Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education

Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace (CMIP) è una organizzazione non-profit ce si definisce come apolitica fondata nel 1998.

Secondo il suo sito web, "CMIP esamina il contenuto dei libri di testo usati nel Medio Oriente per determinare se ai bambini si insegna ad accettare e riconoscere il diritto dell'“altro” ad esistere". CMIP crede "che l'istruzione dovrebbe essere utilizzato per incoraggiare la propensione verso la tolleranza, il pluralismo, la democrazia e promuovere metodi pacifici per risorvere i conflitti."

Purpose and activities

CMIP's stated purpose is "to identify what is being taught in the schools with regard to recognition and acceptance of the “other” by drawing on the text itself, rather than the interpretation of it. Pioneers in the field of textbook analysis, CMIP endeavors to present a clear picture of how different countries instruct and educate their youth with regard to different religions, societies, cultures, democratic values and the “other.”"

CMIP's work primarily consists of analyses of Israeli textbooks, Palestinian textbooks, Saudi Arabian textbooks, Syrian textbooks, Egyptian textbooks, and Iranian textbooks. Their publications open with an "executive summary" containing their findings, followed by the criteria on which they base their findings, and finally close with raw excerpts from the textbooks themselves which support their claims. Secondary work by CMIP includes analyses of examinations administered in Middle Eastern schools.

Publications

Israel

CMIP published two reports on Israel: one for the year 2000 and a follow-up for 2000-2001. The findings cover two separate schooling "streams": the mainstream/public education and the ultra-orthodox/rightwing education. The publication noted a "marked difference" between the two educational streams; the mainstream education's focus on tolerance and peace even included pro-Palestinian views on disputed events whereas the ultra-religious stream included insensitive and bigoted material.

Saudi Arabia

CMIP's 2003 report entitled The West, Christians and Jews in Saudi Arabian Schoolbooks concluded in its Executive Summary that:

• "Christians and Jews are denounced as Infidels. Moreover, Christians and Jews are pronounced as enemies of Islam and of Muslims. Therefore, Muslims may not befriend them, nor emulate them in any way, lest that lead to love and friendship, which is forbidden."
• "The West in particular is the source of past and present misfortunes of the Muslim world, beginning with the Crusades, through modern Imperialism and ending in the establishment of the State of Israel."
• "According to the Saudi textbooks, the Jews are a wicked nation, characterized by bribery, slyness, deception, betrayal, aggressiveness and haughtiness."
• "Israel is not recognized as a sovereign state in the Saudi Arabian textbooks and its name does not appear on any map."
• "Peace between Muslims and non-Muslims is not advocated. Instead, the Saudi Arabian textbooks, even grammar books, are full of phrasing exalting war, Jihad, and Martyrdom."
• "All forms of terror are rejected by the Saudi Arabian textbooks. However, it appears that such prohibitions do not apply to cases that fall in the categories of Jihad and martyrdom. Saudi Arabian textbooks use the term "Fida'i" in a positive way, which seems to indicate support for terrorist activity carried out by members of the Palestinian armed organizations who are called "Fida'is" throughout the Arab world."

Violent jihad

In the official policy of Saudi Arabia on education, alone, cited by the report numerous references to violent, physical Jihad (in addition to spiritual Jihad) appear. The education policy states that "Jihad in God's cause is a firm religious duty...." It lists as a goal of Saudi education, "awakening the spirit of Islamic Jihad in order to resist our enemies, reclaim our rights, return our [past] glories, and perform the duty of the Islamic mission" as well as "firing his [the student's] zeal to renew the glories of the Muslim nation to which he belongs, and to resume the march on the path of honor and glory." The policy leaves no question of the physical nature of Jihad in seeking to prepare "the student for Jihad in God's cause, spiritually and physically."

In accordance with the official education policy, the content of the Saudi Arabian textbooks promote Jihad. Linguistic exercises in Arabic include glorifying statements on Jihad such as:

• "The Muslim is hostile to his enemy."
• "The Arab soldier is the bravest soldier."
• "The soldier pounced on the enemy like a lion."
• "The soldier fought like a hero."
• "The soldier stabs his enemies."
• "I saw a soldier decapitating his enemies."
• "What a wonderful sacrifice the soldier is making. How ugly is running away from battle."
• "The enemies suffered defeat."
• "I rejoiced at the enemy's defeat."
• "How wonderful is Jihad in God's cause."
• "Jihad against the enemies is a religious duty."
• "The swords of the Jihad fighters in God's cause clattered."
• "The Jihad fighters proved their bravery while fighting the enemy."
• "The Jihad fighters are winning."
• "Victory became complete for the Jihad fighters."
• "The two female believers who fight the Jihad - Paradise is theirs."

Commentary on the Qur'an studied in ninth grade contains the following statements on Jihad:

• "The legitimacy of Jihad in God's cause, which is one of the best actions..."
• "The legitimacy of Jihad against the infidels by fighting..."
• "Jihad in God's cause is the path to victory and to strength in this world, as well as to attaining Paradise in the hereafter."

A tenth grade literary study asks, "is there any way for a Muslim to get closer to God, after monotheism, other than Jihad in His cause...?!"

The references to Jihad specifically refer to worldwide violent struggles involving Muslims including those in Chechnya, the Palestinian territories, and Kashmir. Such references include:

• "Holy Jihad is the Muslims' path to the recovery of Palestine. Clarify this."
• "The Jihad movements in Kashmir called upon the Muslim states to intensify their efforts to support them politically and economically."

Textbook reform

Prompted by the U.S., Saudi officials claimed to have reformed the textbooks and removed the incendiary and violent content. However, a more recent report by the Human Rights group Freedom House suggests otherwise.

Controversies

Because of the immediate relevance of CMIP's findings on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, CMIP's publications have come under dispute. Its own website freely admits this and contains links to other organizations and bodies which contest CMIP's publications.

Voci correlate

• Libri di testo dell'Autorità Nazionale Palestinese
• Libri di testo dell'Arabia Saudita

Collegamenti esterni

• Center for Monitoring the Impact on Peace
• Teach Kids Peace
• Palestinian Media Watch