THE meeting hall-size building faces west. On its left side there is a row of classrooms, even though only the roofline is visible. A wall of corrugated aluminum sheeting blocks off the view of the classrooms. This is the womens boarding school, says Haji Adnan Arsal, the leader of the Amanah Islamic Boarding School, in explanation.

This boarding school has been rather quiet over the past three weeks. Adnan has given the students a vacation which