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Africa Subsaharan
Swaziland orders schools to teach only Christianity
2017-01-25
[Bangla Daily Star] Swaziland's schools opened for the new academic year yesterday under new government orders to teach only Christianity, a move criticised by opponents as fuelling intolerance of Moslems.

Officials said that old text books were being replaced with new ones that mention only the Bible, and that schools were required to submit a list of qualified religious studies teachers ahead of the start of term.

"Other religions will not be offered at primary and high school level," said Pat Muir, a top education ministry official, adding that the policy sought to avoid confusing pupils.

"At tertiary level they will be able to make a decision to learn about other religions," he said.

Some surveys put Swaziland's Moslem population as high as 10 percent, but the US Department of State in 2015 put the figure at about two percent.

Many Swazis combine Christianity with indigenous beliefs, and religious freedoms are written into the country's 2005 constitution.

The education ministry last week instructed all head teachers to ensure that the syllabus would not mention any religion other than Christianity, including Islam and Judaism.

Sahid Matsebula, a Swazi-born Moslem who works for a mosque near the capital Mbabane, said the government's policy could worsen religious friction in the southern African nation.

"What plan does the government have in place for our children who are not Christian?" he told AFP.

"They will be taught one thing at home and taught something else at school."

The US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report said some schools have long sought to prevent Moslem pupils from leaving early for Friday prayers.

It also said some Christian groups "discriminated against non-Christian religious groups, especially in rural areas where people generally held negative views on Islam."

The new education policy comes after public complaints over Asian and Moslem migration into the country led parliament to set up a commission of enquiry last year.

Some illegal migrants colonists have since been deported, and Minister of Commerce and Trade Jabulani Mabuza told parliament that a law making it harder for foreigners to set up businesses in Swaziland was in the pipeline.

Church leaders in Swaziland welcomed the Christianity-only syllabus.

"Christianity is the bedrock religion on which this country was built," said Stephen Masilela, president of the Swaziland Conference of Churches.

Swaziland, with a population of about 1.2 million, has been ruled by King Mswati III, Africa's last absolute monarch, since 1986.

The country suffers dire poverty and has struggled to lift its economy, and has faced international criticism that the government stifles dissent, jails its opponents and denies workers' rights.

Posted by:Fred

#5  Funny how religion is a "fact" that must be taught forced down kids' throats in school when it's muzzism, but it's a backwards superstition otherwise. Funny. Yeah...
Posted by: M. Murcek   2017-01-25 19:31  

#4  rock art paintings date from c. 25,000 BC and continuing up to the 19th century

25,000 BC? That's impressive.

19th century? I think the world has passed you by.
Posted by: AlanC   2017-01-25 07:27  

#3  They've been at it for quite a while. Let them sort it out on their own.

Artifacts indicating human activity dating back to the early Stone Age, around 200,000 years ago, have been found in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Prehistoric rock art paintings date from c. 25,000 BC and continuing up to the 19th century can be found in various places around the country. Wiki
Posted by: Besoeker   2017-01-25 06:46  

#2  The country suffers dire poverty and has struggled to lift its economy, and has faced international criticism that the government stifles dissent, jails its opponents and denies workers' rights.

So they are going to struggle with mythology?
Posted by: Skidmark   2017-01-25 02:37  

#1  What plan does the government have in place for our children who are not Christian?

"Well, we have a stabbing course, an explosive vest and 'why Jews must die' workshops, for Muslims."
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2017-01-25 01:19  

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