A raft of planned changes to Syria’s educational curriculum, with an Islamist leaning, are raising alarms in the West, especially after promises of reform and inclusiveness by the new government following the ouster of the Assad regime.
The proposed adjustments, which have not yet been implemented, include the replacement of terms like “path of goodness” with “Islamic path” and the explicit mention of “Jews and Christians” as those who are “damned and have gone astray,” reflecting a stricter interpretation of the Quran. Other changes involve removing negative references to the Ottoman Empire and revising or deleting content about non-Muslim ideas, such as Chinese philosophy and evolution.
The educational overhaul, to affect students ages 6 to 18, has sparked public debate in Syria and concern abroad.
In response to public backlash, the Syrian Education Ministry sought to calm concerns, asserting that “the curricula in all schools across Syria remain unchanged until specialized committees are formed to review and audit them.”
The changes come after a shift in leadership following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad with the new government having ties to Islamist factions, including one that formed an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria during the civil war.
“There has been a great deal of conjecture surrounding the future of the Syrian curriculum in recent days,” Marcus Sheff, CEO of the London-based NGO Impact SE, which monitors textbooks, told JNS on Wednesday. “It remains unclear what will be taught in the new regime.”
This shift in Syria stands in stark contrast to efforts by other Muslim-majority nations, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which have sought to revise textbooks to remove negative portrayals of Jews, Christians and Israel, signaling a move toward more inclusive education.
