Saudi Arabia’s school curriculum has shown positive improvements in tolerance and inclusivity and significant moderation of anti-Israel material, a new study by The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) revealed Tuesday.
The study reviewed 371 textbooks published between 2019 and 2024, focusing on the same content highlighted in IMPACT-se’s previous study in 2023. It paid special attention to subjects in the Humanities, particularly the Arabic language, Islamic and Social Studies, Life and Family Skills, Critical Thinking, Geography, History, and Literature. The content of the textbooks was analyzed according to UNESCO-based standards of peace and tolerance.
The study revealed that almost all previously identified examples of hatred toward Jews and Christians were removed. Additionally, the level of negative portrayals of infidels and polytheists has been reduced. However, there are still examples that relate to the damnation of polytheists and infidels in hell.
Previous textbooks included accusations of “treachery and animosity” by Jews and Christians against Muslims, their plotting against Islam, their divine punishment of being turned into apes and pigs for worshiping the devil, and branding the belief in Jesus’s divinity as heresy, according to IMPACT-se’s study.
The new textbooks describe atheism as a dangerous phenomenon that can lead to moral corruption, according to the study. In some examples, atheism is compared to terrorism and religious extremism. However, an explanation that said that atheism occurs in Muslims whose souls have been taken over by the devil has been removed.
Views toward Israel
The textbooks, the study says, reference east Jerusalem as occupied and as the capital of Palestine. This is different from the curriculum of other Arab or Muslim countries, which refer to all of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
Regarding its references to Zionism and Israel, textbooks no longer describe Zionism as a “racist European movement” and no longer blame Zionists for the 1969 al-Aqsa Mosque arson. They also no longer say that Israel intended to expand its territory and take over religious sites as a cause of the Six-Day War. Israel is still not recognized on maps. However, in some cases, Palestine also does not appear. Overall, 21 cases of anti-Israel sentiment in old textbooks were removed.
There has also been a decrease in content promoting jihad and martyrdom. This year, all “problematic” examples have been removed or altered, including removing an interpretation of jihad as a violent act, emphasizing the non-violent interpretations of jihad, such as the jihad of the “self” instead.
The study also reveals that in the new textbooks, radical religious ideologies are criticized, including extremist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and the Houthis. Counter-terrorism laws are taught in a new Applications of Law textbook.
In addition to a reduction in the promotion of radicalism, there is an improvement concerning issues of gender. Statements that women must obey their husbands, a prohibition to appoint women as judges, and insinuations that women are partly to blame for being harassed have been removed.
In the new textbooks, there is a newfound focus on women’s contribution to Saudi Arabia, according to the report. There is still a traditional approach to gender roles in society and at home.
In addition, a reference to homosexuality as a forbidden act because it constitutes a “monstrous atrocity” was removed, however cross-dressing is still prohibited. One textbook changed the content so that cross-dressing is no longer a “major sin.”
IMPACT-se has reviewed the Saudi school curriculum since the early 2000s as a result of the September 11 attacks, which raised questions on the role of schools in radicalizing youth in the Middle East.
