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Israa al-Fass In his open message to the Islamic World in late 2014, Professor of Philosophy at the Sophia Antipolis University in Nice, France, Abdul Nour Bidar, wrote: “If you want to learn how not to produce a future as these monsters (ISIL), you should start reforming the entire education your children are receiving, as well as in all places of knowledge and within authorities. This is your only way not to produce such monsters.” With his honest words to the Islamic World, Bidar, the Muslim French intellectual pointed the issue as it is. The problem lies within the “fanatic dark Wahhabi recession that is still causing corruption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a cancer that is born in your heart!”… The problem is in the education allowed and established by Wahhabism. In 2014, the American website specialized in security affairs “Daily Paul” estimated the number of Saudi fighters with (ISIL) as 7000, ranking the first among fighters from other nationalities. And in the beginning of 2015, “Russia Today” website published a survey in which the Saudis occupied the second rank among the fighters of the organization. In addition, the Saudi “al-Hayat” newspaper itself confessed in October of 2014 that the Saudi fighters conducted 60% of the suicide operations for (ISIL) in Iraq. Nearly in the same period, “al-Arabiya” channel also discussed, in one of its talk shows, the reasons “that make Saudis the most suicide bombers in Syria and Iraq.” It was not only Syria and Iraq whose suicide bombers were Saudis; also bombs and armed attacks in al-Ahsa, al-Qatif and ad-Dammam, as well as Kuwait were conducted by Saudis. So how could Saudi Arabia manufacture terrorism? The French intellectual says that the roots of terrorism lie within the education, in the curricula children are served and the Saudi generation is brought up upon. This also applies to the kids in the countries were Saudi schools are found as Washington, Jakarta, Rabat, Algeria, Madrid, Paris, Roma, Berlin, Bonn in Germany, Vienna, Moscow, as well as Istanbul, Ankara, Islam Abad, Karachi, New Delhi, Beijing and Djibouti. Britain and Ireland however decided to close such schools. The problem of education started on the first day of drawing the kingdom’s education policy, in which it decided to reflect the official religious view adopted by the authority as it is considered the only teachable legal model, while all other schools of belief and jurisdiction are not acceptable and officially denied, their “deviation and heresies” must be fought as well. In the 1960s, during the rule of Faisal Abdul Aziz, the power of Muslim Brotherhood increased in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom embraced them as part of its struggle with Egyptian President Jamal Abdul Nasser. The Brothers played a key role in developing the education and forming the programs of education, under the Wahhabi institution’s disability to play such role, according to the book “Time of Uprising… Contemporary Islamic Movements in Saudi Arabia,” by the French researcher in political sciences Stefan Lacroix, in which the Brotherhood’s Syrian Mohammad al-Mubarak had a major role in this, as well as the Egyptian Manna’ al-Qattan whose role was distinguished in issuing the educative policy in the kingdom, which is still available until the moment despite the 2003 “revisions”. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, a lot was written in both Arab and Western media on pressures exerted by the American Administration as it pushed to change the curricula of education, that were considered at the time the reason behind violence practiced in the name of religion. Saudi “al-Shark al-Awsat” newspaper wrote about it on February 3, 2003. The newspaper reported a statement by Saudi Minister of Education at the time, Mohammad al-Rashid saying: “People say that the system of education is the reason behind the violent stances against other countries and religions, but this is not true. If this is true then all the Saudis who received such education would have participated in such acts.” Yet the newspaper cited a response to him that included: “Saudi authorities revised all school books looking for any form of extremism, finding that 5% of the selected materials should be canceled,” but revising the curriculum of education was not serious as “the group that put the religious education system in the governmental schools is the same group that revised it… keeping the same content,” according to Saad Sharif’s study in the “al-Hijaz” magazine. The image of forming the Takfiri mind in Saudi Arabia is clear upon looking into the book of monotheism adopted in its curriculum. It becomes clearer if you knew that the book itself, based on Mohammad Abdul Wahhab’s book of “Tawhid”, is being taught in the schools established by (ISIL) in some cities such as Aleppo and ar-Raqqa. Saudi Historian Abdullah al-Shummari comments: “(ISIL) is spread in the countries dominated by the Salafist belief, the books of Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn al-Qayyem and Mohammad Abdul Wahhab, as well as the preachers of Najdism and Wahhabism, where it teaches this.” The document of the “policy of education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” confirms that the “education policy in Saudi Arabia is based upon the Islam of which the nation adopts in belief, worship, ethics, Sharia, rule, regime and comprehensive life system, and it is a main part of the state’s general policy,” Islam here strictly means Wahhabism. The official document however stresses that “the religious sciences are basic in all primary, elementary and secondary education years, and the Islamic culture is a main material in all years of higher education.” It also stresses the necessity to “direct whatever sciences and kinds of knowledge on the levels of curriculum, writing and teaching in an Islamic direction in dealing with its issues, judging its theories and the ways of investing it, to originate from Islam, in which they would be coordinated with the right Islamic thinking,” meaning Mohammad Abdul Wahhab’s thought, who charges all other Islamic groups with infidelity, excluding them from Islam. And he is the one meant in the expression of “developing the sense of loyalty… in denying all regimes or principles that oppose this Sharia.” The Saudi document stresses that “fighting for the sake of Allah is an accurate duty and a followed Sunna; it is an existing necessity that will stay until the day of resurrection.” It also adds that among its goals is to “awake the spirit of Islamic jihad in fighting our enemies… and performing the duty of the message of Islam.” How do the curricula of education in the kingdom draw the image of the enemy? And how do they identify the path of “jihad” against him, that leads to killing Muslims under the banner of atheism and Takfir, creating excuses for being absent from fighting occupation and arrogance under the claim of “obeying the ruler”? “Our curricula produced terrorists who blew themselves up”  Mohammad al-Abdallah al-Faisal bin Abdul Aziz confessed to al-Arabiya channel in 2008. Despite this confession in which he wanted to get engaged in the American flow that is calling for “reforming” the Saudi curricula in the kingdom, the Saudi Prince, who worked in the Saudi Ministry of Education until 1983, said: “One day, I went to the Minister of Education Sheikh Hassan Al Sheikh, I told him that the religious books in which we are teaching are the books of Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdul Wahhab, we shouldn’t change their content, but we should change their tone.” The content that produced terrorists in the kingdom were not changed. Indeed, the tone only has changed; therefore, the content that produced 15 suicide bombers among 19 Saudis who participated in the September 11 attacks of 2001, is the same one that produced fighters and suicide bombers who got engaged with “ISIL”, al-Qaeda and similar organizations. How did the kingdom’s curricula view the enemy? How did they identify the path of “fighting him”, leading them to kill Muslims under the title of atheism and infidelity, and justifying their absence from fighting occupation and arrogance under the pretext of “obeying the ruler”? The Saudi Ministry of Education prints the books of “Tawhid” on its expense and distribute them for free, similar to all school books. The book’s name, as its content, is derived from the book of “Tawhid” written by Mohammad bin Abdul Wahhab. It starts from the issue of “Tawhid” (monotheism), that opens the door to concepts such as atheism and considering the other as infidel, to reach loyalty and renouncing, as well as obeying the ruler. According to the proposed contents, it is clear that “Tawhid” identified to fit Wahhabis, pushed to considering all other Muslim sects as infidels and atheists, the same as considering other divine religions. This makes loyalty to this kind of “Tawhid” a duty, as well as the renounce that is accompanied with hatred toward all other Muslim groups, and people of other religions, integral to their belief. In the early years of the elementary education, the Saudi child is brought upon some expressions like “atheist, infidel and heresiarch. In the book of “Tawhid” applied in 2005-2006, the child who is less than 7 years old learns that “Islam’s alienation” is revealed in “several reflections such as: the many heresies and polytheism such as the domes, shrines and tombs… as well as sanctifying individuals whether alive or dead,” noting that this denied sanctification will be imposed on the student in the coming years, on the condition of practicing it only towards “the ruler.” In the book of the third elementary grade (page 22), religious curricula describe the Muslim’s celebrating “al-Israa’ wal Mi’raj” (the Ascension) as a heresy: “just like the heresy of celebrating the Night of Ascension and the Mother’s Day,” which suits the Wahhabi forbiddance to celebrate Prophet Mohammad’s birth. Destroying Tombs… the Major Atheism “Tawhid” courses focus on the issue of tombs, considering that constructing domes over the tombs of the pious people is a “heresy” that proves atheism and infidelity, as well as considering the act of worshipping Allah beside these tombs an act that excludes the person from the sect, and that approaching Allah through asking intercession from those dead pious people is something that contradicts with religion. The religious curricula stress that it is necessary to confront such “heresies.” The book of third grade of 2014-2015 shows pictures of Muslims visiting some sacred tombs, considering it an act of atheism. In addition, the sixth grade book of 2007-2008 mentions that: “Asking intercession from… those in the tombs by praying through them and asking intercession is invalid and is an act of atheism.” Besides, the book of the first intermediary class of 2007-2008 (page 52) says: Among those who do not benefit from saying “There is no god but Allah”, are the people who worship Allah but don’t believe that worshipping the tombs is invalid.” In clear contradiction with the Prophet’s saying, this is agreed upon by Muslims: “The blood and money of he who said there is no god but Allah are protected, except his duty and being called to account by Allah.” Worshipping tombs, according to what is understood, is sanctifying the buried people in these tombs and visiting them, this is clear in the second intermediary book of 2007-2008 (page 28): “Worshipping Allah beside a tomb of a pious man is a mean to the greatest atheism,” which excludes the person from Islam, and permits killing him and taking his money according to the third secondary class book (page 16). The latter book stresses on page 127 that: “what is clear atheism is roaming beside the tombs to approach those who are buried in them, as well as offering sacrifices and vows, praying and seeking relief from them.” This is how education according to Mohammad bin Abdul Wahhab’s “Tawhid” curriculum became a sort of education that is full of war against the beliefs of others, rather than purifying oneself, it looks in the other’s beliefs for what it considers heresies and misguidance, considering the integrity of its belief is achieved by chasing what it sees as others’ faults of belief. Such thought leads this group to launch wars against them, mastering the identification of heresies upon inventing their way to play on words, in which they destroy rather than constructing and get rid of the others as a way to atone for their guilt instead of getting themselves rid of troubles for the sake of others. Such brutal texts that generations of Saudis were brought upon explain burning and destroying the sacred tombs, by those who adopt the same beliefs, and whom thousands of Saudis engaged with after being prepared by the Saudi schools. In Mosul, this group tended to destroy the tomb of Prophet Youness (PBUH) and some other tombs. In Libya as well, the same group destroyed a Sufi tomb of Sidi Mohammad al-Andalusi in the summer of 2013, noting that it dates back to the 15th century. The same year, Takfiri groups in Syria destroyed the Ma’loula Church and the Aramaic Institute, stealing their components. Also in 2013, the tomb of the Pious Sa’sa’a bin Sawhan in Bahrain had been destroyed. And this year, Saudi forces targeted the historical mosques in Sana’a, including the historical tomb of Imam Al-Hadi ila’l-Haqq Yahya, following the destruction of Martyr Hussein al-Houthi’s tomb in its war on Yemen. Among what he has written regarding the religious curricula in Saudi Arabia, Sudanese researcher Babiker Faisal Babiker says: “This means that hundreds of million Muslims in the world… their scholars are misguiding, and it is not allowed to visit them or sit with them, which devotes the concept of arrogance and seclusion leading at the end of the day to using violence against them.” Babiker stops at the story of killing Khaled al-Qasri for Ja’ad bin Dirham mentioned in the Saudi books, according to his research: “He killed him in the mosque on the day of Adha, after lecturing: O people! Sacrifice, may Allah accept your sacrifices, and I am sacrificing Ja’ad bin Dirham… then he descended and killed him on the platform.” Babiker says: “This is of which the echoes we have witnessed in the terrifying slaughtering scenes conducted by al-Qaeda and Abo Mas’ab al-Zarkawi in Iraq.” He further wonders: “Is it right to teach students executing their rivals through killing and slaughtering?” The story of Khaled al-Qasri is not a historic story anymore; it has been altered by the Saudi religious curricula to a guiding model, which is measured upon and educated, which was clear in the slaughtering crimes that were conducted in Iraq, Syria and Niger under the slogan: “We came to slaughter.” |
