Saudi Curricula (2): We Came to Slaughter You

Local Editor

Israa al-Fass

"Our curricula produced terrorists who blew themselves Saudi

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."

Considering everybody infidel... expect it in the third part of #Saudi Curricula.