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A recent report published by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT–se) has shed light on the progress made by Saudi Arabia in overhauling its education system. The report entitled “Review of Saudi Textbooks 2022-23” provides a comprehensive analysis of the country’s new textbooks and curricula, highlighting the changes that have been made to promote tolerance and understanding.
IMPACT–se is a UK and Israel-based NGO that mainly analyzes the way Israel and Jews are portrayed in education texts. It has been monitoring Saudi textbooks since the early 2000’s. The report includes the entire humanities corpus over the last 5 years, covering 301 textbooks with an emphasis on 80 textbooks for the current 2022-23 school year.
The main findings show continued curricula reform toward moderation, openness, and peaceful development. “Almost all previously identified problematic examples regarding Jews and Christians in Islamic Studies textbooks were removed. Negative portrayals of infidels and polytheists have been dimmed. However, the approach to what is perceived as heretical practices, such as Shiism and Sufism, remains, while problematic examples such as Jihad and Martyrdom have been removed.”
The report noted “a considerable improvement with regard to gender issues and women’s empowerment; however, the traditional approach to gender roles is still as is.”
In the section addressing the main findings of the study, the IMPACT–se report states that new content “criticizes radical religious groups including Hezbollah, ISIS, al-Qaeda, Houthi militias, and atheism. Highest on this list is the Muslim Brotherhood, which is considered a terrorist organization.”
The negative portrayals of Israel and Zionism have slightly decreased with some problematic examples removed from a social studies textbook.
The importance of peace and tolerance is highlighted in the newly introduced “Critical Thinking” textbooks.
Saudi education system
Saudi Arabia’s education system and school curriculum came under intense scrutiny worldwide, especially in Western countries after the 9/11 attacks where 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens. Since then, the Kingdom has slowly been amending some “radical” content in its school books.
It’s a potentially critical change for a country that has been criticized for its rigorous interpretation of Islam and its teachings, and for the way it conveys Sunni Islam both internally and throughout the Muslim world. There are roughly 30,000 schools inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and there are also Saudi schools outside the country. These schools teach around 6 million Saudi students for a population of around 40 million, two thirds of this number being under 30 years of age.
According to OECD indicators for 2022, “the KSA has achieved universal access to education for a large and geographically dispersed school-age population. This has stressed the capacity of the education system that now has to be paired with new learning and skills if the Kingdom is to achieve the ambitious development goals of “Vision 2030.””
Impact of the report
The impact of these changes in the education curriculum seems to be evolving in accordance with the lessening of restrictions in the country, once considered to be one of the most closed and intolerant.
Prince Mohamad bin Salman (MBS), the country’s Crown Prince and de facto leader, has curtailed the powers of the religious police who can no longer prevent men and women from greeting each other, or women from driving. This change in the perception of gender roles is greatly emphasized in the report, which states for example that chapters in textbooks saying that “women are not allowed to travel independently unless accompanied by their husbands or a relative they cannot marry” were entirely removed. “Students are now taught about women’s contribution to the Saudi workforce and society.”
Significant positive change
The area that saw the most significant positive change was the criticism of Christians and Jews in Islamic Studies textbooks. “Many interpretations containing accusations against Christians and Jews were removed. It is a continuation of a trend started in previous years to remove hateful content of other religions including an example that Zionism uses the media, money, and drugs to achieve its goals.”
Saudi Arabia is not a signatory of the Abraham Accords (normalization of relations between a small circle of Arab states – The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan – that have regularized relations with Israel), and MBS has different priorities. The UAE and Bahrain perceived Israel as a shield against Iran, but Saudi Arabia has already reached an understanding with Iran through its China-brokered rapprochement. However, the change brought about by the new trend in Saudi education serves to ease religious intolerance of Christians and Jews, paving the way should a political decision be made in the future for normalization with Israel but also for opening up the Kingdom. This educational revolution will turn into a social one – one that the Prince has already initiated – making the country more appealing to foreigners. With the implementation of MBS’ Vision 2030, and the need for multinationals to move their offices to the Kingdom by 2024 or risk losing their government contracts, some executives worry about the new lifestyle that a country like Saudi Arabia may impose on them. The changes have made the move easier to sell.
Another example is the billions invested in the development of Al-Ula, an oasis of Nabatean ruins that had been practically hidden for decades by conservatives because it belongs to the pre-Islamic era. Now, the Saudi government is building hotels and organizing festivals as well as urging foreigners to visit the site. Pagan history is now “in.”
Dialogue and respect
According to the IMPACT–se report, “the 2022-23 curriculum promotes the importance of peace and tolerance, dialogue, and respect.”
However, the textbooks’ outlooks on foreign and domestic issues epitomize the main authority of the Saudi ruler and criticize various separatist movements, mostly the Muslim Brotherhood. Criticism is also focused on revolutionary and separatist non-religious movements. As an example, “the legitimacy of the Arab Spring movements is questioned as being non spontaneous and framed as being incited by “terrorist” activities.”
On their own, the findings of the report have a lot of impact. The gradual change in educational textbooks imposed by the Saudi state, along with the effects of global communication, will show a significant change in the years to come.
