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Saudis purge 'offensive' school books
Until this month, young Saudis were taught at school to shun and despise Christians and Jews as infidels and enemies of Islam. But that is changing. Starting from this academic year, Saudi Arabia has removed "intolerant and offensive" chapters from its text books, Saudi reformists, teachers and diplomats said.
LGF has had a lot of fun with the Soddy curriculum. We've had a few snickers at it ourselves. It was only five months ago that an editorial in Okaz said"Blaming the extremist phenomenon of people who blow themselves up to harm others on our curriculum is not objective or fair, because this phenomenon is new, and it is inconceivable that it is the product of the curriculum that has served our society for half a century...!! Ideological extremism is merchandise that was never manufactured or sown in this land; it is merchandise imported to this land, duty-free, and the one who exported it got nothing for it, except the pure souls harvested by indiscriminate acts of terror..." Guess they changed their minds, huh? |
A whole theology text used by 13 and 14-year olds, which used to command Muslims not to befriend Christians and Jews because "emulation of the infidels leads to loving them", has been taken out. "It is the duty of a Muslim to be loyal to believers (Muslims) and be the enemy of infidels. One of the duties of affirming the oneness of God is to have nothing to do with his idolatrous and polytheist enemies," the text added.
| The definition of which, of course, includes us. It may even start with us... |
Before the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington two years ago, little attention was paid to the outpouring of religious fanaticism from Saudi Arabia's schools and mosques. But when it emerged that 15 of the 19 hijackers were young Saudis, a piercing spotlight was turned on the kingdom, questioning the extent to which an educational system under the control of the powerful religious establishment was instilling bigotry and hatred of the West in its young people. The Saudi ruling family was alarmed too, especially after the May triple suicide bombings of Western compounds in the capital Riyadh, and has instructed the government to overhaul the school curriculum.
| It was when the chickens came home to roost that they started taking it seriously. We'll see how long their attention span is... |
And so it did. What was found in Saudi textbooks, reformists say, explained in a way the sub-culture of religious alienation and contempt for the West that incubated, among others, Osama bin Laden, the Saudi-born al-Qaida leader held responsible for the US attacks. Examination of standard school texts shows that across a range of subjects from theology to history, impressionable young Saudis have drilled into them the duty to loathe Christians and Jews as enemies of Islam. Following the teachings of Ibn Taymiyya, the 14th century theologian whose influence still permeates the puritanical Wahhabi strain of Islam that underpins the rule of the House of Saud, one textbook said: "One of the most important requirements in loathing the infidels and being their enemy is to stay away from and disdain their rituals, the biggest of which is their feasts". For further measure, the text added: "It is forbidden for Muslims to share the infidels' mourning or joy because this might prove loyalty and love. It is not allowed to congratulate them on their joyful events or offer condolences in mourning. Muslims should not imitate the infidels in music and art or frequenting theatres and cinemas. All these are frequented by the wayward and those who have strayed from earnest life. Imitating the infidels is blasphemous to Islam." The text went as far as saying that "infidels" should not be given influential posts over Muslims or be appointed ministers or advisers. They must not be given access to secrets, "because the infidel is deceitful and conceals wicked intentions."
Even in standard Arabic classes, stereotypes and religious bigotry are blatant, reformists say. "Children are asked to fill in sentences with missing words, for example a sentence begins 'God hates ...', and the correct answer will be 'God hates infidels'. This is offensive," said one Saudi resident. There is, most scholars agree, no sanction for this in orthodox Islam, which reveres Judaism and Christianity and celebrates a common prophetic inheritance stretching back to Abraham. But diplomats have noted the similarity between the sentiments expressed in textbooks and the statements of bin Ladin and his followers. "There is a need for the Saudis to look inside the political and educational spectrum and find out what is it that fostered the sub-culture of people willing to use violence," one said. "Why is it that 15 out of the 19 hijackers were Saudis? Is it the education system? Is it the religious indoctrination? Is it the failure of the government to reform society? What are the reasons?" the Saudi-based Western diplomat asked.
| Even if they go through with the reforms, even if Soddy Arabia's entire curriculum is revamped â and I don't doubt that there's going to be a lot of resistance to it â they've already exported their views to other places, where they'll continue to grow and fester. |
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-10-19 |
