What do we know about education in other countries? What do we know about education in Saudi Arabia? More specifically, what do we know about religious education in Saudi Arabia? Nina Shea at Freedom House looks under that rock in a recent Washington Post article. Some excerpts:
A review of a sample of official Saudi textbooks for Islamic studies used during the current academic year reveals that, despite the Saudi government's statements to the contrary, an ideology of hatred toward Christians and Jews and Muslims who do not follow Wahhabi doctrine remains in this area of the public school system
This indoctrination begins in a first-grade text and is reinforced and expanded each year, culminating in a 12th-grade text instructing students that their religious obligation includes waging jihad against the infidel to "spread the faith."
Scholars estimate that within the Saudi public school curriculum, Islamic studies make up a quarter to a third of students' weekly classroom hours in lower and middle school, plus several hours each week in high school.
Saudi Arabia also distributes its religion texts worldwide to numerous Islamic schools and madrassas that it does not directly operate. Undeterred by Wahhabism's historically fringe status, Saudi Arabia is trying to assert itself as the world's authoritative voice on Islam -- a sort of "Vatican" for Islam, as several Saudi officials have stated-- and these textbooks are integral to this effort. . .
Nina Shea offers some representative quotes from the curriculum:
EIGHTH GRADE
"As cited in Ibn Abbas: The apes are Jews, the people of the Sabbath; while the swine are the Christians, the infidels of the communion of Jesus."
NINTH GRADE
"The clash between this [Muslim] community (umma) and the Jews and Christians has endured, and it will continue as long as God wills."
"It is part of God's wisdom that the struggle between the Muslim and the Jews should continue until the hour [of judgment]."
"Muslims will triumph because they are right. He who is right is always victorious, even if most people are against him."
ELEVENTH GRADE
"The greeting 'Peace be upon you' is specifically for believers. It cannot be said to others."
"If one comes to a place where there is a mixture of Muslims and infidels, one should offer a greeting intended for the Muslims."
"Do not yield to them [Christians and Jews] on a narrow road out of honor and respect."
TWELFTH GRADE
"Jihad in the path of God -- which consists of battling against unbelief, oppression, injustice, and those who perpetrate it -- is the summit of Islam. 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."
We in the West, in lands traditionally non-Muslim, are forfeiting our heritage and our future by failing to take education seriously. In our blindness, we not only fail to interact with Wahabbi Islam as it is spreading around the world, but we inoculate our children against recognizing the truth about the Islamist threat. Consider the way Islam is now in the classroom in California.
UPDATE: After writing the above, I came across an incredibly important article by Robert Spencer in which he provides an extended commentary on Nina Shea's report. He illustrates with chapter and verse that "much of the objectionable material is actually derived from the Muslim holy book, the Qur’an, and from Hadith (traditions of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad considered authentic by Muslims and for them second only to the Qur’an in importance)." He says further
To shy away from pointing out the deep Islamic roots of the material leads one to the impression that this material originates with the Saudi Wahhabis, when in fact it is a much broader problem within the Islamic community worldwide. . .
The implications of this will sooner or later have to be faced. But up to this point this entire issue has been shrouded in ignorance. For instance, a recent report in Australia’s Herald Sun about hate books being sold in Australian Muslim bookstores ascribed this quote to a book called Jihad in the Qur’an and Sunnah: “When you meet those who disbelieve, smite at their necks ‘til when you have killed and wounded many of them, then take them as captives.” In fact, that is a direct quote from the Qur’an itself (47:4).
How can Western authorities face the implications of all this? Should the Qur’an be banned as inciting to hatred and violence? It is inconceivable that the governments of Europe and the United States would take such a step. It is not inconceivable, however, that such verses as those quoted above and others that are used by jihadists to recruit and motivate Muslims to commit acts of violence would become widely known among government and law enforcement officials. They could then ask the difficult questions of Muslims in the West that should have been asked since 9/11 and before that: how do you understand this material? What concrete, practical steps have you taken to counter the literalist understanding of the Qur’an and Hadith that jihadists are using to incite Muslims to violence? When will you issue an explicit statement acknowledging that jihadists use these passages and others in this way, rejecting their understanding and use of them, and proposing a viable alternative?
The longer this is not done, the longer this material will continue to play a quiet and unnoticed role in the proliferation of jihad terrorism worldwide.