School curricula in several countries of the region, and especially over the past two years, have witnessed partial and total changes and amendments, including deletions or additions, for certain courses. Theology, Arabic language, civics, and history courses have all undergone such changes, making the issue a pressing one for government agendas as it is liked to several factors such as: combating extremist tendencies and terrorism, overcoming the ideological orientations of previous ruling regimes, banning propaganda for political movements, prohibiting the promotion of religious doctrines, giving educational courses a religious character, not recognizing curricula and certificates issued in areas controlled by terrorist regimes, increasing foreign interference in domestic cultural and educational issues, asylum seekers losing their identity in neighboring countries, highlighting personal rivalries between Arab countries and regional forces, and reducing confrontations between Arab states and Israel.
The first wave of politicizing amendments or changes to educational courses in the countries of the region began following the pressures felt by Arab countries to review courses for all grades following 11 September 2011 as per incitement to terrorism cases, especially within theology, Shari’a, and civics courses.
The second wave began following the 2003 American occupation of Iraq and impacted courses which had prevailed under Saddam Hussein’s quarter century reign. The third wave hit following the revolutions of 2011 and more broadly impacted the countries of the region.
It should be noted that this analysis did not involve a review of the courses that were changed in various countries, as this would require institutional capacity and academic efforts beyond the capabilities of our researchers and experts. Instead this review was undertaken through several media and sources of knowledge and official statements expressing government orientations in the region to compensate for the lack of direct access to the content of these curricula. Thus it can be said that many political factors have driven amendments to educational curricula in the countries of the Middle East in the context of the third wave. These amendments are as follows:
Erroneous interpretations
1. The fight against extremism and terrorism: Some portions of curricula contained words or paragraphs which may promote religious extremism or fanaticism. In this context, a directive was issued to eliminate the Islamic Conquests from history books used in several Arab countries.
The problem was not based in the narrative of the events nor the focus on historic figures, but some words or paragraphs which had the potential to incite violence. For this reason, Egyptian curricula underwent changes over the past two years: the Saladin Al-Ayouby, Liberator of Jerusalem lesson given to fifth grade students was deleted. Six chapters of the story of Uqba bin Nafa was also eliminated from the first year of preparatory school.
The goal of the amendment was to review curricula with any cues that would incite violence and extremism. In this context, on 20 March 2015, the Ministry of Education issued an official statement on the subject saying: “The decision was made based on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Curriculum Development Center. This committee was tasked with conducting all reviews for Arabic language books for the first grade of elementary school through the third year of secondary school to review any topics that may incite violence or extremism, or topics which refer to any political, religious, or other concepts that could be exploited in a negative manner.”
The Moroccan Ministry of National Education subjected Islamic education curricula and courses to a comprehensive review in partnership with the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. Surat Al-Fatah (The Conquest) was replaced with Surat Al-Hashr (Banishing) due to fears that extremist religious movements will exploit these verses, especially since they are are either hostile to Islam or ignorant of its purposes.
This effort was undertaken in order to implement directives issued by King Mohammed VI in February 2016 surrounding the need to ensure religious curricula conformed to Islamic values of tolerance and its Sunni Al-Maliki core which calls for moderation, tolerance, and coexistence among different cultures and civilizations. The official statement issued in this regarded provided a strategic vision for reform within the educational and academic research system from 2015-2030, especially after security services dismantled several jihadist cells and a number of Moroccans joined terrorist organizations.
The same is true for Jordan’s approach to changing educational curricula: According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Mohammad Thneibat in various press statements, the curriculum changes are part of the state’s strategy to combat extremism in society. Extremist ideologies have emerged in Jordan, particularly among youth, due to the impacts of regional conflicts and the spread of terrorist organizations. On 13 July 2016, Kuwaiti Minister of Education and Higher Education Badr Al-Essa issued a decision approving a national curriculum focused on tolerance and respect for others while rejecting extremism.
Foes of the Past
2. Overcoming the ideology of past ruling regimes: New regimes are keen to change the curricula which conflict with bygone political eras, which was the case for Libya following the fall of Muammar Al-Gaddafi’s regime. Curriculum changes were made from first grade through the conclusion of university, and the majority of the curriculum was changed after the February 2011 revolution, and especially with regard to Green Book courses.
These curricula have deserted the ideologies thatwere promoted during the Gaddafi era, especially on the topics of Jamahiriya and political awareness as delivered to undergraduate students. This same was true for Tunisian history books following the Jasmine Revolution of January 2011 after the fall of the Ben Ali regime, where the Ministry of Education deleted all texts relating to the 7 February 1987 system after former President Habib Bourguiba was dismissed for health reasons.
3. Prohibition of political and religious propaganda: TheEgyptian Ministry of Education in 2013 announced that it had eliminated the curriculum additions introduced by the Muslim Brotherhood after rising to power in mid-June 2012. The Thanawiyya Amma Civics course had included pictures of Muslim Brotherhood figures or their allies and the Raba’a symbol – which features four yellow fingers had even been printed on the psychology books of some secondary school students because the book was printed in a Muslim Brotherhood publishing house, as pointed out by former Minister of Education Dr. Mahmoud Abu Nasr following the 30 June Revolution.
4. Banning the promotion of religious doctrines: Some countries of the region moved to purge educational curricula which could expand a certain sect’s influence, especially if cultural centers were opened to further serve the sect. This was the case for the Iranian Cultural Center in Sudan in 1988 under the government of former Prime Minister Sadiq Al-Mahdi.
On 3 November 2014, the Sudanese Ministry of Education eliminated teaching materials used to promote Shi’ism and Shiite thought in a reading and literature book used in the second and third years of secondary school. This step was taken after the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to close the Iranian Cultural Center in Khartoum on 31 August 2014.
5. Infusing the courses with a sectarian nature: This took place very clearly in Yemen after the Houthis gained control of several provinces, especially after recent statements made by Houthi leaders surrounding the need to make changes of a sectarian nature to school curricula.
The Chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee of the Houthis indicated in a meeting with Ministry of Education leaders in September 2015 that “Current curricula have been imposed by the US and Israel in a conspiracy against Yemen’s Islamic identity,” adding that “these curricula have caused a significant decline in the educational reality, reflected on educational outputs as well as the capabilities of the future generations and their relationship to their identity, society, and crucial issues.”
In this context we can better understand the warning made by Yemeni Minister of Education Dr. Abdallah Al-Salem on 21 August 2016 on Houthis changing school curricula entirely or in part. He noted that the leadership of the legitimate education ministry had tasked an educational research center with reviewing all course books, and that if any amendments were made to pages of these books, the individual responsible would be arrested and banned from teaching in liberated areas. Four months ago, the Ministry also made a decision to utilize textbooks printed in 2014 and not to rely on subsequent editions; then Houthis had attempted to form secret committees to make amendments to curricula used in the first four grades of school because children are most vulnerable to ideas taught to them at that age.
The Militarization of Sectarianism
The legitimate government’s fears of Houthis politicizing school curricula is based on past experiences: curricula used for schools in Saada (a Houthi stronghold) were amended, distancing these schools from their educational mission and converting them into infrastructure for recruiting children in the midst of domestic armed conflict. Schools also became vessels to disseminate Houthi ideas through teachers who were followers of the group. Restrictions were placed on teachers from Sunni provinces or regions within Yemen to leave the schools of Saada or be arrested and exiled.
What’s more is that teachers in Yemen went beyond the context of curricula approved by the Ministry of Education and exploited school courses to teach children Houthi principles. Houthis distributed the book written by Lieutenant Hussein Badr Eddin al-Houthi, a sectarian politico-religious piece of literature written by the group’s founder. The books were distributed to schoolchildren to read, and its content includes a discussion of the “danger of this phase” and “responsibility of each house.”
Undermining ISIS
6. Failure to recognize curricula and educational certificates in areas under the control of terrorist organizations: This principle is imposed for Iraqi students who have been unable to access schooling for the second year in a row in areas under ISIS control. These students were unable to leave the area either due to financial difficulties or ISIS preventing them from leaving. The Iraqi Ministry of Education does not recognize schools under ISIS control because the organization changed the curricula and eliminated many components therein, pushing the Ministry to issue a decision requiring that neither these schools nor associated certificates be recognized for various stages of schooling, especially in conflict areas in Mosul and Anbar.
Some Iraqi media have indicated that ISIS eliminated several courses such as English, geography, history, and the sciences. Other media deny these reports, saying that ISIS or rather its “Education Office” deliberately changed some curricula listed by the Ministry of Education, especially courses that conform to Shi’ism. ISIS cancelled the courses because the area is “Sunni,” and added a Jihadism course for male students.
7. Increasing foreign interference in domestic cultural affairs: Algeria’s educational crisis escalated in March 2016 after a document was leaked containing the names of two French experts who oversee curriculum modifications in the humanities and natural sciences, not just French and mathematics. The experts requested that the Amazigh language be taught, that French education be offered to grade 2, and that the number of hours dedicated to Islamic education be reduced.
This intensified disputes between the government, political parties, Islamic forces, and some civil organizations against the backdrop of opposition to educational reform led by Minister of National Education Nouria bin Gabrit. These were referred to as the “second generation reforms” and helped relaunch Algeria’s identity crisis intothe public debate, especially since a significant portion of the nation views France as a colonizer. Some analyses also raised concern surrounding the outbreak of sectarian and regional strife when Arts university students had to choose between Islamic education and Amazigh language as two basic courses for national identity, a charge that was denied by the Algerian government.
In this context, in September 2016 Prime Minister Abdulmalik Selal criticized political bids relating to education reform, saying: “Schools are not places for bidding and political maneuvering, and the principles of the Ummah form the basis for Algerian schools.” He requested that a discussion be had on improving educational performance and conveying knowledge, because “it is time to pass education to the second generation without compromising the principles of the Ummah, rather than returning to the Byzantine debate over the language of instruction, Islam, and Amazigh.”
Melting Identity
8. Loss of identity among asylum-seekers located in countries that are geographically close: This applies clearly for Syrian refugees studying in Turkish schools. Aproject undertaken by the state to consolidate this conception among Syrians has come to light, where Turkey has complete control of all Syrian schools based in their territory. Turkey has removed English courses for Syrian students in grade one and made five weekly hours of Turkish language courses a requirement, and prohibits maps of Syria which include Iskenderun from being displayed.
In this context, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister VeysKaynak said in October 2016 that: “Syrian students will study our curricula, and we will provide them lessons in history and values, because Syrian curricula have been based on hostility to the Ottoman and Turkish states since the time of Hafez Al-Assad. Official maps utilized still show the state of Hatay inside Syrian borders.” He added: “What is more surprising is that the belt the PKK and its Syrian wing the Democratic Union Party wishes to establish in northern Syria has been instilled in the minds of Syrian students for years, and we must change this.”
Psychological Barriers
9. Highlighting political foes among Arab countries and regional forces: The hostile relationship between Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan and Bashar Al-Assad’s regime was revealed through a dispute surrounding the curriculum of a history course taken by Syrian students living in areas under the Syrian army’s control. The Syrian Ministry of Education’s website noted on 7 August 2016 that amendments would be made to correct errors in eight-grade history books for the 2016-2017 school, including using the term “seizure” of Constantinople instead of “opening” Constantinople, and changing the name Mehmet the Conqueror, the seventh Ottoman Sultan, to Mehmet II.
10. Reducing the intensity of confrontations between Arab countries and Israel: This was reflected in changes to educational curricula in Jordan in 2016, including the abolition of certain national heroes. One example included removing the story of the Jordanian Pilot Firas Al-Ajlouni and his military feats, in addition to several verses in the Islam course which could be interpreted by some movements as ISIS-like in their calls to fight the Jews.
This has pushed some Islamic and leftist movements in several Jordanian cities to get behind the slogan “Yes to Development…No to Normalization,” and some Jordanian sectors considered it “a type of war on Islam.” Others pointed out that the change in curricula suspiciouslycoincided with the signing of a gas agreement with Israel. The Jordanian government responded during a press conference on 5 October 2016 by stating that “the curriculum changes did not impact neither the Islamic faith nor the Palestinian cause,” and that “no foreign entity intervened in order to amend the curriculum.”
Overall, the current wave of changing or amending school curricula, either conducted by states or terrorist organizations, will bring about domestic tension between governments and opposition Islamist movements, as well as between Salafist movements and civil forces in stable countries. This also may help promote the ideologies of armed militias which control certain geographic areas and consolidate courses which support Jihad in hotbeds of conflict ruled by terror organizations, alongside the simultaneous alleviation and intensification of past and present hostility between Arab countries and other regional forces.
