Syria’s new ruling government is facing extensive flaming attacks following some very controversial amendments to the national school curriculum which receive wide-level criticisms from educators, parents, and human rights activists. The amendments, released on the ministry’s official Facebook page earlier this week, have also been accused of infusing Islamism into the education system and raising fears of indoctrination through schools in ideological manner.
Several key changes have excited public outrage, including replacing the phrase “path of goodness” with “Islamic path” in textbooks. Critics of the wording feel it seeks to impose a narrow doctrinal framework onto the educational system. An even more contentious item: a reinterpretation of a Quranic verse, which now states as though “damned and straight went astray” were a reference to “Jews and Christians”. This has been reproached with being ultra-conservative, promoting sectarianism and intolerance.
It alters the previously understood martyr by the definition of one who dies guarding one’s land, to one dying “for the sake of God”. This has raised debates as to whether this government prioritizes religious ideology over national identity. In the meantime, a chapter has also been entirely removed from the curriculum: “the origins and evolution of life”. This alone has stoked fears of abandonment of scientific principles in favor of religious dogma.
While it is not yet known if these alterations have been fully wrought, they are destined to be applied to all schoolchildren aged 6–18. The announcement has, however, elicited a backfire wave on social media, in which anger as well as alarm have been expressed.
“I used to think this government would bring change, but what kind of future are we building if we teach our children to hate others? one parent lamented in a widely shared Facebook post. Another commenter bemoaned the deletion of scientific materials, as “Erasing science from classrooms is a betrayal of the promise and progress of our children’s right to knowledge.
Though certain citizens have supported the amendments which move the curriculum away from the heritage of the past President Bashar al-Assad, the religious aspect of the amendments has overshadowed any supportive response. Having been driven from power last year after more than 40 years of authoritarianism, Assad led the secular Baath Party, which had ruled Syrian politics since a 1963 coup. Baathist ideology focused on nationalism and socialism and thus offered few opportunities for overt religious involvement in the conduct of state business.
These days, a new government that comprises figures linked to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-a rebel group sprung up from an earlier al-Qaeda affiliate-promised to be very inclusive and tolerant. HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has gone to bring the historical extremes of the group’s link with the new government as a launchpad out of the war-torn country. Nevertheless, as a result of its curriculum changes, there has been raised the challenge with respect to such promises, as many are wondering if the perspective of inclusivity of the government is truly consistent with such an approach. Rights organizations have also joined the conversation, cautioning that the amendments could exacerbate social chasms in an already polarized nation. Education should unify, not fracture,” read a statement by a Damascus-operating rights group. These developments may lead to a generation reared on exclusionary beliefs instead of critical thinking and understanding.
With Syria entering a new era, the curricular imbroglio highlights the difficulties of reconstruction of a country shattered by the many years of conflict and political instability. For the time being, the ministry of education has shied away from responding to the criticism explicitly, and many Syrians are left wondering about the future of their children’s education.
