controversy.

This is the first madrassas' cricket tournament in Pakistan

One of several boards running the affairs of Pakistan's seminaries opposed the tournament, describing it as 'un-Islamic'. Four teams pulled out after this declaration.

Some of the Red Mosque students present at the Embassy Road cricket ground said they came against the wishes of their teachers.

One player, Amjad Ali, wanted the government to hold such events for seminary students.

"If they can do it for the secular universities, why not us?

"It gives us an opportunity to show to the world that we can perform in sports too, like our studies.

"We want to prove we're not terrorists."

Badminton

Meanwhile another sporting event is happening at the same time, at a nearby stadium - but away from media's eye.

It is the first ever badminton tournament for female students of the now-demolished Madrasa Hafsa near the Red Mosque.

"Even female journalists are not allowed to cover it," Tahir Inayat tells us.

Usually taught to reject the notion of fun, and denied access to television, youngsters from religious seminaries have few outlets for their youthful energy.

So, for many, playing cricket in a formal tournament in the proper attire, complete with shirt and trousers, seems something revolutionary.