Addressing Saudi Arabia's Curriculum
Explain that when someone dies outside of Islam, hellfire is his fate.” “Someone who opposes God, even if he is your brother by family tie, is your enemy in religion.” “The Jews and the Christians are enemies of the believers, and they cannot approve of Muslims.” Do you think that you’re reading propaganda issued by ISIS? Actually, you’re reading excerpts from Saudi Arabian elementary and middle school ministry approved textbooks.
"In Saudi Arabia, children are taught from a very young age to hate other religions and minority Muslim groups through a branch of radical Islam called 'Wahhabism.'"
In Saudi Arabia, children are taught from a very young age to hate other religions and minority Muslim groups through a branch of radical Islam called “Wahhabism.” When it surfaced that 15/19 of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi Arabian, Saudi Arabia’s educational resources were condemned internationally. After multiple studies were conducted on Saudi Arabia’s religious studies curriculum, the Saudis were forced to acknowledge that ministry approved textbooks encourage violence towards people of other religions. Since then, the country’s current foreign minister has claimed that the textbook issue was “overblown” because the curriculum had been “changed.” The Late King Abdullah had repeatedly claimed to have completely transformed their curriculum. But this is a lie. These textbooks continue to spread the message of bigotry and violence on a global scale.
After the Saudi Arabian’s claims of “moderation” in their textbooks, Freedom House published a report documenting the content in the religious studies curriculum. While the Qu’ran has a variety of verses regarding other religions, Saudi Arabian textbooks have cherry picked the most violent ones to fit their agenda. In a first grade textbook, students are asked to “Explain that when someone dies outside of Islam, hellfire is his fate.” and to “Give examples of false religions, like Judaism, Christianity, paganism, etc.” What starts as contradiction of other religions transitions into hating members of those religions. “It is not permitted to be a loyal friend to those who oppose God and His Prophet,” a fifth grade textbook says. “It is forbidden for a Muslim to be a loyal friend to someone who does not believe in God and His Prophet, or someone who fights the religion of Islam.” Textbooks also include jibes towards the Shiite and other minority Muslim groups, denouncing Shiite funeral and mourning traditions.
The curriculum escalates to a more anti semitic approach in later years. ““The Jews lost their religion and attacked the religion of Islam, which consists of accepting the oneness of God and the worship of Him alone,” an eighth grade textbook said. After a solid groundwork of hate is established, highschool textbooks make direct calls for violence and discuss religious wars against Jews and Christians. “The hour [of judgment] will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them,” a ninth grade textbook said. “[It will not come] until the Jew hides behind rocks and trees. [It will not come] until the rocks or the trees say, 'O Muslim! O servant of God! There is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him.” In tenth grade textbooks, there is a lengthy section of anti semitic conspiracy theories citing Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which is a Russian propaganda book. And finally, a major theme of twelfth grade is jihad, which terrorists unfortunately use as their excuse for violence. “This religion arose through jihad and through jihad was its banner raised high. It is one of the noblest acts, which brings one closer to God, and one of the most magnificent acts of obedience to God,” the section says.
This is a serious problem which affects the entire world. The Saudi school system consists of 25,000 schools which indoctrinate more than 5,000,000 students. The government places extreme control on Saudi educators, even charging one teacher with 750 lashes and a 3.5 year jail sentence because he cast “doubts about the infidelity of Jews and Christians.”
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia has spent 100 billion dollars funding mosques and madrassas (Islamic schools) around the world. An additional 70 billion dollars have been spent exporting the ministry approved textbooks to these religious centers worldwide. Saudi Arabia has also exploited poverty in poorer muslims nations, such as Pakistan. If a madrassa is the only school nearby, where else will a child from a poor village be able to go? Millions of poor children spend their youth learning hate from Saudi textbooks.
Wahhabism is festering in even remote Balkan countries, such as Bulgaria, Bosnia, and Macedonia, which has resulted in radicalization and terrorist attacks in Europe. Saudi Arabia even made an outrageous offer to build 200 mosques in Germany for the refugees while not even taking in a single one themselves. From children in England found reading about how gays should be stoned to being taught that women are weak and irresponsible, the firm grip of this propaganda has permeated other nations, trying to change the minds of impressionable young muslims.
Considering the thousands who have lost their lives to terrorism, this is not something to be taken lightly. What is taught in these textbooks will influence how members of a generation muslims treat other people and religions. No matter how much Saudi Arabia portrays itself against terrorism, they will continue being a driving factor behind radicalization if they don’t revise the textbooks which feed this toxic ideology. Till then, Saudi Arabia must be prevented from ever holding an authoritative, religious voice in Western countries.