Saudi Curricula and Takfirism: Matching with #ISIL (3)

Local Editor

Israa al-Fass

In her latest interview on al-Jazeera English, Italian Journalist from Palestinian origin, Rola Jibril asked the Saudi General Anwar 'Eshki: "Why does ISIL in Raqqa teach Saudi curricula?" but she tended to answer instead of him: "Because you match with ISIL more than any other groups in the region."

Same curricula have been slammed by Director of Gulf Affairs Institute in Washington, Ali Ahmad, in a televised interview. He described them as: "Full of bold expressions that consider most of the Muslims as infidels, create enmity and fight the other... they are Takfiri sectarian mobilizing curricula that make the student think as if we are living a war with the other Muslim and the other citizen," ...with the Muslim "who doesn't follow Wahabism as an interpretation for Islam, as well as the Christian, Jew and other different persons."

Under the "Major polytheism," Saudi curricula exclude entire Islamic groups from Islam, such as Sufism, Imamate, Ismailism and Mu'tazila. All of this is mentioned boldly in the education curricula. The book of "Tawhid" for the third secondary class of the scholastic year (2006-2007) considers that "what is blatant infidelity, is roaming around the tombs to approach those buried inside, offering sacrifices and vows for them, and praying for them seeking their help, or the sayings of the exaggerators of Jahmi and Mu'tazila"... or such as the Batiniyya doctrine and philosophers, according to the course of the third secondary class (2013-2014) page 33. Takfir reaches the followers of the divine religions as well.

The expression of (blatant infidelity) is common in the language of the Saudi curricula, as a jurisdictional judgment that raises the sense of responsibility among students towards the beliefs of others. This sense holds them a duty to (repudiate), which obliges them to conduct what replaces the blatant infidelity with the honest belief, which legalizes destruction and killings, since infidelity and faith couldn't coexist.

In other words, the (blatant infidelity) is provocation to kill on which the very small kid is raised in Saudi Arabia, until he becomes able to press the destructive button to detonate an explosion.

"A human would either be originally infidel such as Jews, Christians and idolatrous... and considering them infidel is a duty, and he who doesn't consider them infidel or doubt their fidelity is also infidel," this is how the "Tawhid" course of the third secondary class of the scholastic year (2013-2014) page 30 considers all other religions and sects as non-Muslims, after considering all other non-Wahabi Muslim groups as committing major infidelity which provides considering them infidel and legalizing their killing.

Director of Religious Freedom Center in Freedom House, Nina Shea, said: "We are worried because their curricula call for intolerance with other religions and cultures including the other Islamic doctrines and interpretations," those curricula are still "full of thoughts of hatred against Christians, Jews and other Muslims, starting from the first elementary class' curriculum to reach the twelfth year with more violent language."

In an article entitled "Schools Funded by Saudi Arabia Teach Religious Hatred", Caroline Davis and Gray Baton wrote on February 6 of 2007 for the "Daily Telegraph" on the schools based in the United Kingdom. Citing "Professor of English in the King Fahed's Academy in Acton, West London, Collin Kook, 62 years: the scholastic books used by students at the academy describe Jews as "misshapen" monkeys, and the Christians as "pigs". According to him, students were asked to "mention some of the characteristics of misshaping Jews."

In the same article, "American Rights Group Freedom House highlighted some scholastic books in its report of 2006, in which it described (the Saudi curricula of hatred) quoting some book that orients students to announce fighting against infidels to spread the belief."

Such texts explain how 19 Saudis would participate in the September 11 attacks of 2001 which targeted civilians, in addition to many other crimes committed in the Muslim world by the Takfiris against non-Muslim minorities just like the crimes that slaughtered Muslims.

Also under the title of "loyalty and repudiation", in the course of "Tawhid" for the third secondary class of the year (2013-2014) page 107, it is allowed to be loyal to "the infidels" only in the cases of fear, obligation, weakness and force, while keeping hatred and hiding it.

As such points stress the idea of keeping animosity against the infidels (the Muslims who are judged as infidels, Christians and Jews who follow divine religions), this allows the ruler or the king to deal with them and make agreements under the banner of interest, to find an exit for a crisis that has always been in front of the Saudi kings in justifying their relations with the Western regimes.

The same course in page 108 mentions: "It is thought that getting engaged in pacts with infidels is prohibited and it is considered as surrendering to those who oppressed, which provides excluding them from Islam. This speech is not ultimate as the ruler of Muslims would find an agreement with the infidels in some situations and times serving the interests of Muslims or protecting them from something evil. This agreement would also include a sort of compromise or disgrace towards Muslims, but it serves a bigger interest or deters a bigger corruption."

With this opinion, Saudi rulers faced the criticism they were subject to as they allowed French forces to bomb Mecca and confront the movement of Juhayman al-Otaybi in 1979. They also came with the same opinion when the as-Sahwa movement in the Kingdom rejected the Saudi alliance with the United States in the second Gulf war in 1991, or even when criticizing the Saudi role in the American invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Obeying the Ruler

As Saudi curricula unleash the thought of considering Muslims and non-Muslims as infidels, it keeps what allows it to manage Takfirism and control it. Here the secret hides in the title of "Obeying the Ruler" who must be "offered the pledge of loyalty and agreed upon."

In the book of "Tawhid" for the third secondary class (2013-2014), page 99 says that obeying the ruler is "one of the greatest religious duties in which religion doesn't stand without." Hence, it stresses that "it is prohibited not to obey the ruler and to argue him even if he was committing injustice, oppression or sin,"... "Because this disobedience would lead to riot, corruption, evil and imbalance of security and bloodshed," considering the ruler as sacred even if he was tyrant is provided by the Saudi curricula at a time when they consider Muslims, who consider the saints as sacred whether they were alive or dead, as infidels.

In his early years of education, the Saudi kid learns terms like: heresies, atheism and monotheism. However, in his last years, the Saudi student would have been able to identify such terms and apply them in reality to consider everybody as infidel, drawing an incomplete image for the enemy, and waiting the judgment of the ruler...

This is how the image of the enemy is drawn in the Saudi religious curricula, and this is how arrogance and occupation are found innocent while fighting them is banned under the title of "obeying the ruler."

To check previous parts:
Part one: Saudi Curricula... How it Produced Brutality
Part two: Saudi Curricula: We Came to Slaughter You