2008 Update: Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance

Posted: 6/3/2009 7:23:00 AM
Author: Center for R4eligious Freedom, Hudson Institute
Source: This booklet is available from the Hudson Institute

2008 Update:
Saudi Arabia’s Curriculum of Intolerance
With Excerpts from Saudi Ministry of
Education Textbooks for Islamic Studies

Center for Religious Freedom
of the Hudson Institute
2008 WITH THE INSTITUTE FOR GULF AFFAIRS

2008 Update: Saudi Arabia’s Curriculum of
Intolerance
Center for Religious Freedom of Hudson Institute
With the Institute for Gulf Affairs
2
Copyright © 2008 by Center for Religious Freedom
Published by the Center for Religious Freedom
Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
used or reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the Center for Religious
Freedom, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Center for Religious Freedom
Hudson Institute
1015 15th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: 202-974-2400
Fax: 202-974-2410
Website: http://crf.hudson.org
3
About the Center for Religious Freedom
The Center for Religious Freedom promotes religious freedom as a component of U.S. foreign
policy by working with a worldwide network of religious freedom experts to provide defenses
against religious persecution and oppression.
Since its inception in 1986, the Center has sponsored investigative field missions, reported on the
religious persecution of individuals and groups abroad, and undertaken advocacy on their behalf
in the media, Congress, State Department and White House.
Religious freedom faces difficult new challenges. Recent decades have seen the rise of extreme
interpretations of Islamist rule that are virulently intolerant of dissenting voices and other
traditions within Islam, as well as other faiths. Many in the policy world still find religious
freedom too "sensitive" to raise. But since 9/11, the link between America’s national interests
and its ideals has never been clearer.
When U.S. policy falls short, the Center for Religious Freedom works to speak up for the
promotion of religious freedom and the defense of persecuted believers. During the Cold War,
the Center focused on helping religious believers persecuted under Communism. Today, while it
continues to press for religious freedom in the remnant communist states of China, North Korea
and Vietnam, it is increasingly engaged in ensuring that American policymakers defend the
principle of religious freedom and believers who are persecuted purely for their religious beliefs
in the Muslim world. These persecuted believers include Christians, Jews, Mandeans, Yazidis,
Baha’i, Ahmadiyya, and others, as well as Muslim minorities and dissident reformers who find
themselves condemned for the religious crimes of blasphemy and apostasy.
The Center for Religious Freedom joined Hudson Institute in January 2007, following a ten-year
affiliation with Freedom House.
Center for Religious Freedom Staff
Nina Shea, Director
Paul Marshall, Senior Fellow
Lela Gilbert, Adjunct Fellow
Beth Kerley, Research Assistant
About the Hudson Institute
Hudson Institute is a nonpartisan policy research organization dedicated to innovative research
and analysis that promotes global security, prosperity, and freedom. For more information about
Hudson Institute, visit our website at www.hudson.org.
4
The Institute for Gulf Affairs is an independent, nonpartisan organization that disseminates solid
information about the Gulf region and produces thoughtful analyses of Gulf politics and
international relations. Based in Washington, D.C., the Institute is at the center of a global
network of reliable individuals, some of whom, due to the closed nature of the Saudi political
system, have no other outlet for their views. In order to fulfill this mission, the Institute:
• Convenes conferences in Washington, where informed analysts debate major issues
concerning the Gulf countries and US-Gulf Relations.
• Conducts independent research and investigations, reports of which are posted on the
Institute’s website: www.gulfinstitute.org
• Fosters a deeper understanding of the Gulf countries among Washington policymakers and
members of the press corps by providing them with up-to-date and exclusive information,
and by putting them in contact with reliable analysts.
• Sponsors task forces whose reports help define the foreign policy agenda.
About the Institute for Gulf Affairs
5
Selected Quotes:
2007-2008 Textbooks of the Saudi Ministry of Education
􀀁 “The Jews and Christians are enemies of the believers, and they cannot approve of Muslims.”1
􀀁 “The clash between this [Muslim] nation and the Jews and Christians has endured, and it will continue as long as
God wills.” 2
􀀁 “He (praised is He) prohibits killing the soul that God has forbidden [to kill] unless for just cause… [such as]
unbelief after belief, adultery, and killing an inviolable believer intentionally.”3
􀀁 “Major polytheism makes blood and wealth permissible.”4
􀀁 “Building mosques on graves is an expression of polytheism” [Condemns Shiite practice] 5
􀀁 “The punishment for homosexuality is death.”6 …“Ibn Qudamah said, ‘The companions of the Prophet were
unanimous on killing, although they differed in the description, that is, in the manner of killing. Some of the
companions of the Prophet stated that [a homosexual] is to be burned with fire. It has also been said that he should
be stoned, or thrown from a high place. Other things have also been said.”7
􀀁 “In Islamic law, however, [jihad] has two uses: One usage is specific. It means to exert effort to wage war against
the unbelievers and tyrants.”8
􀀁 “In its general usage, ‘jihad’ is divided into the following categories: …
--Wrestling with the infidels by calling them to the faith and battling against them.”9
􀀁 “In these verses is a call for jihad, which is the pinnacle of Islam. In (jihad) is life for the body; thus it is one of the
most important causes of outward life. Only through force and victory over the enemies is there security and
repose. Within martyrdom in the path of God (exalted and glorified is He) is a type of noble life-force that is not
diminished by fear or poverty.”10
􀀁 “As cited in Ibn Abbas: The apes are Jews, the people of the Sabbath; while the swine are Christians, the infidels of
the communion of Jesus.”11
􀀁 “The decisive proof of the veracity of the Protocols [of the Elders of Zion] and the infernal Jewish plans they
contain is that the plans, plots, and conspiracies they list have been carried out. Whoever reads the protocols – and
they emerged in the 19th century – will realize today how much of what they described has been implemented.”12
􀀁 “You can hardly find an example of sedition in which the Jews have not played a role.” 13
􀀁 “The new approach to the crusades took several forms, including …[t]he establishment of schools. They founded
many schools in the Islamic world at various educational levels. These include: the American Universities of Beirut
and Cairo, the Jesuit University, Robert College in Istanbul, Gordon [Memorial] College in Khartoum, and others
too numerous to mention.”14
􀀁 “[Baha’ism] is one of the destructive esoteric sects in the modern age… It has become clear that Babism [the
precursor to Baha’ism], Baha’ism, and Qadyanism [Ahmadiyyaism] represent wayward forces inside the Islamic
world that seek to strike from within and weaken it. They are colonial pillars in our Islamic countries and among the
true obstacles to a renaissance.”15
􀀁 “Lesson goals: The student notes some of the Jews’ condemnable qualities”16
6
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 8
Foreword
R. James Woolsey
9
Summary and Conclusion 12
A Muslim Case for Saudi Tolerance 17
Intolerant Textbooks Violate Saudi Arabia’s International and Bilateral
Obligations
International Obligations
Bilateral “Confirmation” of Policies
20
20
21
About the Report 23
Comparing Saudi Textbooks: 2006-2008 24
Educational Reform is Critical
Saudi Arabia’s Global Influence
The Saudi Curriculum and Religious Violence
30
30
32
APPENDICES 35
A. Press Release of the U.S. Department of State, July 19, 2006 36
B. Letter to Senator Jon Kyl from U.S. Department of State, Office of
Legislative Affairs, Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Bergner, January 2, 2008
37
C. Detailed Excerpts of Saudi Textbooks for 2005-2006 and 2007-2008
Academic Years
D. Press Release on Islamic Saudi Academy (Alexandria, VA) of the United
States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and Corresponding
39
52
7
Citations from Ministry of Education Books
E. Lesson from Tenth Grade Saudi Textbook on Jurisprudence, pp. 76-77 59
F. Memorandum Submitted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to International
Organizations on Human Rights and their Implementation Within Its
Territory, 1970
64
8
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are very grateful to the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and several other private
foundations that wish to remain anonymous. Without their generosity this project would not have
been possible.
We thank Grace Terzian and Rachel Currie of Hudson Institute’s Communications Department,
who assisted with media outreach. Mitzi H. Pepall of Bird in Hand Productions, Toronto,
Canada, designed the cover.
R. James Woolsey, the Center’s Advisory Board Chairman, has played a critical role in
supporting this analysis, and our work generally. We are immensely grateful to him.
Nina Shea, Director of Hudson’s Center for Religious Freedom, wrote and edited the report, in
consultation with Ali Al-Ahmed, Director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs. Hudson Senior Fellow
Paul Marshall provided editorial advice. Center Research Assistant Beth Kerley provided
invaluable research. Thomas Meyerson helped with copy editing.
9
FOREWORD
Saudi Wahhabism, as it spreads throughout the Islamic diaspora, has been likened by one
terrorism expert to “kindling for Usama Bin Laden’s match.”17
The terrorist attack of 9/11 awakened Americans to a growing movement by extremists within
the Islamic world – a movement motivated by a radical political doctrine that can be best thought
of as Islamist totalitarianism.
It has become quite clear that extreme Islamist ideologies have been gaining adherents
throughout the world. Where they are implemented as governing ideologies, we see a brutallyenforced
hierarchy of group rights, favoring Muslims over non-Muslims, men over women, and
a dominant Muslim sect over other Muslims, with individual rights and freedoms subordinated
for all. Such extreme rule lies at the heart of the Islamist terrorists’ radical agenda.
It is equally clear that much of this extremist religious thought is originating from and being
spread by the Saudi Arabia’s Islamist sect known as Wahhabism.
Wahhabi teachings, if one reads their fatwas and these Saudi Ministry of Education textbooks,
are murderously intolerant toward the Shi’a, Jews, Baha’i, Ahmadiyya, homosexuals, apostates,
and “unbelievers” of all kinds, and horribly repressive with respect to everyone else, especially
women. The ultimate Wahhabi objective is quite clear from a wide range of their writings – the
establishment of a world-wide theocratic dictatorship, the caliphate. These are essentially the
same basic beliefs as those expressed by al Qaeda. A bit like the Stalinists and Trotskyites of the
20’s and 30’s, the Wahhabis and al Qaeda do not disagree about underlying beliefs and
objectives, but rather about which of them should be in charge. The hate-filled and totalitarian
underlying views of both, however, point in the same overall direction. Recent criticism of al
Qaeda by Sayyid Imam al-Sharif (also called “Doctor Fadl”),18 Ayman Zawahiri’s mentor and
later his rival, and by other Islamists, chiefly because al Qaeda has killed so many Muslims, adds
an interesting tension to the current picture but does not fundamentally change it.
The Saudi government’s sponsorship of the ideas and objectives that the Wahhabis and al Qaeda
share gives them reach and legitimacy, and threatens the longstanding relationship between our
two countries and much more besides.
Even before President Franklin Roosevelt’s historic meeting with King Abdulaziz al-Saud
aboard the USS Quincy north of the Suez Canal on February 14, 1945, the United States and the
Saudis had forged a mutually beneficial alliance. The House of Saud had been helpful to the
American war effort during World War II, and both nations were later on the same side during
the Cold War. As recently as the 70's, the world of US-Saudi relations was a reasonably close
and relaxed one. A number of Saudis prominent in government, the military, and the oil business
had been educated in the West and were on quite easy terms, at least privately, with us, our
values, and our ways. The serious bumps along the road began with the Saudis’ 1973 oil
embargo against us – essentially punishment for our efforts in that year to provide Israel with
emergency help when she was attacked by her Arab neighbors. But the United States and Saudi
Arabia continued to be strategically interdependent – our protection, our dollars, and our
10
technology for their oil. Today, however, the relationship has become strained to the breaking
point by the Faustian bargain the House of Saud has made with its Wahhabi establishment.
The watershed year was 1979, when Ayatollah Khomeini seized power in Shiite Iran and Sunni
extremists took over the holiest of Islam’s shrines, the Great Mosque in Mecca, which was under
the protection of the Saudi King. The threatened Saudi monarchy lost no time – and has spared
no expense – in shoring up its legitimacy as the rightful and only defender of the faith. This is a
claim it had made for well over half a century, since seizing the holy cities of Mecca and Medina
from the Hashemites. From the 1980s onward, in return for the protection of their own powers
and privileges, the Saudi royal family chose not only to accommodate Wahhabi views about
propriety, pious behavior, and Islamic law, but effectively to turn over education in the Kingdom
to the Wahhabi establishment.
They also began to fund with over $75 billion during the intervening years the expansion
throughout the world of the Wahhabis’ extreme, hostile, anti-modern and anti-democratic form
of Islam. Many Wahhabi-funded madrassahs world-wide, using the very types of texts examined
in this report, echo and perpetrate this Wahhabi hatred and thus promote its consequences.
According to Lawrence Wright in his book Looming Tower, with just over one per cent of the
world’s Muslim population, the Saudis support via the Wahhabis “90 per cent of the expenses of
the entire faith, overriding other traditions of Islam.”
It is now nearly thirty years on, and the Faustian bargain still stands. Once regarded as an
austere, fringe group by a large majority of Muslims, the Wahhabi sect is now extremely
powerful and influential in the Muslim world due to the Saudi government’s support and the oil
resources of the Arabian Peninsula. Unfathomable wealth has enabled Saudi Arabia to
modernize its architecture, communications, and transportation infrastructure, and project itself
internationally, including most recently (and preposterously, given e.g. its leaders’ lethal view of
apostates) as a convener of interfaith dialogue. But it resists the cultural reforms of even its
Wahhabi neighbor Qatar, which tolerates churches, allows women to drive, and has taken some
steps toward adapting to globalization’s demand for pluralism. Saudi Arabia’s religio-political
ideology, reflected in its textbooks, remains mired in the insular and xenophobic desert traditions
of the ancient Arabian peninsula. The Saudi-funded, Wahhabi-operated export of hatred of us
and our bed-rock belief in the centrality of individual freedom continues and, due to Saudi
Arabia’s oil-funded prosperity, reaches around the globe.
The twentieth century saw the rise and fall of four highly lethal totalitarian ideologies, each
guiding a powerful empire and bent on our destruction: Fascism, Nazism, Japanese Imperialism,
and Communism. These movements produced tens of millions of deaths and were responsible
for World War II, various regional guerrilla wars, and the Cold War. By the beginning of the
nineties these four totalitarian “isms” and their empires had been defeated, both intellectually and
militarily. Some were calling it the “end of history,” meaning that liberal democratic capitalism,
based on the “self-evident” principles of equality, individual freedom and human rights, had
prevailed in winning the minds and hearts – if not to that point the governments – of virtually all
of humanity. In those years at the beginning of the last decade it was extraordinarily difficult to
believe that another “ism” with the power to pose a fundamental threat to the underpinnings of
the free world would soon come to mount a world-wide attack on the rule of law and the right of
11
people to govern themselves – on our lives, our liberties, and our pursuit of happiness. But that is
now indeed the case.
The world has been slow to respond to this new ideological challenge. Algeria is taking some
tentative steps to extirpate Wahhabi influence from its own curriculum and restrict Saudi schools
within its borders. In India, after some thirty percent of the mosques of the Barelvi Sufi sects
have been taken over by Wahhabis, according to newspaper accounts, Indian Muslims are
posting warnings to Wahhabi front groups to stay out of their mosques and prayer halls. Two
years ago the United States negotiated and received a confirmation from the government of
Saudi Arabia that it would remove destructive Wahhabi lessons from all its educational
materials, both those used inside the Kingdom and those proliferated abroad. The deadline for
that reform has now been reached, but the State Department has not demonstrated that it intends
to subject the textbooks to the intense scrutiny and follow through required to enforce
compliance. We hope this analysis shows the need for continued American engagement on this
issue and helps this process move forward.
In the meantime, we need to end our dependency on oil, the international market for which is
Saudi-dominated. An increasing share of our payments for oil, along with others’, finds its way
to Saudi Arabia. The billions that Saudis provide annually to their Wahhabi sect for global
expansion comes from these petrodollars. Thus, as has often been said, when we pay for Middle
Eastern oil today, this Long War in which we are engaged becomes the only war the U.S. has
ever fought in which we pay for both sides.
If our nation, guided by our founders’ values, is to survive then, this dependency on oil must end.
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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
This report compares textbooks from the Saudi Ministry of Education, which are posted on its
website as this is issued, with those analyzed in our 2006 study, Saudi Arabia’s Curriculum of
Intolerance, and shows that the same violent and intolerant teachings against other religious
believers noted in 2006 remain in the current texts. All of these textbooks have been reissued at
least once and all but two of them reissued twice, yet overall the changes to the passages in
question have been minimal, and the degree of substantive change has been negligible. Taken
together, the revisions that have been made amount to moving around the furniture, not cleaning
the house. This analysis is issued as the deadline nears for the removal of intolerant teachings
from all Saudi textbooks. This commitment stems from the Saudi government’s “confirmation”
of policies that were publicly announced and lauded as “significant developments” by the U.S.
State Department in July 2006, and are to be implemented in full by the start of the 2008-2009
school year.
In May 2006, the Center for Religious Freedom, with the Institute for Gulf Affairs, released a
ground-breaking report that analyzed excerpts from a dozen textbooks published by the Saudi
Ministry of Education and used at that time in the Saudi public school curriculum. Saudi Arabia
also disseminated these texts internationally, including to some 19 academies founded by Saudi
Arabia and chaired by the local Saudi ambassadors in or near major foreign cities, one of which
is the Islamic Saudi Academy (ISA) outside Washington, D.C.
The 2006 report concluded:
“The Saudi public school religious curriculum continues to propagate an ideology of hate toward
the ‘unbeliever,’ that is, Christians, Jews, Shiites, Sufis, and Sunni Muslims who do not follow
Wahhabi doctrine, Hindus, atheists, and others. This ideology is introduced in a religion
textbook in the first grade and reinforced and developed in following years of the public
education system, culminating in the twelfth grade, where a text instructs students that it is a
religious obligation to do ‘battle’ against infidels in order to spread the faith.”
This new analysis takes as markers for comparison twelve key points contained in a summarized
list in the 2006 analysis. They cover Saudi government lessons on other religious groups, both
non-Muslim and Muslim, and on non-believers, as well as a passage on jihad. This analysis finds
that all these concerns remain valid in the updated books used in the 2007-2008 curriculum and
currently found on the Saudi government’s website. In the new books, only the text relevant to
marker four, described below, has been rewritten, but even in this case the lesson remains the
same; it teaches its readers to “hate the infidels.” Moreover, in the passage quoted in marker
four, the injunction not to treat the unbeliever “unjustly,” wording that was touted as a reform in
2006 by the then Saudi ambassador, has been removed from the current texts.
See the section “Comparing Saudi Textbooks: 2006-2008,” below, for further discussion of the
comparisons.
13
The twelve point list below is taken directly from the 2006 report and applies equally to the
Saudi textbooks for the 2007-2008 year that are currently posted on the website of the Saudi
Education Ministry (http://www2.moe.gov.sa/ebooks/index.htm).
The changed wording, affecting only marker four, is noted in italics:
Regarding Sunni, Shiite, Sufi and other non-Wahhabi or non-Salafi Muslims, the textbooks:
1. Condemn the majority of Sunni Muslims around the world as “bad successors” of “bad
predecessors.”19
2. Condemn and denigrate Shiite and Sufi Muslims’ beliefs and practices as heretical and call
them “polytheists.”20
3. Denounce Muslims who do not interpret the Qur’an “literally.”21
Regarding Christians, Jews, Polytheists (including Muslims who are not followers of
Wahhabism) and other infidels, the books:
4. Command Muslims to “hate” Christians, Jews, polytheists, and other “unbelievers,”
including non-Wahhabi Muslims, though, incongruously, not to treat them “unjustly.”22
Now teaches that a true believer “worships God alone, loves the believers, and hates the
infidels.”
5. Teach that the Crusades never ended and identify the American Universities in Beirut and
in Cairo, other Western and Christian social service providers, media outlets, centers for
academic studies of Orientalism, and campaigns for women’s rights as part of the modern
phase of the Crusades.23
6. Teach that “the Jews and the Christians are enemies of the [Muslim] believers”24 and that
“the clash”25 between the two realms “continues until the Day of Resurrection.”26
7. Instruct students not to “greet,”27 “imitate,”28 “show loyalty to,”29 “be courteous to”30 or
“respect”31 non-believers.
8. Define jihad to include “wrestling with the infidels by calling them to the faith and battling
against them”32 and assert that the spread of Islam through jihad is a “religious obligation.”33
[The word qital, translated here as “battle,” is derived from the verb qatala, “to kill,” and is
virtually never used metaphorically.]
Regarding Anti-Semitism, they:
9. Instruct that “the struggle between Muslims and Jews”34 will continue “until the hour [of
judgment],”35 that “Muslims will triumph because they are right,” and that “he who is right is
always victorious.”36
14
10. Cite a selective teaching of violence against Jews, while, in the same lesson, ignore the
passages of the Qur’an and hadiths [narratives of the life of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad]
that counsel tolerance.37
11. Teach the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as historical fact and relate modern events to
it.38
12. Discuss Jews in violent terms, blaming them for virtually all the “sedition” and wars of
the modern world.39
The more extensive excerpts from which these twelve markers are taken have undergone some
additional wording changes and reformatting over the past two years, but the Saudi government
has not removed the objectionable message of these lessons. Any improvements that may have
been made to those Saudi textbooks we did not review would be undercut or negated by these
teachings in the ones we did. As in 2006, the Saudi Ministry of Education religion textbooks
reviewed in this report teach bigotry and violence and deplore tolerance. (These more extensive
excerpts, for both the 2005-2006 and the 2007-2008 academic years, and brief discussions of the
changes in them are included in Appendix C; side by side Arabic and English translation
versions of these lessons can be found on the Center’s website: www.hudson.org/religion.)
In addition, we verified that the currently posted 2007-2008 textbooks also contain the same
passages that were found last month in ISA textbooks by the U.S. Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF).40 The Commission assessed these passages as “overt
exhortations to violence” and “promot[ing] intolerance.” They include assertions that it is
permissible for a Muslim to kill an “apostate,” an “adulterer,” and those practicing “major
polytheism.” One lesson states that “it is not permissible to violate the blood, property, or honor
of the unbeliever who makes a compact with the Muslims,” but is pointedly silent on whether
security guarantees are extended to non-Muslims without such a compact. One very brief
passage discusses jihad. With no further guidance or clarification of the ambiguities it raises, this
passage asserts jihad is the “pinnacle of Islam,” exalts “force and victory over the enemies,” and
glorifies “martyrdom” as a “noble life-force.” Other lessons demonize members of the Baha’i
and Ahmadiyya faiths and blame “the Jews” for having “conspired against Islam.” (See,
Appendix D.)
There is also a lesson from a tenth grade text on Jurisprudence now posted on the Saudi Ministry
of Education website that sanctions the killing of homosexuals and discusses methods for doing
so. Burning with fire, stoning, or throwing from a high place are methods that are mentioned.
Though the lesson quotes a traditional scholar saying the Prophet Muhammad made no judgment
on homosexuality, it presents the Saudi sharia ruling that homosexuals should be killed as
definitive. (See, Appendix E.)
These texts teach students that there exist two incompatible realms – one consisting of true
believers in Islam, the monotheists, and the other of infidels or unbelievers – and that these
realms never coexist in peace. They assert that unbelievers, such as Christians, Jews, and
Muslims who do not share Wahhabi beliefs and practices, are hated “enemies,” and that true
believers should aid and show loyalty only to other true believers. These texts teach that
15
Christians, Jews, and others have united in a war against Islam that will ultimately end in the
complete destruction of these infidels. The books promote global jihad as an “effort to wage war
against the unbelievers.” In these lessons, no argument is made that such references to jihad
mean only spiritual struggle and defensive warfare. Some Saudis themselves have linked the
Kingdom’s educational curriculum to patterns of violence in young Saudi men.
In the lessons examined in this report, the Saudi government discounts or ignores passages in the
Qur’an and in the accounts of the life of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad that support tolerance.
This is in striking contrast to the Saudi government’s invocation of just such passages when it
addresses Western audiences. In the international arena, the Saudi government argues that there
is no religious coercion in Islam and that the Islamic tradition supports “inalienable human
rights” and the peaceful coexistence of Muslims with other religious believers. These are the
types of arguments that the Saudi government needs to make in its own textbooks and
educational materials in place of lessons that sanction and promote violence and extreme
intolerance.
Saudi Arabia’s religious legitimacy, through the custodianship of the two Islamic holy shrines,
and its vast oil wealth enable it to exert unprecedented influence within the Muslim world. Saudi
religious texts are being disseminated worldwide through the internet and other means. This
means that millions of Muslim students are being indoctrinated from textbooks that some Saudis
themselves have linked to religious violence. Largely due to such educational materials, Saudi
Wahhabi extremism threatens to become a mainstream or even the dominant expression of Islam
among the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims. While the Saudi state has recently initiated a program to
re-educate some Islamic terrorists, it appears to be educating even greater numbers with a
religious curriculum that legitimizes, as some Saudi scholars wrote, the “violent repression” and
“physical elimination” of the other.
Simultaneously, the Saudi King has assumed a leading role on the international stage in
initiatives for both intrafaith and interfaith dialogue. The Saudi Ministry of Education’s
continued teaching of hatred and violence against other religious believers, however, raises the
concern that the King’s overtures will be of greater benefit to the Saudi public relations
campaign to counter growing world discontent about soaring oil prices, than to finding common
ground.
A key test of the Saudi government’s commitment to tolerance and pluralism will be whether it
cleans up its textbooks before the start of the next school year, in September 2008. The
government of Saudi Arabia is bound to respect religious freedom and not discriminate on the
basis of religion under the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other
international instruments. It also specifically confirmed to the United States it would reform its
textbooks and do so by the start of the 2008-2009 school year. In 2006, following protracted
bilateral discussions with the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the State Department publicized that Saudi
Arabia confirmed it would revise its textbooks and make other related reforms within two years.
Relying on the Saudi “confirmation,” the Secretary of State waived taking action against Saudi
Arabia, as required under the International Religious Freedom Act. Whether this will prove to be
an historic turning point or simply a public relations maneuver by Saudi Arabia remains to be
seen. This analysis documents that thorough textbook reform has not yet occurred. It is in
16
American interests that the U.S. Government, in this administration and the next, hold Saudi
Arabia to its obligations.
17
A MUSLIM CASE FOR SAUDI TOLERANCE
Within worldwide Sunni Islam, followers of Wahhabism and other hard-line movements are a
distinct minority. This is evident from the many Muslims who have chosen to make America
their home and are upstanding, law-abiding citizens and neighbors. It was just such concerned
Muslims who first brought world attention to the pernicious content of Saudi textbooks and
decried the Wahhabi doctrine they promoted as foreign to the toleration contained in Islam and
its injunction against coercion in religion.
These Muslims believe they would be forbidden to practice the faith of their ancestors in today’s
Saudi Arabia and value religious freedom. They affirm the importance of respecting non-
Muslims as well, pointing to verses in the Qur’an that speak with kindness about non-Muslims.
They raise examples of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad visiting his sick Jewish neighbor, standing
in deference at a Jew’s funeral procession, settling a dispute in favor of a truthful Jew over a
dishonest person who was a Muslim, and forming alliances with Jews and polytheists, among
others. They criticize the Wahhabis for distorting and even altering the text of the Qur’an in
support of their bigotry.41 They say that in their tradition jihad is applicable only in defense of
Islam and Muslims.
Abdurrahman Wahid,42 the former President of Indonesia and former head of the world’s largest
Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, and Sheikh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani,43 the
Lebanese-American Chairman of the Michigan-based Islamic Supreme Council of America, are
two Muslim world leaders who have courageously spoken out and written about the threats
posed by Wahhabi ideology and its global expansion. Saudi expert Ali Al-Ahmed, Director of
the Washington-based Gulf Institute, published his first evaluation of Saudi textbooks in January
2001.44 Ali Alyami of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia,45 scholar
Sheikh Ahmed Subhy Mansour,46 and authors Stephen Schwartz47 and Mai Yamani48 are among
other Muslim leaders and intellectuals who, from outside the Kingdom, write strong and
persuasive human rights critiques of Saudi education.
Even within Saudi Arabia, some are beginning, despite intimidation, to make these points
publicly. A notable example is Dr. Hamza Al-Maziani, a linguistics professor at King Saud
University,49 who was charged by a colleague with describing Islamic textbooks used at the
University as “radical.” He had written several pieces on problems in Saudi universities,
including an article in the Al-Watan daily that criticized the deteriorating quality of education at
King Saud University. He argued that the dominance of radical Islamists over university culture
had harmed the quality of cultural programs.50 For speaking out, he was sued for defamation and
insult by a Saudi professor of Islamic culture. In March 2005, a sharia court found Al-Maziani
guilty of “mocking religion” and sentenced him to be flogged and imprisoned.51 The sentence
was annulled by the King and his case transferred to an administrative panel within the Ministry
of Information, which ordered him to pay a fine in May 2006.52 Despite this ordeal, Al-Maziani
continued to advocate educational reform, and, while giving an address on this issue in
September 2006, he was assaulted by a group of young men who called him an infidel.53
In the schoolbook lessons examined in this report, the Saudi government discounts or ignores
passages supporting tolerance in the Qur’an and in the stories of the life of the Muslim Prophet
18
Muhammad. Yet, in addressing Western audiences, the Saudi government invokes just such
passages. In the international arena, the Saudi government recognizes and employs the argument
that there can be found support within Islamic tradition for “inalienable human rights,” and the
peaceful coexistence of Muslims with other religious believers.
For example, in its 1970 memorandum to the United Nations (Appendix F), the Saudi
government quoted extensively from Islamic sacred texts to argue that “the dignity of a human
person” would be “protected by us without any distinction between one man and another under
the impetus of the divine Islamic creed and not by the material law.” The Saudi government
cited numerous Qur’anic and other passages to establish that Islam ensures basic human rights,
including religious freedom. It wrote as follows:
The dignity of man, in conformity with the Koranic verse which says: "We have
honoured the sons of Adam". (XVI1, 70).
No distinctions in dignity and fundamental rights between one man and another as
race, sex, blood relations or wealth, in accordance with the Saying of the Prophet
of Islam: "There is no advantage for an Arab over a non-Arab, or for a white man
over a black man excepting by piety," and in his saying: "Women are partners to
men".
The call for the unity of the human race. The persons most favoured by God are
those who are most beneficial to mankind, in accordance with the Saying of the
Prophet of Islam: "Human creatures are the families of God and the ones who are
most loved by Him are those who are most useful to their families."
The call for acquaintance and cooperation for the common good as well as for the
performance of all kinds of righteous deeds towards all human beings regardless
of their citizenship or religion, in conformity with the Koranic verse: "O mankind
we created you from a single pair of a male and a female and made you into
nations and tribes that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise each
other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is he who is the most
righteous of you." (XLIX, 13). The same theme is repeated in the following
Koranic verse: "God forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for
(your) faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with
them: For God loveth those who are just." (LX, 8).
Religious freedom to every one and prohibition of any exercise of force in this
respect, in response to God's Sayings in the Glorious Koran: "Let there be no
compulsion in religion," (II, 256) and "Wilt thou then compel mankind against
their will to believe!" (X, 99). These sayings show how the use of pressure on
man's religious freedom is denounced.
Prohibition of any attack on the property or the life of a man as expressed in the
Saying of the Muslim Prophet: "You are forbidden to attack the property or the
lives of others."
19
House immunity for the protection of man's freedom as mentioned in the
following Koranic Saying: "O ye who believe! Enter not houses other than your
own, until ye have asked permission and saluted those in them; that is best for
you, in order that ye may heed (what is seemly)." (XXIV, 27).
… There are countless other Islamic religious laws for the protection of those
rights which are referred to above. They explain, on the whole, the basic
inalienable Human Rights. They also deal in a comprehensive way with man's
economic, social and cultural rights from the humanitarian and idealistic aspects
which do not make any distinction or allow for any kind of distinction between
one human being and another, particularly concerning the things provided for in
the International Human Rights Declaration, namely sex or colour or language or
religion or opinion or national or social origin or wealth or country. We also go
farther than that and add things that were not recognized by the Drafting Body of
Human Rights, such as those that appear in the following Koranic Verse: "O ye
who believe! Stand out firmly for God, as witness to fair dealing, and let not the
hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be
just: that is next to piety; and fear God, for God is well-acquainted with all that ye
do." (V 8). We can infer from these holy words that no discrimination in human
rights ought to be made because of hatreds or animosities.
These are the types of arguments that the Saudi government needs to make in its own
textbooks and educational materials in place of lessons that sanction and promote
violence and extreme intolerance, including those examples highlighted in this report.
20
INTOLERANT TEXTBOOKS VIOLATE SAUDI ARABIA’S INTERNATIONAL AND
BILATERAL OBLIGATIONS
Saudi government sponsorship of textbooks that promote violent and intolerant teachings
constitutes a threat to American interests, and violates both international and bilateral human
rights obligations that Saudi Arabia has freely assumed. The Saudi state’s international
agreements – in particular its confirmation to the United States government that it would remove
all intolerance from its textbooks – give jurisdiction over this matter to the U.S. Department of
State.
This analysis is concerned exclusively with the issue of religious freedom and is based on two
grounds.
International Obligations
First, as a Member State of the United Nations, Saudi Arabia is obligated under the Charter of
the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to uphold tolerance, end
religious discrimination, and respect the right to religious freedom and pluralism. Saudi Arabia
also is bound under non-discrimination provisions of various other treaties it has ratified or
acceded to. These include the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Saudi reservations to the effect that
compliance would be within the limits of sharia54 have prompted the UN treaty bodies that
monitor compliance to criticize it for having a “narrow interpretation of Islamic texts…
impeding the enjoyment of many human rights,” specifically in the areas of “equality and
tolerance.”55
The UN Charter affirms that one of the purposes of the United Nations is to promote and
encourage respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to
race, sex, language, or religion. Articles 55 and 56 of the UN Charter state, as follows:
Article 55
With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and well-being which are necessary
for peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of
equal rights and self-determination of peoples, the United Nations shall promote:
… .
c. universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for
all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
Article 56
All Members pledge themselves to take joint and separate action in co-operation with the
Organization for the achievement of the purposes set forth in Article 55.
The Declaration provides:
21
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes
freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice,
worship and observance.
This right is to be examined in conjunction with the other non-discrimination provisions in the
Declaration, which guarantee rights to each individual without discrimination on the basis of
religion.
While Saudi Arabia abstained from voting for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights when
it was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, the
Declaration’s basic rights are now considered by international law experts to be part of
customary law, binding on all governments. Saudi Arabia’s responsibility in upholding such
basic rights is implicit in its membership on the UN’s Human Rights Council; it is one of 47
members that sit in judgment of the world’s countries on basic human rights issues, including
religious freedom.56
Bilateral “Confirmation” of Policies
Our second ground for holding Saudi Arabia responsible for textbook reform is that, two years
ago, as a result of protracted bilateral negotiations with the United States government, Saudi
Arabia “confirmed” to the U.S. government that it would reform its curriculum thoroughly
within two years.57 On July 19, 2006, the State Department issued a press release announcing the
diplomatic confirmation of policy: “The Saudi Government is conducting a comprehensive
revision of textbooks and educational curricula to weed out disparaging remarks toward religious
groups, a process that will be completed in one to two years” (see, Appendix A).
The State Department’s press release reported that U.S. Ambassador at Large for Religious
Freedom John Hanford had briefed Congress on religious practice and tolerance issues in Saudi
Arabia, focusing primarily on the results of bilateral discussions on these topics.58 The problem
of intolerant language in textbooks and educational curricula was a particular focus of the
briefing.
Ambassador Hanford emphasized the significance of the Saudi government’s commitment,
noting that it was made openly, and inviting public monitoring of the effort: “I am pleased that
the Government of Saudi Arabia has been willing to engage with us in a substantive manner on
these critical issues. These policies are significant developments, and I appreciate the Saudi
Government’s interest in confirming them publicly so that all interested parties may follow
progress made in these areas.”
The State Department explained that the discussion process had made it possible to “identify and
confirm a number of key policies that the Saudi Government is pursuing and will continue to
pursue for the purpose of promoting greater freedom for religious practice and increased
tolerance for religious groups.” The understanding is that the process will be completed by the
start of the 2008-2009 school year, according to a January 2008 letter from a State Department
official to Senator Jon Kyl (see, Appendix B).
22
According to an informal document circulated by Ambassador Hanford, Saudi Arabia had
pledged, among other things, to “halt the dissemination of intolerant literature and extremist
ideology within Saudi Arabia and around the world.” The document listed the following specific
steps among those that the government of Saudi Arabia would take:
• Revise and update textbooks to remove remaining intolerant references that disparage
Muslims or non-Muslims or that promote hatred toward other religions or religious
groups, a process the Saudi Government expects to complete in one to two years.
• Review revised materials to expunge any remaining intolerant references about any
religion or religious groups that were not removed in previous revisions.
• Prohibit the use of government channels or government funds to publish or promote
textbooks, literature, or other materials that advocate intolerance and sanction hatred of
religions or religious groups.
• Thoroughly review and revise educational materials and other literature sent abroad to
ensure that all intolerant references are removed, and where possible, attempt to retrieve
previously distributed materials that contain intolerance.
• Ensure Saudi embassies and consulates abroad review and destroy any material given to
them by charities or other entities that promote intolerance or hatred.
• Control distribution of Saudi educational curricula to ensure that unauthorized
organizations do not send them abroad.
It is clear that the U.S. government took the Saudi “confirmation” seriously, both in its public
announcement of it and in the subsequent formulation of U.S. policy. Since 2004, Saudi Arabia
has been designated by the State Department as a “Country of Particular Concern,” under the
International Religious Freedom Act. The Act requires presidential action that could include
sanctions against governments that have been thus designated as among the world’s worst
religious freedom persecutors. However, on the strength of the Saudi government’s confirmation
it would undertake textbook reforms and other measures to advance religious freedom and
tolerance, as stated in the July 19, 2006, State Department press release, Secretary of State Rice
kept in place a waiver of any presidential action against Saudi Arabia (see, Appendix A).
Thus, Saudi Arabia has freely assumed both international and bilateral obligations to eliminate
violent, bigoted and discriminatory teachings against the religious “other” from its Ministry of
Education textbooks, as well as other materials. This report is a comparative analysis showing
the status of textbook reform as the two year compliance period that was negotiated with the
United States comes to a close.
It remains to be seen whether the Saudi government will reform its textbooks before the start of
the new school year that begins in two months, as it obligated itself to do. We are releasing this
analysis at this time to document that fundamental textbook reform has not yet been made and to
provide some examples, by no means comprehensive, of violent and extremely intolerant
teachings that remain in the Saudi government’s textbooks.
That Saudi Arabia is now an influential global power and a leader within the Muslim world
makes it all the more urgent that the Kingdom live up to its international agreements and be a
proponent of religious tolerance and freedom.
23
ABOUT THE REPORT
This analysis takes twelve key points we identified as objectionable in the 2006 textbooks as
markers for comparison with the current textbooks. The list covers Saudi government lessons on
“unbelievers,” which in Saudi Wahhabi ideology include Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus,
other Sunnis, Shiites, Sufis, and others, as well as a passage on jihad also discussed in the 2006
report. Apart from these markers, we include more extensive excerpts for both the 2005-2006
and the 2007-2008 academic years, and a brief discussion of each excerpt in Appendix C. In
addition, included in Appendix D are several excerpts found in the 2007-2008 textbooks, which
are currently posted on the Saudi government’s website, that had been identified as disturbing
examples of violent and intolerant teachings by the U.S. Commission on International Religious
Freedom (USCIRF) in its analysis of a sample of Saudi textbooks from the Islamic Saudi
Academy near Washington, D.C.59 Appendix E contains an excerpt from a tenth grade textbook
currently posted on the Saudi Ministry of Education website that endorses violence against
homosexuals.
All the books used in this study are in Arabic and were translated by two independent translators.
Photocopies of all the excerpts in their original Arabic, side by side with the English translations,
are available on our website at http://www.hudson.org/religion.
The new texts used for this report were downloaded from the Saudi Ministry of Education’s
website. As this report goes to print, all of the original Arabic-language textbooks for all grades
in the Saudi curriculum for the 2007-2008 academic year can be found in their entirety at the
Saudi government’s website: http://www2.moe.gov.sa/ebooks/index.htm.
These textbooks are used in Saudi public school classrooms in elementary, middle, and high
school levels. They are part of the government’s religious curriculum, which can encompass up
to five courses in the upper grades, thus comprising a significant part of the Saudi school day.
In addition, the texts are disseminated through the internet and other means by Saudi Arabia for
use around the world. For example, the Saudi religious curriculum is followed by the network of
some 19 international academies founded by the Saudi government, each chaired by the local
Saudi ambassador. At the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, the Saudi academy outside
Washington, D.C., stated in its web brochure that it used the Saudi Ministry of Education
“curriculum, syllabus and materials” for its Islamic and Arabic studies classes.60 In June 2008,
USCIRF released its analysis of seventeen of the Washington-area Saudi academy textbooks on
religion, finding that they appeared to be Saudi Ministry of Education textbooks, containing
some alterations but still with identical wording in many sections of the texts. The federal
Commission observed the use of correction tape or fluid and cutting and pasting in the textbooks,
“but not sufficient revision to remove all objectionable material.” The Washington-area Islamic
Saudi Academy, with a student body approaching 1,000, states on its website that its mission is
to be “the premier educational institution” for the American Muslim community. Its goal appears
to be establishing in the United States, as well as other countries, a homegrown leadership for the
next generation of adherents of the Saudi Wahhabi sect of Islam.
24
COMPARING SAUDI TEXTBOOKS: 2006-2008
In May 2006, the Center for Religious Freedom, with the Institute for Gulf Affairs, released
Saudi Arabia’s Curriculum of Intolerance, a ground-breaking report that analyzed excerpts from
a dozen Saudi textbooks. All of those textbooks had been published by the Saudi Ministry of
Education and were used at that time in the curriculum of Saudi public schools between the first
and twelfth grades. They also were being disseminated internationally, including to the network
of about 19 academies founded by Saudi Arabia and chaired by the local Saudi ambassadors in
major foreign cities, such as the Islamic Saudi Academy near Washington, D.C.
The 2006 report concluded:
“As demonstrated by excerpts from the dozen current Islamic studies textbooks analyzed in this
report, the Saudi public school religious curriculum continues to propagate an ideology of hate
toward the ‘unbeliever,’ that is, Christians, Jews, Shiites, Sufis, Sunni Muslims who do not
follow Wahhabi doctrine, Hindus, atheists and others. This ideology is introduced in a religion
textbook in the first grade and reinforced and developed in following years of the public
education system, culminating in the twelfth grade, where a text instructs students that it is a
religious obligation to do ‘battle’ against infidels in order to spread the faith.”
The 2006 analysis had been undertaken in the context of repeated assertions by Saudi
government officials, including in a Saudi public relations campaign directed at American
audiences, that educational reform had been completed. For example, on March 7, 2005, Adel
al-Jubier, a Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman and now the Saudi ambassador to the United
States, had unequivocally asserted: “We have reviewed our educational curriculums. We have
removed materials that are inciteful or intolerant towards people of other faiths.”
Two years ago, Saudi Arabia’s Curriculum of Intolerance demonstrated that such Saudi claims
of having cleaned up the Kingdom’s textbooks were far from true.
The 2006 report presented the following list of twelve excerpts as “disturbing examples” of
intolerant passages in the texts:
Regarding Sunni, Shiite, Sufi, and other non-Wahhabi or non-Salafi Muslims, the textbooks:
1. Condemn the majority of Sunni Muslims around the world as “bad successors” of “bad
predecessors.”61
2. Condemn and denigrate Shiite and Sufi Muslims’ beliefs and practices as heretical and call
them “polytheists.”62
3. Denounce Muslims who do not interpret the Qur’an “literally.”63
Regarding Christians, Jews, Polytheists (including Muslims who are not followers of
Wahhabism), and other infidels, the books:
25
4. Command Muslims to “hate” Christians, Jews, polytheists, and other “unbelievers,”
including non-Wahhabi Muslims, though, incongruously, not to treat them “unjustly.”64
5. Teach that the Crusades never ended and identify the American Universities in Beirut and
in Cairo, other Western and Christian social service providers, media outlets, centers for
academic studies of Orientalism, and campaigns for women’s rights as part of the modern
phase of the Crusades.65
6. Teach that “the Jews and the Christians are enemies of the [Muslim] believers”66 and that
“the clash”67 between the two realms “continues until the Day of Resurrection.”68
7. Instruct students not to “greet,”69 “imitate,”70 “show loyalty to,”71 “be courteous to”72 or
“respect”73 non-believers.
8. Define jihad to include “wrestling with the infidels by calling them to the faith and battling
against them”74 and assert that the spread of Islam through jihad is a “religious obligation.”75
[The word qital, translated here as “battle,” is derived from the verb qatala, “to kill,” and is
virtually never used metaphorically.]
Regarding Anti-Semitism, they:
9. Instruct that “the struggle between Muslims and Jews”76 will continue “until the hour [of
judgment]”77 and that “Muslims will triumph because they are right” and “he who is right is
always victorious.”78
10. Cite a selective teaching of violence against Jews, while, in the same lesson, ignore the
passages of the Qur’an and hadiths [narratives of the life of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad]
that counsel tolerance.79
11. Teach the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as historical fact and relate modern events to
it.80
12. Discuss Jews in violent terms, blaming them for virtually all the “sedition” and wars of
the modern world.81
The Saudi Ministry of Education published new textbooks for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008
academic years, and, while some changes in wording and format were made, no overall material
change to this list of twelve objectionable passages is evident. Compared to the 2006 list, above,
there are changes in the wording and format that affect only one example, marker number 4
(above), from a fourth grade textbook, and in this case the intolerant meaning expressed in the
passage remains in the 2007-2008 textbook. In addition to the list above, our 2006 analysis also
examined lengthier excerpts from the 2005-2006 curriculum. In the 2007-2008 versions of these
passages there are changes in the fifth, sixth, and ninth grade lessons in addition to that
mentioned above, though such changes do not alter the objectionable message of these lessons
either. All these changes are discussed, below. [Appendix C contains the more extensive excerpts
26
from the 2006 analysis side by side with the corresponding excerpts from the 2007-2008
curriculum.]
In the 2007 and 2008 editions of the fourth grade text Monotheism and Jurisprudence, there are
changes in the lesson so that the objectionable example cited in our 2006 analysis is now
presented in the format of an exercise that asks the student to identify true belief. At first glance,
it may seem that this section has been toned down with the removal of the imperative, “hate the
polytheists and infidels,” but a closer examination shows that this is not the case. In the question,
below, hatred of the unbelievers is taught as a necessary component of true belief.
In the newer editions, the text corresponding to example 4, above, reads:
“Is belief true in the following instances?
a. A man prays but hates those who are virtuous.
b. A man professes that there is no deity other than God but loves the unbelievers.
c. A man worships God alone, loves the believers, and hates the unbelievers.”
Though the correct answers are not provided, a fifth grade textbook elaborates upon this theme,
and there can be no doubt that the right answer above is “c.” It should be noted that this
particular fourth grade lesson has dropped the injunction against treating the unbelievers
“unjustly.” As the 2006 analysis had noted, the admonition not to treat unbelievers “unjustly”
was reform language that had been highlighted by the Saudi ambassador to USCIRF in a
document dated March 2006.82 Therefore, this editorial change retracted a prior year’s touted
“reform.”
While not affecting the twelve concerns listed in our 2006 analysis, above, editorial changes
have been made to the new fifth grade text as well and are worth pointing out here. The
instruction from the 2005-2006 text that “[s]omeone who opposes God, even if he is your brother
by family tie, is your enemy in religion” has been removed. There seems to be no practical
significance to this since the new lesson still teaches that “a Muslim is forbidden to love and aid
the unbelieving enemies of God.” The declaration that “Jews and Christians are enemies of the
believers” continues to be found in a 2007-2008 textbook for ninth grade that is currently posted
on the government’s website. Other lessons remain in upper grade texts that teach that Jews and
Christians are apes and swine, Jews conspire to “gain sole control over the world,” the Christian
Crusades never ended, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion are historical fact, and on Judgment
Day “the rocks or the trees” will call out to Muslims to kill Jews.
Furthermore, the new fifth grade lesson now introduces an exercise in which a chart, below, is
presented profiling four types of individuals and the student is asked to fill in the blanks with the
right “attitude” toward those individuals choosing from either “love” or “hate.” The first answer
is filled in by the textbook authors as a demonstration. It reads: “Condition of the individual: One
of your relatives who does not pray, does not fast, and does not worship God.” This practice
question provides the answer: under the rubric “Your attitude,” the words “I hate him in God”
are written. The questions at the end of this fifth grade lesson in the 2005-2006 edition have been
reworded to be less direct. In a question about whom it is permissible to love, the explicit
reference to “Jews and Christians” is now replaced by the term “unbelievers” or “infidels” in the
27
new edition. However, in other chapters of the religious curriculum, starting with first grade, the
identification of Jews and Christians as unbelievers is repeated throughout.
The new student exercise in the fifth grade Saudi text on Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence,
and Qur’anic Recitation reads:
Which of the following should you love in God, and which of them should you hate in God?
Condition of the individual Your attitude Reason
1 One of your relatives who does
not pray, does not fast, and does
not worship God
I hate him in
God
2 A person who prays, fasts, and
worships God but is not one of
your relatives
3 A person from another country
who is poor and ardent about
praying and worshiping God
4 A person from your country who
does not like to pray and does not
worship
There are some revisions to the lesson on jihad in the new version of the twelfth grade text
Hadith and Islamic Culture. The 2005-2006 edition stated: “Jihad in the path of God – which
consists of battling against unbelief, oppression, injustice, and those who perpetrate it – is the
summit of Islam.” In the new edition of this textbook, the hyphenated clause was deleted, so that
the sentence now simply reads: “Jihad in the path of God is the summit of Islam.” This edit
should not be mistaken for an improvement, however, since this same lesson defines jihad to
mean, in part, an “effort to wage war against the unbelievers and tyrants.” Once again, this lesson
asserts that “jihad to spread the faith of God is an obligation.” As before, the word qital is used
in this lesson’s discussion of jihad, which is derived from the verb qatala, “to kill,” and is
virtually never used metaphorically. The new edition includes new questions at the end that quiz
the student about jihad, including the justifications for “battle” jihad. As in the prior edition, the
text explains there is more than one meaning of jihad. While, as the text explains, one of the
meanings of jihad is self-perfection or “wrestling with the spirit,” this lesson teaches a more
militant and aggressive meaning as well. It makes no mention of Islam’s injunction against
coercion in religion.
Thus in the textbooks now posted on the Saudi of Ministry of Education website, the entire list of
markers highlighted in our 2006 analysis remains of concern.
Appendix C contains longer excerpts from the twelve textbooks, for both the currently posted
and the prior editions, and a discussion of each passage. While there are some further changes in
the text, none are material for the purposes of this analysis. For example, in a sixth grade
religious textbook the prayer given for funerals is now worded differently from the one given in
2006. However, the main lesson of that section, the banning and denunciation of the mourning
28
traditions of many Shiites and other Muslims, remains. This was our concern with regard to the
prior sixth grade textbook and it remains a concern now.
Appendix D contains excerpts from the Saudi textbooks currently posted on the Ministry of
Education website that correspond to those discussed in a recent statement by the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom, which had found them in the textbooks being
used outside of Washington at the Islamic Saudi Academy (ISA), an arm of the Royal Embassy
of Saudi Arabia.83 These passages include instructions that it is permissible for Muslims to kill
apostates and adulterers. They also permit the killing of those practicing “major polytheism,” by
which USCIRF found the Saudis to mean “Shi’a and Sufi Muslims, who visit the shrines of their
saints to ask for intercession with God on their behalf, as well as Christians, Jews, Hindus, and
Buddhists”; a footnote in the textbook found on the Ministry website states that the decision to
kill must come from the head Muslim religious leader. One lesson in the Saudi public school
textbooks posted on the government’s website, like its counterpart found by USCIRF in the
Islamic Saudi Academy books, states that “it is not permissible to violate the blood, property, or
honor of the unbeliever who makes a compact with the Muslims,” but is silent on whether
security guarantees are extended to non-Muslims without such a compact. Here also, as in the
texts examined by USCIRF, one very brief passage discusses jihad. With no further guidance or
clarification of the ambiguities it raises, this passage asserts jihad is the “pinnacle of Islam,”
exalts “force and victory over the enemies,” and glorifies “martyrdom” as a “noble life-force.”
These lessons demonize members of the Baha’i and Ahmadiyya faiths and blame “the Jews” for
having “conspired against Islam.” All of the specific passages of concern highlighted by
USCIRF are found in the Saudi public school textbooks currently posted by the Saudi Ministry
of Education.
Appendix E contains an additional extremist lesson from a currently posted tenth grade Saudi
Ministry of Education textbook. It teaches that “the punishment for homosexuality is death” and
discusses ways to carry out this out. Burning with fire, stoning, or throwing from a high place are
methods that are mentioned. Though the lesson quotes a traditional scholar suggesting that the
Prophet Muhammad made no judgment on homosexuality, it presents the Saudi sharia ruling on
this subject (without identifying it as such) as definitive.
These texts instruct students to believe that there exist two incompatible realms – one consisting
of true believers in Islam, the monotheists, and the other of infidels or unbelievers – and that
these realms never coexist in peace. Students are being taught that unbelievers, such as
Christians, Jews, and Muslims who do not share Wahhabi beliefs and practices, are hated
“enemies,” and that true believers should aid and show loyalty only to other true believers.
These texts teach that Christians, Jews, and others have united in a war against Islam that will
ultimately end in the complete destruction of these infidels. Like the statements of Osama bin
Laden, they advance the belief that the Crusades never ended and continue today in various
forms. They promote global jihad as “effort to wage war against the unbelievers.” In these
lessons, no argument is made that such references to jihad mean only spiritual struggle and
defensive warfare. Some Saudis themselves have linked the Kingdom’s educational curriculum
to patterns of violence in young Saudi men.
29
The word changes and reformatting that have taken place over the past two years in these more
extensive excerpts from which our twelve markers were taken amount to moving around the
furniture, not cleaning the house. All of the textbooks analyzed in the 2006 report have been
reissued at least once and all but two of them reissued twice, yet the changes to these passages
have been minimal and the degree of substantive change overall has been negligible. The Saudi
government has not removed the objectionable message of these lessons. Any improvements that
may have been made to those Saudi textbooks we did not review would be undercut or negated
by these teachings in the ones we did. As in 2006, the Saudi Ministry of Education religion
textbooks reviewed in this report promote an ideology of hatred that teaches bigotry and violence
and deplores tolerance.
30
EDUCATIONAL REFORM IS CRITICAL:
Saudi Arabia’s Global Influence
A century ago, Saudi Arabia was sparsely populated with nomadic tribes who were not yet
united into a recognized nation. With relative suddenness, it has emerged from subsistence living
and obscurity to become a wealthy regional power, and an influential leader within the Muslim
world. Yet, its public educational system, reflecting its governing ideology, remains rooted in the
blend of the harsh desert traditions and severe Islamic interpretations of its past.
The origins of the modern Saudi regime lie in the partnership forged in the eighteenth century
between Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the modern-day Saudi dynasty, and Abd al-Wahhab, a
fundamentalist Muslim scholar. An extreme offshoot of Islam’s Hanbali school, Wahhab’s
thought is based on a dualistic worldview in which true “monotheists” are obliged until judgment
day to “fight” “polytheists” and “idolaters,” including Christians, Jews, Shiites, and
insufficiently zealous Sunni Muslims. It was made the ruling ideology and the underlying
philosophy of the sharia or law in the regions of Arabia under Saudi control. In the early
twentieth century, Saudi leader Abdulaziz al-Saud (Ibn Saud) unified the disparate tribes in the
Arabian Peninsula, mainly through conquest. The Hejaz, encompassing Mecca and Medina, was
among the areas that fell under Saudi control. In 1926, Ibn Saud convened a global Islamic
conference to affirm his position as guardian of the two holiest shrines in Islam. In 1932, the
current Saudi state officially emerged, keeping intact the close relationship between the Saudi
ruling family and the al Sheikh family, the hereditary leaders of the Wahhabi religious
establishment. The final element that would complete the definition of modern-day Saudi Arabia
was put in place in 1945, when Ibn Saud met with American President Franklin D. Roosevelt to
consolidate an economic alliance that his country had entered into a decade earlier with the
American company Standard Oil. Saudi Arabia, it was to be discovered, has one quarter of the
world’s proven oil reserves, a fact that has undergirded a U.S.-Saudi strategic alliance for the
past sixty years.84
Governed on a monarchical model, Saudi Arabia defines itself today as an Islamic state.85
Religion and government remain interlocked. It has established Wahhabism as the official state
political ideology and the basis of jurisprudence for its sharia,86 pays the salaries of the Wahhabi
clerical establishment, and has elevated the office of Grand Mufti to a government cabinet-level
position.87
Within Saudi Arabia, Muslims who openly disagree with Wahhabi rulings are denounced,
discredited, and intimidated and may be officially punished for blasphemy or apostasy. Dissent
from the state’s religious dogma can result in job loss or criminal prosecution. Political reformers
who peacefully petitioned for rights through a constitutional monarchy were imprisoned for over
a year for using “un-Islamic terminology,” and other offenses.88 Despite the presence of millions
of non-Muslims and non-Wahhabi Muslims in the Kingdom, Saudi authorities forbid the public
practice of non-Muslim religions and severely restrict the practices of Shi’a Muslims, including
the Ismailis.89
Saudi Wahhabism is the core of the public school curriculum, comprising much or most of the
school day through high school. Some five million Saudi students are educated with these
31
textbooks each year. Inside the Kingdom, the Saudi government exercises strict control over
what teachers say to their students about those who do not subscribe to the Wahhabi doctrine.
Those who advocate tolerance and reform risk being condemned as blasphemers and punished.
An infamous example was the Saudi schoolteacher who was fired in 2005 from his job and
sentenced to 750 lashes and a three-and-a-half year prison term for making positive statements
about Jews and the New Testament; he was pardoned after public protests and international
pressure.90
Saudi Arabia has long sought to be the leading Islamic power and the protector of the faith, a
claim asserted in the Saudi Basic Law. With its vast oil wealth and the religious legitimacy
derived from its custodianship of the shrines and control of the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that
is one of the five pillars of Islam, Saudi Arabia’s long-term ambitions are within reach. It is
positioning itself to be the authoritative voice of Islam worldwide. This would be a dramatically
new development. In the history of Sunni Islam, theological authority has been located in various
centers, but never in the House of Saud.
To Western audiences, the monarchy has repeatedly compared itself to the Vatican, with the
King as a type of Islamic pope. Saudi Ambassador to the United States Adel al-Jubeir publicly
stated, “the role of Saudi Arabia in the Muslim world is similar to the role of the Vatican.”91 In
an interview with Barbara Walters in 2005, then-Crown Prince Abdullah also drew a parallel
between Saudi Arabia’s role within Islam and the Vatican’s within worldwide Catholicism.92
Likewise, then-Saudi Ambassador Turki Al-Faisal highlighted this analogy in 2006 in a letter to
the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.93 One Saudi royal family member
recently placed full-page ads in the international press that make the same point with visual
parallels between the pope and the king, and the Vatican and Mecca. A slogan at the bottom
reads, “Two great faiths, sharing one great cause: humanity.”94
The implication is that Saudi Arabia is not only hallowed ground or Islam’s spiritual homeland
as custodian of the two holiest Muslim sites, but also the arbiter of orthodoxy for the world’s 1.3
billion Muslims.
Since 1979, the year when Islamic terrorists laid siege to Mecca and threatened Saudi rule, and
when a Shi’a regime seized control of Iran, Saudi Arabia has poured enormous sums into foreign
evangelism, funding mosques, schools, libraries, and academic centers worldwide.95 Some
analysts estimate that over the past quarter century Saudi Arabia has expended over $75 billion
for disseminating Wahhabism worldwide, roughly three times more a year than what the Soviet
Union spent annually in exporting its ruling ideology during the height of the Cold War.96 This
ideological export is having an effect. Wahhabi thought and customs are taking root in Muslim
communities from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, to Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria,
Pakistan, India and elsewhere. As Abdurrahman Wahid, the former President of Indonesia and
ex-director of the world’s largest Muslim organization lamented, it is making “inroads” even in
his famously tolerant part of the world.97
A recent example of Saudi Arabia’s quest to lead the Muslim world can be seen in the Saudi
King’s initiative to promote international dialogue between Muslims and followers of other
monotheistic faiths. Last November he traveled to Rome to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, the
32
first meeting of its kind, to advance the idea of interfaith talks. Subsequently, the World Muslim
League, which the Kingdom sponsors, invited 200 representatives of different faiths, including
an Israeli rabbi, to join the King in interfaith talks in Spain in mid-July 2008.98 In early June
2008, King Abdullah also had convened in Mecca a conference of religious leaders and Islamic
scholars from more than 50 countries to address intrafaith dialogue. At the June meeting, the
King’s tone reportedly was one of reconciliation toward the rival branch of Islam, the Shi’a ,99
with some Muslim observers, according to the Voice of America, saying the King’s call for
dialogue would reverberate throughout the Muslim world.100 While others were more skeptical
about its lasting importance,101 the King’s attempt to spearhead an endeavor to unite Muslims is
undeniable.
The United States government has repeatedly turned to Saudi Arabia, not only as an ally and
trading partner, but also as a Muslim leader. One highly symbolical example occurred a year ago,
when President Bush chose to give his "Muslim Initiative" address at the Washington Islamic
Center, as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of that mosque's founding by Saudi Arabia. Though
the President's remarks were intended for all American Muslims, the administration left the
invitation list to the Saudi-influenced Washington Islamic Center's authorities. Predictably, they
excluded a diverse array of Muslims whose organizations are not Saudi-founded or funded. In
effect, the United States government made this Saudi institution the gatekeeper for all American
Muslims at this high-profile, official address to the American Muslim community.102
Saudi Arabia’s custodianship of the two Islamic holy shrines and its vast oil wealth enable it to
exert unprecedented influence over the world’s Muslims. Saudi religious textbooks and
educational materials, which the Saudi government disseminates worldwide through the internet
and other means, aim to indoctrinate Muslim students in Wahhabi thought. Wahhabism threatens
to become a mainstream or even the dominant expression of Islam. In addition, current Saudi
efforts to initiate and lead intrafaith and interfaith dialogue occur simultaneously with Saudi
Arabia’s international promotion of its ideology of violence and intolerance toward other
believers. The Kingdom’s failure to revise its own educational materials raises the concern that
the King’s overtures to Christians, Jews and Shiites will give greater benefit to the public
relations campaign to improve Saudi Arabia’s image abroad at a time of growing world
discontent about soaring oil prices than to finding common ground.
The Saudi curriculum and religious violence
It is becoming disturbingly apparent that a disproportionately large number of the world’s
suicide terrorists, acting in the name of Islam, have been born, raised, and educated in Saudi
Arabia. When it was discovered that three quarters of the hijackers on 9/11, along with the
founder of al Qaeda himself, were from Saudi Arabia, the whole world suffered the realization
that Saudi nationals are deeply involved in suicide terror.
The United States has not been the only nation to be targeted by Saudi terrorists. A Saudi was
also the mastermind of terror in Chechnya, where he transformed a secularist independence
movement into a major Islamist terrorist push.103 Saudis figured prominently in more recent
suicide attacks against Spanish tourists in Yemen, and a Saudi doctor was a principal in the
attack against the Glasgow airport in June 2007. Over the past year, the state-backed Saudi
33
Human Rights Organization has made several trips to visit self-proclaimed Saudi jihadists
imprisoned in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. The Saudi Human Rights Organization reported last
year that 74 Saudis were imprisoned in Jordan, including a Saudi national who was sentenced to
life imprisonment for an attempted suicide attack in Jordan. Diplomatic sources say that up to
980 Saudi al Qaeda members were at a refugee camp in Syria, and that Saudi Arabia demanded
that they be turned over as a precondition to negotiations between the two countries.104 At
Guantanamo Bay facilities, Saudis have reportedly comprised the second largest contingent of
detainees, outnumbered only by those from Afghanistan.105 Within Saudi Arabia itself, Saudi
authorities reported in mid-2008 that 520 al Qaeda-linked militants have been apprehended so far
this year.106
On November 22, 2007, the New York Times reported that American military officials released
data showing that Saudis accounted for the largest number – 41% – of foreign fighters and
suicide bombers in Iraq.107 The data came from a trove of documents and computers containing
biographical sketches discovered in a tent camp raided by American forces in the desert near
Sinjar, close to the Syrian border. In July 2007, a senior U.S. military officer told the Los
Angeles Times that nearly half of the 135 foreigners in U.S. detention facilities in Iraq were
Saudis; and fighters from Saudi Arabia are thought to have carried out more suicide bombings
than those of any other nationality.108 The Saudis admitted that 800 or so foreign insurgents who
have gone to Iraq are Saudis; the real figure is undoubtedly higher.109 A Saudi, Muhammad al-
Thibaiti, was reported last August by Al-Hayat (a London-based paper whose Saudi edition was
one of the most popular papers in the Kingdom) to have been a key figure in the Islamic State of
Iraq, a group that is a front for al Qaeda. The paper, which was subsequently banned in Saudi
Arabia, said that al-Thibaiti had studied at Imam Muhammad bin Saud University.110
What is the link between religiously-inspired violence by Saudi nationals and the Saudi public
education curriculum? Criticism of Saudi educational extremism grew after the terrorism on
September 11, 2001. Some Saudis, themselves, have openly criticized the Kingdom’s
educational system on the basis it promotes violence.
A panel of Saudi professionals prepared a study of the Saudi public schools' religious curriculum
that was presented at the Second Forum for National Dialogue, held in Saudi Arabia in late
December 2003 under the patronage of then-Crown Prince Abdullah. The panel observed that the
Kingdom’s religious studies curriculum “legitimiz[es] the violent repression of the ‘other’ and
even his physical elimination because of his views on disputed issues…. These things may create
a misapprehension that violent treatment of the ‘other’ is a task in which the pupil is obliged to
take an interest.”111
The release of our 2006 analysis, Saudi Arabia’s Curriculum of Intolerance, which was
republished in the Saudi press, spurred further debate in the Saudi media, with a number of
voices agreeing that the curriculum needed to change because it was promoting extremism. One
Saudi couple told the report’s author about their frustrations that the school books led their child
to view them as “enemies” since they did not practice the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam
reflected in the textbooks. They also complained that the curriculum was not preparing their
child for a productive adult life, since much of the school day was devoted to teaching Wahhabioriented
material rather than skills and knowledge with practical application.
34
In the past year, Saudi journalists have written anguished columns about the proclivity toward
terrorist violence of Saudi youth, demanding to know why Saudi young males seem more
susceptible to suicide recruiters than others. The Middle East Media Research Institute translated
and published excerpts from this debate, including the following:
• Why are Saudi youngsters attempting to change the world through extremist terrorist
thinking and through spreading death in all parts of the world? Why are they forcing the
world to think of the Saudis only as candidates for suicide bombings anywhere?... Yet
they nevertheless are easy prey for terrorist organizations, and constitute a generous and
self-renewing source of suicide [bombers]. What justification could there be for [the fact
that] the Saudis are so susceptible to extremist and terrorist mentality? (Jamil Al-
Dhaydi, editor of and columnist for the London-based daily Al-Hayat, Saudi edition.)
• Why is it the Saudis [who are involved in terrorism]? Because, like … time bombs, they
are mentally and politically ready, [and are like] pawns in the hands of organizations
with very dangerous political plans. We must investigate why Saudis have become so
willing to die for a cause whose aim they do not [even] understand. (Abd Al-Rahman Al-
Rached, former editor of the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, in that paper.)
• An interesting aspect of this [website] system is that it targets mainly the [Saudi]
kingdom and Saudi youth. These sites would not have been established had it not been
known for certain that thousands of young Saudis thirst for … [extremist] ideology.
These sites are not aimed at young people from Syria, the Gulf, or Malaysia, or Muslim
youth anywhere else… They focus only on the [Saudi] kingdom and on Saudi youth. This
explains why the common denominator in all world terrorism is the involvement of young
Saudis. (Abdallah bin Bakhit, in the Saudi daily Al Jazeera.)112
Finally, the official position of the Saudi government, itself, is to acknowledge the need for
change in the state’s curriculum. Since 2001, Saudi officials have publicly and voluntarily made
numerous assertions to the American pubic that the curriculum needs to be revised and that, with
time, reform would be accomplished. In our 2006 analysis, we documented many such official
statements. Saudi Arabia, after extensive negotiations with the United States, confirmed that its
policy is to thoroughly revise its textbooks to “remove remaining intolerant references that
disparage Muslims or non-Muslims or that promote hatred toward other religions or religious
groups.”
Both the Kingdom’s wealth and its religious legitimacy as custodian of the two Muslim shrines
ensure that the worldwide dissemination of Saudi educational materials will continue for the
foreseeable future. Unless the curriculum is fully reformed, millions of Muslim students will be
indoctrinated from textbooks that promote extreme intolerance and hatred, and have even been
linked by some Saudis to religious violence. While the Saudi state has recently initiated a
program to re-educate some Islamic terrorists, it appears to be educating even greater numbers
with a religious curriculum that legitimizes the “violent repression” and “physical elimination”
of the other. The thorough reform of these educational materials – as Saudi Arabia confirmed
would occur following protracted bilateral negotiations with the United States government in
July 2006 – is essential to American interests.
35
APPENDICES
A. Press Release of the U.S. Department of State, July 19, 2006 36
B. Letter to Senator Jon Kyl from U.S. Department of State, Office
of Legislative Affairs, Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Bergner,
January 2, 2008
37
C. Detailed Excerpts of Saudi Textbooks for 2005-2006 and 2007-
2008 Academic Years
39
D. Press Release on Islamic Saudi Academy (Alexandria, VA) of the
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom,
and Corresponding Citations from Ministry of Education Books
E. Lesson from Tenth Grade Saudi Textbook on Jurisprudence, pp.
76-77
52
59
F. Memorandum Submitted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to
International Organizations on Human Rights and their
Implementation Within Its Territory, 1970
64
36
Appendix A
Media Note
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
July 19, 2006Ambassador at Large for International Religious
Freedom Briefs Congress on U.S.-Saudi Discussions on
Religious Practice and Tolerance
Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom John Hanford briefed Congress today
on religious practice and tolerance issues in Saudi Arabia. Ambassador Hanford’s briefing
focused on the results of bilateral discussions on these topics, as well the problem of intolerant
language in textbooks and educational curricula.
Ambassador Hanford explained that this process has made it possible to identify and confirm a
number of key policies that the Saudi Government is pursuing and will continue to pursue for the
purpose of promoting greater freedom for religious practice and increased tolerance for religious
groups. These include policies designed to halt the dissemination of intolerant literature and
extremist ideology, both within Saudi Arabia and around the world, to protect the right to private
worship, and to curb harassment of religious practice. For example, the Saudi Government is
conducting a comprehensive revision of textbooks and educational curricula to weed out
disparaging remarks toward religious groups, a process that will be completed in one to two
years. The Saudi Government is also retraining teachers and the religious police to ensure that
the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims are protected and to promote tolerance and combat
extremism. The Saudi Government has also created a Human Rights Commission to address the
full range of human rights complaints.
Saudi Arabia was first designated a Country of Particular Concern under the International
Religious Freedom Act in 2004. In light of these ongoing developments, and in view of the
policies that the Saudi government has put in place to promote greater tolerance for members of
the various religious groups in Saudi Arabia, the Secretary has decided to leave in place a waiver
"to further the purposes of the Act," as provided for under the legislation.
Ambassador Hanford commented, "I am pleased that the Government of Saudi Arabia has been
willing to engage with us in a substantive manner on these critical issues. These policies are
significant developments, and I appreciate the Saudi Government’s interest in confirming them
publicly so that all interested parties may follow progress made in these areas."
2006/696
37
Appendix B
38
39
Appendix C
Detailed Textbook Excerpts: 2005-2006 and 2007-2008
The excerpts below in regular typeface appeared in the appendix of our 2006 analysis. The
excerpts in bold-face type, which follow each of these, are the corresponding passages
found in the textbooks for the 2007-2008 school year and which are currently posted on the
website of the Saudi Ministry of Education. In other words, for each excerpt, the 2005-2006
version is provided first and is immediately followed in bold by a designation of “no
change” or the excerpt containing the current text. As before, the brief discussions
preceding each excerpt are included as they appeared in the 2005-2006 analysis. These
discussions now also include comments concerning the updated textbooks. The side by side
English and Arabic translations for the passages from both the 2005-2006 and the 2007-
2008 academic years can be found on the website of the Center for Religious Freedom of
the Hudson Institute, www.hudson.org/religion.
FIRST GRADE:
In the First Grade textbook on Monotheism and Jurisprudence, students are taught that Jews,
Christians, and other non-Muslims are destined for “Hellfire.” While many religions teach that
they are the one true faith, Saudi assertions are distinctive: They are government-sponsored, they
contradict the Islamic teaching that Judaism and Christianity are “heavenly religions,” and they
are used as the starting point for an argument that eventually leads in high school textbooks to a
justification of religious violence.
There are no relevant changes to this lesson in the 2007-2008 curriculum.
• “Every religion other than Islam is false.”113
No change114
• “Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words (Islam, hellfire):
Every religion other than _____ is false. Whoever dies outside of Islam enters
____.”115
No change116
• “Give examples of false religions, like Judaism, Christianity, paganism, etc.”117
No change118
• “Explain that when someone dies outside of Islam, hellfire is his fate.”119
No change120
FOURTH GRADE:
A 2005-2006 Fourth Grade textbook on Monotheism and Jurisprudence instructs students to
“hate (tubghida) the polytheists and the infidels” as a requirement of “true faith.” Incongruously,
40
the same sentence instructs that they are not to treat the infidels “unjustly,” but does not provide
any clarification of what this meant.
In the 2007 and 2008 editions, this fourth grade text been changed so that the objectionable
example cited in our 2006 analysis is presented in the format of an exercise that asks the
student to identify true belief, rather than a straightforward declaration. Three cases are
given, and students are instructed to state whether belief is true in each case. Though the
correct answers are not provided, a fifth grade textbook elaborates upon this theme, and
there can be no doubt that the only answer intended as an example of true belief is “c” (see
below), which includes “hat(ing)” the unbelievers. It should be noted that this particular
fourth grade lesson has dropped the injunction not to treat the unbelievers “unjustly” from
its discussion. As our 2006 analysis had noted, the admonition not to treat unbelievers
“unjustly” was reform language that had been highlighted by the Saudi ambassador to
USCIRF in a document dated March 2006.121 Therefore, this editorial change retracted a
prior year’s touted “reform.”
• “Belief is not just a word that a person pronounces with the tongue. It consists of speech,
conviction, and action.”122
“We act on the following:
1.We know that belief is a primary obligation
2. We know the meaning of belief
3. We act on this”123
• “True belief means:…That you hate the polytheists and infidels but do not treat them
unjustly.”124
“ Is belief true in the following instances?
a. A man prays but hates those who are virtuous
b. A man professes that there is no deity other than God but loves the infidels.
c. A man worships God alone, loves the believers, and hates the infidels.”125
FIFTH GRADE:
The theme of hating the infidel is developed further in a discussion of loyalty and friendship in a
Fifth Grade textbook on Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation. Students
are instructed to be loyal to and befriend only other monotheist believers.
The instruction from the 2005-2006 text that “[s]omeone who opposes God, even if he is
your brother by family tie, is your enemy in religion” has been removed. There seems to be
no practical significance to this, since the new lesson still teaches that “a Muslim is
forbidden to love and aid the unbelieving enemies of God.” The declaration that “Jews and
Christians are enemies of the believers” continues to be found in a 2007-2008 textbook for
ninth grade. Other lessons remain in upper grade texts that teach that Jews and Christians
are apes and swine, Jews conspire to “gain sole control over the world,” the Christian
Crusades never ended, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion are historical fact, and on
Judgment Day “the rocks or the trees” will call out to Muslims to kill Jews.
41
Furthermore, the new fifth grade lesson now introduces an exercise in which a chart,
below, is presented profiling four types of individuals; the student is asked to fill in the
blanks with the right “attitude” toward those individuals, choosing from either “love” or
“hate.” The first answer is filled in by the textbook authors as a demonstration. It reads:
“Condition of the individual: One of your relatives who does not pray, does not fast, and
does not worship God.” This practice question provides the answer: under the rubric
“Your attitude,” it is written, “I hate him in God.” The questions at the end of this fifth
grade lesson in the 2005-2006 have been reworded to be less direct. In a question about
whom it is permissible to love, the explicit reference to “Jews and Christians,” is now
replaced by the term “unbelievers” or “infidels” in the new edition. In other chapters of the
religious curriculum, starting with first grade, the identification of Jews and Christians as
unbelievers is repeated throughout.
• “It is not permitted to be a loyal friend to those who oppose God and His Prophet.”126
“Prohibition on loyal friendship with those who oppose God and His Prophet.” (This
injunction is stated as the title of the lesson.)127
• “Whoever obeys the Prophet and accepts the oneness of God cannot be loyal to those who
oppose God and His Prophet, even if they are his closest relatives.”128
No change.129
• “It is forbidden for a Muslim to be a loyal friend to someone who does not believe in God
and His Prophet, or someone who fights the religion of Islam.”130
“A Muslim is forbidden to love and aid the unbelieving enemies of God.”131
• “A Muslim, even if he lives far away, is your brother in religion. Someone who opposes
God, even if he is your brother by family tie, is your enemy in religion.”132
Which of the following should you love in God, and which of them should you hate in
God?
Condition of the individual Your attitude Reason
1 One of your relatives who does
not pray, does not fast, and does
not worship God
I hate him in
God
2 A person who prays, fasts, and
worships God but is not one of
your relatives
3 A person from another country
who is poor and ardent about
praying and worshiping God
4 A person from your country
who does not like to pray and
42
does not worship
SIXTH GRADE:
The Sixth Grade textbook on Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation
commands students not to “cry” at funerals or “pray” at grave sites or construct mosques over
graves, thus banning the mourning traditions of many Shiites and other Muslims.
The new text for this excerpt is worded differently. All of the prohibitions, which appear
specifically directed at banning the funeral practices of many Shiites and other Muslims,
remain. A new point is added clarifying that silent crying at funerals is permitted.
Therefore, the concern about intolerance toward Shiite and other Muslims’ funeral
traditions and rites remains.
“Funeral prohibitions:
1. It is forbidden to be angry upon bereavement, cry out loudly, tear one’s clothes, or beat
one’s cheeks or other [parts of the body].
2. It is forbidden to sit on graves, and walk on them.
3. It is forbidden to pray at graves, with the exception of the funeral prayer.
4. It is not good to raise one’s voice during the funeral, even in mentioning the name of God
or reading the Qur’an.
5. It is forbidden to build mosques on graves.”133
“Things that are forbidden at funerals:
1. Anxiety and anger, the tearing of clothing, and the striking of the cheeks. One must
be steadfast in the face of bereavement.
2. Raising one’s voice with loud crying. Crying without raising one’s voice is permitted
because it shows compassion for the dead individual.
3. Walking or sitting on graves.
4. Praying at graves (except for the funeral prayer).
5. Building mosques on graves.
6. Raising one’s voice during the funeral, even if it is to take the name of God or read
the Qur’an.”134
The Sixth Grade text on The History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia contains a lesson on
Palestine in which students are instructed that if the Muslims unite in a “fight” against the Jews
they will be victorious over the Jews and their American and British allies, as they once were
against Christian Crusaders. By linking a discussion of the Crusades with the Palestinian issue,
the text can be easily read to mean that the “fight” could or should be a military one. A map of
the region is provided, but it labels Israel within its pre-1967 borders as “Palestine: Occupied
1948.”
There are no relevant changes to this lesson in the 2007-2008 curriculum.
43
• “Just as Muslims were successful in the past when they came together in a sincere endeavor
to evict the Christian crusaders from Palestine, so will the Arabs and Muslims emerge
victorious, God willing, against the Jews and their allies if they stand together and fight a
true jihad for God, for this is within God’s power.”135
No change.136
• “Who is the Muslim leader who was victorious over the crusaders and liberated Bayt al-
Maqdas [Jerusalem]?”137 138
No change.”139
• “What is the name of the battle in which he triumphed?”140
No change.141
• “Give another verse [from the Qur’an] that affirms God’s aid to the believers.”142
No change.143
• “Cite a noble hadith that explains the qualities of the Jews.”144
“Cite a noble hadith and a Qur’anic verse that explain[s] the qualities of the Jews.”145
EIGHTH GRADE:
In the Eighth Grade, the textbook on Monotheism warns against imitating the unbelievers and
teaches pupils to spot “condemnable” characteristics in Jews. It teaches that unbelievers include
Muslims who do not follow the Wahhabi practice of not building mosques at gravesites.
There are no relevant changes to this lesson in the 2007-2008 curriculum.
• “The student notes some of the Jews’ condemnable qualities.”146
No change.147
• “The student is warned against imitating the Jews’ and Christians’ excessive veneration of
righteous men.”148
No change.149
• “The student gives examples of polytheism among members of this nation.”150
No change.151
• “They are the people of the Sabbath, whose young people God turned into apes, and whose
old people God turned into swine to punish them.” “As cited in Ibn Abbas: The apes are
Jews, the keepers of the Sabbath; while the swine are the Christian infidels of the
communion of Jesus.”152
No change.153
44
• “God told His Prophet, Muhammad, about the Jews, who learned from parts of God's book
(the Torah and the Gospels) that God alone is worthy of worship. Despite this, they espouse
falsehood through idol-worship, soothsaying, and sorcery. In doing so, they obey the devil.
They prefer the people of falsehood to the people of the truth out of envy and hostility. This
earns them condemnation and is a warning to us not to do as they did.”154
No change.155
• “The Jews lost their religion and attacked the religion of Islam, which consists of accepting
the oneness of God and the worship of Him alone.”156
No change.157
• “They are the Jews, whom God has cursed and with whom He is so angry that He will
never again be satisfied [with them].158
No change.159
• “Some of the people of the Sabbath were punished by being turned into apes and swine.
Some of them were made to worship the devil, and not God, through consecration,
sacrifice, prayer, appeals for help, and other types of worship. Some of the Jews worship
the devil. Likewise, some members of this nation worship the devil, and not God.”160
No change.161
• “Building mosques on graves is an expression of polytheism.”162
No change.163
• “Some Muslim countries have seen the graves of righteous men venerated through the
construction of mosques. Graves have even been worshipped. In doing this, they [Muslims]
imitated the Christians.”164
No change.165
• “Note some condemnable characteristics of the Jews in the verse.”166
No change.167
• “Activity: The student writes a composition on the danger of imitating the infidels, giving
some examples of imitation among the students. He then presents it to his classmates.”168
No change.169
NINTH GRADE:
A Ninth Grade Saudi textbook on Hadith teaches teenagers in apocalyptic terms that violence
towards Jews, Christians, and other unbelievers is sanctioned by God. It selectively cites a
particularly inflammatory hadith about violence towards Jews and makes it broadly applicable,
while failing to provide any historical context and ignoring other contradictory hadiths showing
respect for Jews.170 It then directly ties this lesson to the Palestinians’ political situation.
There are no relevant changes to this lesson in the 2007-2008 curriculum.
45
• “The clash between this [Muslim] community (umma) and the Jews and Christians has
endured, and it will continue as long as God wills. In this hadith, Muhammad gives us an
example of the battle between the Muslims and the Jews.”171
No change.172
• “Narrated by Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet said, The hour [of judgment] will not come until
the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them. [It will not come] until the Jew hides behind
rocks and trees. [It will not come] until the rocks or the trees say, 'O Muslim! O servant of
God! There is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him.’ Except for the gharqad, which is a tree
of the Jews.”173
No change.174
• “It is part of God's wisdom that the struggle between the Muslim and the Jews should
continue until the hour [of judgment].”175
No change.176
• “The good news for Muslims is that God will help them against the Jews in the end, which
is one of the signs of the hour [of judgment].”177
No change.178
• “Muslims will triumph because they are right. He who is right is always victorious, even if
most people are against him.”179
No change.180
• “God will help Muslims if their intentions are sincere, if they are united, if they adhere to
the law of their Lord, if they obey His judgments, and if they are patient and enduring.”181
No change.182
• “The Jews and Christians are enemies of the believers, and they cannot approve of
Muslims.”183
No change.184
• “This hadith showed one of the qualities of the Jews. It is: [fill in the blank.]”185
No change.186
• “Help your classmates to give some examples of how our Muslim brothers suffer in
Palestine and to propose some ways for you to ease their sufferings.”187
No change.188
A Tenth Grade textbook on Monotheism contains a lengthy discussion condemning as
“polytheists” other Islamic traditions that interpret the Qur’an differently, alluding to other
Sunnis, Shiites, and Sufis, who together comprise the majority of Muslims residing in Saudi
Arabia, as well as in the world at large. The followers of the Asharite doctrine (Sunni Muslims
found throughout the world) and the Maturidi doctrine (Sunni Muslims found primarily in
Pakistan and India), who comprise millions of Sunni Muslims in the world, are referenced by
name as “polytheists,” or idol worshipers.
46
There are no relevant changes to this lesson in the 2007-2008 curriculum.
• It states that the founders and followers of these Sunni doctrines are “bad predecessors to
bad successors.”189
No change.190
• It condemns them either for not interpreting the text of the names and characters of God in
a literal way, “such as interpreting the face [of God] as His essence, and His hand as the
blessing He bestows”; or for “believ[ing] that the [scriptures] do not mean what their literal
meaning would suggest.”191
No change..192
Another textbook for boys for Tenth Grade on Hadith and Islamic Culture contains a lesson on
the “Zionist Movement.” It is a curious blend of wild conspiracy theories about Masonic Lodges,
Rotary Clubs, and Lions Clubs with anti-Semitic invective. It asserts that the Protocols of the
Elders of Zion is an authentic document and teaches students that it reveals what Jews really
believe. It blames many of the world’s wars and discord [fitna, in Arabic] on the Jews. While
easy to dismiss as loopy, these conspiracy theories are gaining ground. In its charter, Hamas has
adopted conspiracy theories that mirror virtually point by point those given in this Saudi
textbook.193 In 2006, the U.S. Holocaust Museum opened an exhibition on the Protocols,
identifying it as “dangerous” and noting “despite countless exposures of the Protocols as a fraud,
the myth of a Jewish world conspiracy has retained incredible power for Nazis and others who
seek to spread hatred of Jews.” As the exhibition showed, Hitler used the Protocols to
indoctrinate Nazi Youth.
There are no relevant changes to this lesson in the 2007-2008 curriculum.
• “Freemasonry is covertly Jewish. It puts forward general, humanist slogans, and non-Jews
may rally to its cause. It is a secular, atheist, secret movement that serves the Jews
indirectly. It is the secret power that creates circumstances and conditions for the Jews. As
such, it helps Zionism to achieve its aims.”194
No change.195
• “Goals of the Zionist Movement
1. Instill a fighting spirit among the Jews, as well as religious and nationalist fanaticism to
challenge [other] religions, nations, and peoples.
2. Establish Jewish control over the world. The starting point for this is the establishment of
their government in the promised land, which stretches from the Nile to the Euphrates.
3. Incite rancor and rivalry among the great powers so that they fight one another, and
kindle the fire of war among states so that all states are weakened and their state arises.”196
No change.197
• The Protocols of the Elders of Zion “were discovered in the 19th century. The
Jews have tried to deny them, but there are many proofs of their veracity and their origin
among the elders of Zion.”198
47
No change.199
• “The following points summarize the protocols:
1. Undermine the foundation of the existing international community and its systems to
enable Zionism to gain sole control over the world.
2. Eliminate Christian nationalities, religions, and nations in particular.
3. Work to increase the corruption of existing governments in Europe. Zionism believes in
the corruption and collapse of these governments.
4. Gain control over the means of publication, propaganda, and newspapers; use gold to
incite unrest; and exploit people's desires and spread depravity.”200
No change.201
• “The decisive proof of the veracity of the protocols and the infernal Jewish plans they
contain is that the plans, plots, and conspiracies they list have been carried out. Whoever
reads the protocols – and they emerged in the 19th century – will realize today how much
of what they described has been implemented.”202
No change.203
• “Examples of how the Zionists achieve their goals:
1. Sedition, ruses, and conspiracies throughout history. Examples include…
c. The French Revolution: The Jews exploited the French Revolution to fight against
religions, break down values, and spread meaningless slogans. They had a hand in
planning the revolution and its code of morals.
d. The First World War: The Jews played a role in starting it.
e. Bringing down the Ottoman Islamic caliphate: the role of the Jews of Donma in this
is no secret.
f. The Bolshevik Russian revolution against Tsarist rule. It is known that the roots of
Marxist thought are Jewish. Karl Marx was a Jew from Germany.”204
No change.205
• “You can hardly find an example of sedition in which the Jews have not played a role.”206
No change.207
• “2.Attempting to inundate peoples with vice and rampant prostitution. The Jews have taken
control of this trade and they try to spread it. They manage bars in Europe and America, as
well as in Israel itself.
3. Gaining control over literature and the arts; spreading degenerate, pornographic
literature; and encouraging perverted trends in literature, thought, and the arts.”
4. Gaining control over the film industry in the Western world and elsewhere.”
5. Fraud, bribery, theft, and swindles.”208
No change.209
• “Destructive Movements that Zionism has used to achieve its aims.
48
1. Freemasonry. This is a secret Jewish organization that works surreptitiously to advance
larger Jewish interests. Masonry is a deceptive word that fools listeners into thinking that it
is a noble profession, since it means "free builders" and its slogan is "freedom,
brotherhood, and equality."
2. B'nai B'rith, or sons of the covenant. This group was founded in 1834 in America.
3. International Lions Clubs. "Lions" means lions. These are Masonic clubs based in
America and they have secret agents all over the world.
4. Rotary Clubs. They were founded in 1905 in Chicago, America, and then spread all over
the world.”210
No change.211
The Tenth Grade text on Jurisprudence teaches that, in law, the life of non-Muslims (as well as
women, and, by implication, slaves) is worth a fraction of that of a “free Muslim male.”212 Blood
money is money paid to the victim or the victim’s heirs for murder or injury.
There are no relevant changes to this lesson in the 2007-2008 curriculum.
• “Blood money for a free infidel: Half of the blood money for a male Muslim, whether or
not he is ‘of the book’ or not ‘of the book’ (such as a pagan, Zoroastrian, etc.)”213
No change.214
• “Blood money for a woman: Half of the blood money for a man, in accordance with his
religion. The blood money for a Muslim woman is half of the blood money for a male
Muslim, and the blood money for an infidel woman is half of the blood money for a male
infidel.”215
No change.216
The Eleventh Grade Hadith and Islamic Culture textbook for boys in the Management, Social
Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies track instructs Muslims not to greet unbelievers
and not to extend courtesies to them.
There are no relevant changes to this lesson in the 2007-2008 curriculum.
• “The greeting ‘Peace be upon you’ is specifically for believers. It cannot be said to
others.”217
No change.218
• “If one comes to a place where there is a mixture of Muslims and infidels, one should offer
a greeting intended for the Muslims.”219
No change.220
• “Do not yield to them [Christians and Jews] on a narrow road out of honor and respect.”221
No change.222
The Eleventh Grade Hadith textbook for boys in the Management, Social Studies, Natural
History, and Technical Studies track also includes a selective history lesson on “The Crusader
49
Threat,” which it identifies as the “origin of the clash between the Muslims and the Christians.”
It does not mention the Muslim conquest of the Middle East or the Muslim invasions of Europe
before the Crusades, or any example of peaceful coexistence between Muslims and the West, or
any example of United States military support of and cooperation with Saudi Arabia or any other
Muslim country. It teaches that the Crusader threat began with the first Crusade in 1095 and
continues in modern times with Christian proselytizing, Orientalist studies, and colonialism. It
includes “raising women’s issues” as part of the modern crusade. Various medical missions and
Christian schools, universities, radio programs, and social services in the Middle East are cited
by name as part of the modern crusade. Most troubling, it maintains that the crusades have not
ended. In this, it finds an echo in the declarations of Osama bin Laden, who has identified his
enemy as the “Zionist-Crusaders.”
There are no relevant changes to this lesson in the 2007-2008 curriculum.
• “The new approach to the crusades took several forms, including:
1. Proselytizing (Christianization): undertaken by the church and supported by Christian
governments.
2. Orientalism: undertaken by scholars and intellectuals to serve the church and Christian
governments.
3. Military colonialism.”223
No change.224
• “Areas of Missionary Activity
1. Health services
This activity consists of establishing Christian hospitals and clinics and sending out
traveling doctors. As one of the Christianizers said, ‘Where you find people, you find
pain. And where there's pain, there's a need for a doctor. And where there's a need for a
doctor, there's an appropriate opportunity for missionary activity [Christianization].’
One of the first examples was the American Medical Mission in Sivas, Turkey in 1859.
After 1875, crusader medical centers were established in Gaza, Nablus, and other cities
in Syria and Palestine.
2. The establishment of churches, monasteries, and convents
This has taken place in every Islamic country where there are Christians, even if they
can be counted on the fingers of one hand. They have even established churches in
countries where there are no Christians among the original inhabitants.
3. The establishment of schools
50
They founded many schools in the Islamic world at various educational levels. These
include: the American Universities of Beirut and Cairo, the Jesuit University, Robert
College in Istanbul, Gordon [Memorial] College in Khartoum, and others too numerous
to mention.
4. Social services
These include homes for orphans, the elderly, widows, divorced women, etc.
5. The establishment of radio stations broadcasting to Muslim countries in their languages
The radio station Voice of Forgiveness, Radio Cyprus in Nicosia, Radio Monte Carlo,
Voice of the Good News Radio in Addis Ababa, and Vatican Radio.
6. Printed materials and books calling people to Christianity.”225
No change.226
A Twelfth Grade textbook on Hadith and Islamic Culture for boys in the Management, Social
Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies track contains a chapter entitled “Jihad in the
Path of God.” It explains various meanings of jihad and examines their application. While, as the
text explains, one of the meanings of jihad is self-perfection or “wrestling with the spirit,” it
acknowledges a more militant meaning as well. This discussion does not mention the ban against
coercion in Islam, or clarify whether infidels can be militarily forced to submit to the “call.” In
fact, in repeated statements, it justifies a militant jihad for the purpose of spreading the faith. The
word qital, translated here as “battle,” is derived from qatala, “to kill” and is virtually never used
metaphorically.
There are some edits in the new twelfth grade text regarding this lesson on jihad. The 2005-
2006 edition stated: “Jihad in the path of God – which consists of battling against unbelief,
oppression, injustice, and those who perpetrate it – is the summit of Islam.” In the new
edition of this textbook, this sentence was edited to delete the hyphenated clause, so that it
now simply reads: “Jihad in the path of God is the summit of Islam.” This edit should not
be mistaken for an improvement, however, since this same lesson defines jihad to mean, in
part, an “effort to wage war against the unbelievers and tyrants.” Once again, this lesson
asserts that “jihad to spread the faith of God is an obligation.” As before, the word qital is
used in this discussion of jihad, which is derived from the verb qatala, “to kill,” which is
virtually never used metaphorically. The new edition includes new questions at the end
which quiz the student about jihad, including the justifications for “battle” jihad. As in the
prior edition, the text explains there is more than one meaning of jihad. While, as the text
explains, one of the meanings of jihad is self-perfection or “wrestling with the spirit,” it
teaches a more militant and aggressive meaning as well. There is no mention here of
Islam’s injunction against coercion in religion.
• “Jihad in the path of God – which consists of battling against unbelief, oppression,
injustice, and those who perpetrate it – is the summit of Islam. This religion arose through
51
jihad and through jihad was its banner raised high. It is one of the noblest acts, which
brings one closer to God, and one of the most magnificent acts of obedience to God.”227
“One usage is specific. [Jihad] means to exert effort to wage war against the
unbelievers and tyrants. Another is general. Shaykh-al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah defined
it as follows: ‘Jihad is truly the effort to acquire the faith and virtuous action that
God loves, and to drive away the unbelief, depravity, and rebellion that God hates.’
…Jihad in the path of God is the summit of Islam. This religion arose through jihad
and through jihad was its banner raised high. It is one of the noblest acts, which
brings one closer to God, and one of the most magnificent acts of obedience to
God.”228
• “Muslim scholars have agreed that jihad to spread the faith of God is an obligation, but it is
a collective obligation. If a sufficient number of people undertake it, those who remain
have not committed a sin.”229
No change.230
• “God has forbidden Muslims to go to jihad en masse and urged them to mobilize a group
from each community of them that will undertake the obligation of jihad, which frees the
other group [from this obligation].”231
No change.232
• “When is battle jihad in the path of God? Battle can only pursue two aims: To fulfill an
order from God, sacrifice in His path, spread the creed of monotheism, defend the realms
of Islam and Muslims, and raise up the word of God. This is jihad in the path of God.”233
No change.234
• “Jihad continues until the Day of Resurrection.”235
No change.236
• “It is part of God’s wisdom that he made the clash between truth and falsehood continue
until the Day of Resurrection. As long as this clash endures, jihad continues.”237
No change.238
52
Appendix D
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Judith Ingram,
June 11, 2008 Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127
communications@uscirf.gov
Saudi Arabia: USCIRF Confirms Material Inciting Violence, Intolerance Remains in Textbooks
Used at Saudi Government’s Islamic Saudi Academy
WASHINGTON—Last fall, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom asked the
U.S. Department of State to secure the release of all Arabic-language textbooks used at a Saudi
government school in Northern Virginia, the Islamic Saudi Academy (ISA). The Commission took this
action in order to ensure that the books be publicly examined to determine whether the texts used at the
ISA promote violence, discrimination, or intolerance based on religion or belief. The ISA is unlike any
conventional private or parochial school in the United States in that it is operated by a foreign government
and uses that government’s official texts. It falls under the Commission’s mandate to monitor the actions
of foreign governments in relation to religious freedom. The government of Saudi Arabia, as a member
of the international community, is committed to upholding international standards, including the
obligation not to promote violence, intolerance, or hate.
The Commission requested Saudi government textbooks repeatedly during and following its trip to Saudi
Arabia in May-June 2007. Shortly after the Commission raised the issue publicly, the Saudi government
turned over textbooks used at the ISA to the State Department, but as of this writing, the Department has
not made them available either to the public or to the Commission, nor has it released any statement about
the content of the books that it received. Nevertheless, although it was unable to obtain the entire
collection, the Commission managed to acquire and review 17 ISA textbooks in use during this school
year from other, independent sources, including a congressional office. While the texts represent just a
small fraction of the books used in this Saudi government school, the Commission’s review confirmed
that these texts do, in fact, include some extremely troubling passages that do not conform to international
human rights norms. The Commission calls once again for the full public release of all the Arabiclanguage
textbooks used at the ISA.
In July 2006, the Saudi government confirmed to the U.S. government that, among other policies to
improve religious freedom and tolerance, it would, within one to two years, “revise and update textbooks
to remove remaining references that disparage Muslims or non-Muslims or that promote hatred toward
other religions or religious groups.” The Commission is releasing this statement as the two-year
timeframe is coming to an end, and with particular concern over the content of textbooks used at the ISA,
in order to highlight reforms that should be made before the 2008-09 school year begins at the ISA.
Examples of Problematic Passages in Current ISA Textbooks
53
The most problematic texts involve passages that are not directly from the Koran but rather contain the
Saudi government’s particular interpretation of Koranic and other Islamic texts. Some passages clearly
exhort the readers to commit acts of violence, as can be seen in the following two examples:
• In a twelfth-grade Tafsir (Koranic interpretation) textbook, the authors state that it is permissible
for a Muslim to kill an apostate (a convert from Islam), an adulterer, or someone who has
murdered a believer intentionally: “He (praised is He) prohibits killing the soul that God has
forbidden (to kill) unless for just cause…” Just cause is then defined in the text as “unbelief after
belief, adultery, and killing an inviolable believer intentionally.” (Tafsir, Arabic/Sharia, 123)
• A twelfth-grade Tawhid (monotheism) textbook states that “[m]ajor polytheism makes blood and
wealth permissible,” which in Islamic legal terms means that a Muslim can take the life and
property of someone believed to be guilty of this alleged transgression with impunity. (Tawhid,
Arabic/Sharia, 15) Under the Saudi interpretation of Islam, “major polytheists” include Shi’a and
Sufi Muslims, who visit the shrines of their saints to ask for intercession with God on their behalf,
as well as Christians, Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists.
The overt exhortations to violence found in these passages make other statements that promote
intolerance troubling even though they do not explicitly call for violent action. These other statements
vilify adherents of the Ahmadi, Baha’i, and Jewish religions, as well as of Shi’a Islam. This is despite the
fact that the Saudi government is obligated as a member of the United Nations and a state party to the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and other relevant
treaties to guarantee the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. The statements include the
following:
• “Today, Qadyanis [Ahmadis] are one of the greatest strongholds for spreading aberration,
deviation, and heresy in the name of religion, even from within Islamic countries. Thus, the
Qadyani [Ahmadi] movement has become a force of destruction and internal corruption today in
the Islamic world…” (“Aspects of Muslim Political and Cultural History,” Eleventh Grade,
Administrative/Social Track, Sharia/Arabic Track, 99)
• “It [Baha’ism] is one of the destructive esoteric sects in the modern age... It has become clear that
Babism [the precursor to Baha’ism], Baha’ism, and Qadyanism [Ahmadism] represent wayward
forces inside the Islamic world that seek to strike it from within and weaken it. They are colonial
pillars in our Islamic countries and among the true obstacles to a renaissance.” (“Aspects of
Muslim Political and Cultural History,” Eleventh Grade, 99-100)
• “The cause of the discord: The Jews conspired against Islam and its people. A sly, wicked
person who sinfully and deceitfully professed Islam infiltrated (the Muslims). He was ‘Abd
Allah b. Saba’ (from the Jews of Yemen). [___]* began spewing his malice and venom against
the third of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, ‘Uthman (may God be pleased with him), and falsely
accused him.” (Tawhid, Administrative/Social Sciences Track, 67).
(*The word or words here were obscured by correction fluid.)
• Sunni Muslims are told to “shun those who are extreme regarding the People of the House
(Muhammad’s family) and who claim infallibility for them.” (Tawhid, Arabic/Sharia 82;
Tawhid, Administrative/Social Sciences Track, 65) This would include all Shi’a Muslims, for
whom the doctrine of infallibility is a cardinal principle.
Other problematic passages employ ambiguous language, and the textbook authors do nothing to clarify
the meaning.
• A ninth-grade Hadith textbook states: “It is not permissible to violate the blood, property, or
honor of the unbeliever who makes a compact with the Muslims. The blood of the mu’ahid is
not permissible unless for a legitimate reason…the mu’ahid is an unbeliever who contracts a
treaty with a Muslim providing for the safety of his life, property, and family.” (Hadith, Ninth
Grade, 142-3)
54
The passages about the mu’ahid are most troubling for what they leave out. They address the protected
status of an unbeliever in a Muslim country, but are silent on whether unbelievers living in non-Muslim
countries are afforded the same protections of “blood, property, or honor.” Such an omission, taken
together with the outright incitement to violence and vilifying language noted above, could be interpreted
as tacitly condoning violence against non-Muslims living in non-Muslim countries.
The Commission would urge the textbook authors to put more context into some sections of the textbooks
to avoid any perception that they could be encouraging violence. For example, one passage that requires
clarification is the following explication of the Koranic phrase, “Respond to God and His Messenger
when He calls you to that which will give you life.” (Q 8:24)
Although this Koranic passage does not in itself invoke the term jihad, the Saudi textbook authors write:
• “In these verses is a call for jihad, which is the pinnacle of Islam. In (jihad) is life for the body;
thus it is one of the most important causes of outward life. Only through force and victory over
the enemies is there security and repose. Within martyrdom in the path of God (exalted and
glorified is He) is a type of noble life-force that is not diminished by fear or poverty.” (Tafsir,
Arabic/Sharia, 68)
While there are various meanings of the term jihad, including an internal struggle of the soul, none are
given in this brief discussion, which also includes an emphasis on the importance of power or force over
one’s enemies and discusses “martyrdom” with approval. Such an ambiguous interpretation can be
perceived as giving the verse a militant connotation, potentially justifying acts of violence, which should
not be left without elucidation in a textbook that is aimed at children who are still learning the main tenets
of religion.
More broadly, the analysis of the ills of the Muslim world that is offered in the ISA textbooks—that it
was strong when united under a single caliph, a single language (Arabic), and a single creed (Sunnism),
and that it has grown weak because of foreign influence and internal religious and ethnic divisions—is
identical to some of the exclusionary ideological arguments used by extremists to justify acts of terror.
In the Commission’s view, these troubling passages should be modified, clarified, or removed altogether
from the next edition of the textbooks in order to bring the books at this Saudi government school into
conformity with international human rights standards.
Long-term Commission Concern over Content of Saudi Government Textbooks
The Commission has long called for Saudi Arabia to be designated a “country of particular concern,” or
CPC, for its egregious and systematic violations of religious freedom. In particular, the Commission has
expressed concern about the promotion of religious intolerance and religion-based violence in official
Saudi government textbooks used both within Saudi Arabia and at Saudi schools abroad, such as the ISA.
The Commission has been urging the U.S. government to press the Saudi government to promote
religious tolerance in the Saudi curriculum since 2001, and in 2003 it issued an in-depth report about
religious freedom conditions in Saudi Arabia, including intolerance and incitement to violence found in
Saudi textbooks and the country’s official educational curriculum. It was not until September 2004 that
the State Department first publicly expressed concern over the Saudi government’s “export of religious
extremism and intolerance to other countries” at a press conference announcing Saudi Arabia’s CPC
designation.
In mid-2007, the Commission visited Saudi Arabia to assess the government’s progress in implementing
textbook reform and other policies. However, based on that visit and subsequent research into Saudi
55
government textbooks, including those used at the ISA, the Commission concluded that despite some
improvements, these commitments, regrettably, remain largely unfulfilled.
In every official meeting during the visit to Saudi Arabia, the Commission delegation asked Saudi
interlocutors for copies of textbooks. The Saudi government’s refusal to make them available during that
visit or after the Commission’s return, despite repeated requests, left the Commission with continued
concerns about their content and serious questions about whether they were in fact being reformed. The
Commission also sought to obtain the textbooks used at the ISA. Until the Commission drew attention to
the problem at a press conference in October 2007, the ISA publicly stated on its Web site that it adhered
to the official Saudi government curriculum. The Commission called for the ISA to be closed under the
terms of the Foreign Missions Act until the official Saudi textbooks used at the school were made
available for comprehensive public examination. Soon after the Commission released its October 2007
report, the ISA dropped the language on its Web site stating that its Arabic-language and Islamic studies
curriculum “is based on the Curriculum of the Saudi Ministry of Education.” In the months following the
Commission’s report, the Saudi government has also posted copies of the official 2007-2008 Saudi
textbooks on the Internet.
Members of Congress, some of whom had also sought in vain to obtain official Saudi textbooks for
review, have joined the Commission in expressing concern. In November 2007, Reps. Frank Wolf (RVA),
Steve Israel (D-NY), and Anthony Weiner (D-NY) introduced a resolution, H.Con.Res. 262, calling
on the State Department to heed the Commission’s requests regarding the ISA and to create a mechanism
to monitor implementation of the 2006 Saudi commitments to improving educational materials. Twelve
U.S. Senators, led by Sens. John Kyl (R-AZ) and Charles Schumer (D-NY), wrote a bipartisan letter to
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice the same month, echoing the Commission’s call for closing the ISA
until the official Saudi textbooks used at the school were made available for comprehensive public
examination in the United States.
While neither the ISA nor the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia complied with the Commission’s requests
to release the school’s books publicly, the Commission did obtain some Arabic-language books currently
used in the twelfth grade and a random selection of texts currently used in middle and high school
classes. The Commission’s review of these textbooks found that they did contain passages justifying
violence toward, and even the killing of, apostates and so-called polytheists. The texts also include highly
intolerant passages about non-Sunni Muslims, such as Shi’a, Ismailis, and Ahmadis, and non-Muslims,
such as Jews and Baha’is. A list of the books reviewed is appended to this statement.
The ISA and Claims of Revisions
The ISA operates as an arm of the Saudi government. The ISA’s board is chaired by the Saudi
ambassador to Washington, it is located on two properties, one of which is owned, the other leased, by the
Saudi Embassy, and it shares the Embassy’s Internal Revenue Service employer tax number under the
name of the “Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.” It is part of a network of 19 international schools run by
the government of Saudi Arabia. The ISA distributed some textbooks during a series of open houses held
for selected reporters and congressional staffers after the Commission’s press conference, but it did not
make available the texts with the most problematic passages—Tawhid (monotheism) and Tafsir (Koranic
interpretation)—which the Commission obtained from other sources.
Last fall, after the Commission held a press conference, ISA personnel were quoted in the media as
saying that they had already revised the Saudi Ministry of Education textbooks used at the school.
However, the books reviewed by the Commission in the winter of 2007-2008 show evidence of
truncation, omission, cutting and pasting, and the use of correction tape or fluid to cover over text—but
not sufficient revision to remove all objectionable material, as evidenced by the passages cited above.
56
They appear to be Saudi Ministry of Education textbooks, with some alterations but with identical
wording in many sections of the texts.
Bilateral and International Commitments by the Saudi Government
The Saudi government is bound by more than just its 2006 confirmation of policies with the United
States. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights not only guarantees religious freedom and bans
discrimination and incitement to discrimination on a number of bases, including religion; it also provides
specifically that education “shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations,
racial or religious groups...” The UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of
Discrimination based on Religion or Belief also bans such discrimination, which it calls “an affront to
human dignity,” a “disavowal of the principles of the [UN] Charter,” a violation of international human
rights law, and “an obstacle to friendly and peaceful relations between nations.” That Declaration,
moreover, specifically provides that “[t]he child shall be protected from any form of discrimination on the
ground of religion or belief. He shall be brought up in a spirit of understanding, tolerance, friendship
among peoples, peace and universal brotherhood, [and] respect for freedom of religion or belief of others.
. . .” The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Saudi Arabia is a party, contains similar
provisions mandating non-discrimination and the teaching of tolerance in education. The UN Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination also calls on States Parties, which include Saudi
Arabia, “to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, color, or national or ethnic
origin, to equality before the law” in the enjoyment of rights including “the right to freedom of thought,
conscience, and religion.”
Those provisions stand in stark contrast to the problematic passages that continue to appear in the ISA
textbooks. It is deeply troubling that high school students at a foreign government-operated school in the
United States are discussing when and under what circumstances killing an “unbeliever” would be
acceptable. The U.S. government must ensure that the Saudi government thoroughly reviews and, as
necessary, revises the books it has distributed globally. In both the UN Human Rights Council and UN
General Assembly, Saudi Arabia has co-sponsored and supported repeated resolutions urging UN
member states to “take resolute action to prohibit the dissemination . . . of racist and xenophobic ideas
and material aimed at any religion or its followers that constitute incitement to racial and religious hatred,
hostility or violence” and to “ensure that all public officials, including . . . educators, in the course of their
official duties, respect different religions and beliefs and do not discriminate against persons on the
grounds of their religion or belief.” The U.S. government should insist that the Saudi government meet
these commitments fully as a member in good standing of the international community.
Recommendations for the U.S. Department of State
The Commission reiterates its recommendations that the State Department should:
• make available all textbooks that it has received from the Saudi government, so that their content
and compliance with international human rights standards can be assessed; and
• promptly create a formal mechanism to monitor and encourage implementation of the Saudi
government’s 2006 policies as part of every meeting of the U.S.-Saudi Arabia Strategic Dialogue,
and ensure that U.S. representatives to each relevant Working Group of the Strategic Dialogue,
after each session, or at least every six months, report the group’s findings to Congress.
The Commission reaffirms that governments have a clear obligation to teach tolerance, not hatred. No
government should be teaching children that it is justified to kill anyone on the basis of his or her religion
or belief. The Commission is seriously concerned that the Saudi government is not abiding by the
57
policies it confirmed in 2006 to promote greater religious freedom and tolerance, including by revising its
school textbooks. The texts used at the ISA are only one example.
APPENDIX
Islamic Saudi Academy Arabic-Language Textbooks Reviewed by the Commission
Monotheism (Tawhid), Twelfth Grade, Administrative, Social, Natural, and Technical Sciences Track
Monotheism (Tawhid), Twelfth Grade, Sharia and Arabic Sciences Track
Interpretation (Tafsir), Twelfth Grade, Sharia and Arabic Sciences Track
Interpretation (Tafsir), Twelfth Grade, Administrative, Social, Natural, and Technical Sciences Track
Hadith and Islamic Culture, Twelfth Grade, Administrative, Social, Natural, and Technical Sciences
Track
Hadith and Islamic Culture, Twelfth Grade, Sharia and Arabic Sciences Track
Jurisprudence (Fiqh), Twelfth Grade, Natural Sciences Track
Jurisprudence (Fiqh), Twelfth Grade, Sharia and Arabic Sciences Track
The History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Twelfth Grade, Natural Sciences Track
Sociology, Twelfth Grade, Sharia and Arabic Sciences Track
Studies from the Islamic World, Twelfth Grade, Administrative, Social, Natural, and Technical Sciences
Track
Hadith, Seventh Grade
Hadith, Ninth Grade
Jurisprudence (Fiqh), Ninth Grade
Jurisprudence (Fiqh), Tenth Grade
Aspects of Muslim Political and Cultural History, Eleventh Grade, Administrative and Social Track,
Sharia and Arabic Track
History of the Prophets, the Prophet’s Biography, and the Spread of Islam, Tenth Grade
58
The passages identified in the preceding USCIRF press release were all also found in books
currently posted on the Saudi Ministry of Education website. Their locations are:
“He (praised is He) prohibits killing the soul that God has forbidden [to kill] unless for just cause…
[which includes] unbelief after belief, adultery, and killing an inviolable believer intentionally.”
Tafsir: Arabic/Shari’a Section, Twelfth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 147.
“Major polytheism makes blood and wealth permissible.1
1. But this is not permissible for anyone; it is for the Grand Imam of Muslims [to decide].”
Tawhid: Arabic/Sharia Section, Twelfth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 15.
“Today, Qadyanis [Ahmadiyyas] are one of the greatest strongholds for spreading aberration, deviation,
and heresy in the name of religion, even from within Islamic countries. Thus, the Qadyani [Ahmadiyya]
movement has become a force of destruction and internal corruption today in the Islamic world…”
Aspects of Muslim Political and Cultural History, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of
Education. Education Development, 1427-1428; 2006-2007, p. 99.
“[Baha’ism] is one of the destructive esoteric sects in the modern age… It has become clear that Babism
[the precursor to Baha’ism], Baha’ism, and Qadyanism [Ahmadiyyaism] represent wayward forces inside
the Islamic world that seek to strike from within and weaken it. They are colonial pillars in our Islamic
countries and among the true obstacles to a renaissance.”
Aspects of Muslim Political and Cultural History, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of
Education. Education Development, 1427-1428; 2006-2007, pp. 99-100.
“The cause of the discord: The Jews conspired against Islam and its people. A sly, wicked person who
sinfully and deceitfully professed Islam infiltrated (the Muslims). He was ‘Abd Allah b. Saba’ (from the
Jews of Yemen). And this Jew began spewing his malice and venom against the third of the Rightly-
Guided Caliphs, ‘Uthman (may God be pleased with him), and falsely accused him.”
Tawhid: Literature, Science, and Qur’an Memorization Section, Twelfth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 78.
“Shun those who are extreme regarding the People of the House (Muhammad’s family) and who claim
infallibility for them.”
Tawhid: Literature, Science, and Qur’an Memorization Section, Twelfth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, pp. 75-76.
“The mu’ahid is an unbeliever who contracts a treaty with a Muslim providing for the safety of his life,
property, and family. …
It is not permissible to violate the blood, property, or honor of the unbeliever who makes a compact with
the Muslims. The blood of the mu’ahid is not permissible unless for a legitimate reason.”
Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429;
2007-2008, pp. 142-143.
“In these verses is a call for jihad, which is the pinnacle of Islam. In (jihad) is life for the body; thus it is
one of the most important causes of outward life. Only through force and victory over the enemies is
there security and repose. Within martyrdom in the path of God (exalted and glorified is He) is a type of
noble life-force that is not diminished by fear or poverty.”
Tafsir, Arabic/Sharia Section, Twelfth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 80.
59
Appendix E
Tenth Grade (Lesson 16)
Jurisprudence (Fiqh)
pp. 76-77 Arabic, 2006-2007
60
Tenth Grade, Jurisprudence, p. 76
61
Tenth Grade, Jurisprudence, p. 77
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[PAGE 76]
Lesson 16: Homosexuality
Homosexuality is one of the most disgusting sins and greatest crimes. God did not afflict any
people with this before [He afflicted] the folk of Lot, and He punished them as He punished no
one else. It is a vile perversion that goes against sound nature, and it is one of the most
corrupting and hideous sins.
Definition
Homosexuality is intercourse in which the penis enters the anus.
The Ruling
Homosexuality is forbidden. It is a great sin. The Qur’an and the majority opinion [of scholars]
confirm the prohibition on it. The Qur’an states: “We also (sent) Lut: he said to his people: "Do
ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? For ye practise
your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds."
[7:80-81] God the Most High said about His prophet, Lut: And to Lut, too, We gave Judgment
and Knowledge, and We saved him from the town which practised abominations: truly they were
a people given to Evil, a rebellious people. [21:74]
Muslims have been unanimous in prohibiting this practice.
Punishment
The punishment for homosexuality is death. Both the active and passive participants􀀁 are to be
killed whether or not they have previously had sexual intercourse in the context of a lawful
marriage. The Qur’an and the unanimous opinion of the Prophet’s companions show this.
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[PAGE 77]
In the Qur’an we read: “When Our decree issued, We turned (the cities) upside down, and rained
down on them brimstones hard as baked clay, spread, layer on layer. Marked as from thy Lord:
nor are they ever far from those who do wrong!” [11:82-83]
God the Most High punished the people of Lut as he had not punished anyone else. He subjected
them to various torments, and then He said that this punishment awaits those who do as they did.
Ibn al-Qayyim said, “It has not been confirmed that the Prophet made any judgment on
homosexuality, for this was unknown to the Arabs and did not rise to His attention.”239
The companions of the Prophet were unanimously agreed upon killing [those who commit this
sin]. Ibn Qudamah said, “The companions of the Prophet were unanimous on killing, although
they differed in the description, that is, in the manner of killing.”240
Some of the companions of the Prophet stated that [the perpetrator] is to be burned with fire. It
has also been said that he should be stoned, or thrown from a high place. Other things have also
been said.
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Appendix F
MEMORANDUM
SUBMITTED BY THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
TO INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION
WITHIN ITS TERRITORY
The General Secretariat of the Arab League:
1. The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs received your Memorandum No. 10/6/10/J6/1350 dated
15-6-70 AD in conjunction with a message from Mr. Edward Lowson, Vice-President of the
Human Rights Section at the United Nations in connection with the Resolution of the Human
Rights Commission No. 14 (25th Meeting) and Resolution No 1421 (46) of the Economic and
Social Council, each entitled as follows: "The subject of the implementation of the economic and
social rights embodied in 'The International Human Rights Declaration' and the 'International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights'."
2. The Ministry also received along with your Memorandum the following attachments:
• A copy of Resolution No. 14 (25th Meeting) taken by the Human Rights Commission on
3/5/1969 AD.
• Excerpts from the Report of the 25th Session of the Human Rights Commission.
• A copy of the Message of Mr. Henry Mazau, of the office of the Director of Human
Rights Section.
3. On studying your Memorandum and the relative enclosures we have come to know the
following:
a) We are advised that Mr. Manuchehr Janji, a professor of Teheran University, was appointed as
Rapporteur in accordance with the two Resolutions mentioned above for the preparation of a
study on the implementation of the economic, social and cultural rights in the member countries
of the United Nations, which differ in their systems and methods used for the promotion of such
rights.
b) We have been requested to assist the named Rapporteur and to furnish him with data and
observations which can serve the Arab cause.
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c) Presenting any information we have in connection with this subject particularly from our
national legislative system,
d) Mentioning the domestic practices we have and which aim at the realization of the
implementation of the economic, social and cultural rights.
e) Studying the special problems connected with Human Rights in the member states,
particularly those effected by foreign factors, so as to submit a report on them to the Human
Rights Commission during its 27th Meeting in 1971.
4. In order to assist the named Rapporteur in his task of preparing a comprehensive study on the
extent of the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights in the member countries of
the United Nations in accordance with the International Human Rights Declaration and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights , we shall speak hereafter about
all the points mentioned above and which were requested for his assistance, in spite of the fact
that f the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has not joined until now the signatories to either 'The
International Human Rights Declaration' or 'The International Covenant on the Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights'. Saudi Arabia's failure to join was not, as we shall see, due to its disapproval
of the aims of the Declaration and the Covenant which stands for the dignity of man as outlined
in their provisions, but:
a) Because of our determination to let the dignity of a human person be protected by us without
any distinction between one man and another under the impetus of the divine Islamic creed and
not by the material law. We are fully convinced that most of the confusions and perversions of
the youth of the civilized world have been the result of their loss of the divine creed and their
resort to a purely material life in which crimes and perversions have increased in society in
proportion to the detachment of such youth from the faith in God.
b) Because of our reservations on some of the points mentioned in the Declaration, and the
Covenant, for Islam had its own reasoning with regard to the support of the dignity of man, and
the protection of human freedom. Our call for peace among all human beings is based on our
Islamic principles which have been distorted by both the ignorant and the prejudiced. Adhering
to its scientific philosophy which some researchers have failed to penetrate and which is
supported with decisive historical facts in respect of this subject, we had to differ in our
interpretations of some of the applications of the rules of the Declaration and the Covenant in as
far as the points we mentioned before are concerned, and not over the basic principles relating to
the dignity of man, his freedom and coexistence among all human beings and which we shall
refer to in this Report when we get to them. We shall avoid all superficial propaganda
pretensions which proved sometimes that they were not for the service of the dignity of man or
his security or his fundamental rights (such as the distinction given to the workers over others in
relation to rights, and their empowerment with the right to go on strikes as we shall see later on).
HUMAN RIGHTS IN OUR DOMESTIC LEGAL SYSTEM
66
5. We now begin with the first point pertaining to this subject by giving short data on "The
Principles of Human Rights in Islam" prevailing in our country, mentioning some of the legal
provisions related thereto and which form our written National Law. Besides, these principles are
closely connected with the Muslim creed and are an integral part of it, and we derive our general
policy from them.
6. These rights can be summed up in the following points which have been outlined in the Rules
of the Islamic Religion:
a) The dignity of man, in conformity with the Koranic verse which says: "We have honoured the
sons of Adam". (XVI1, 70).
b) No distinctions in dignity and fundamental rights between one man and another as race, sex,
blood relations or wealth, in accordance with the Saying of the Prophet of Islam: "There is no
advantage for an Arab over a non-Arab, or for a white man over a black man excepting by
piety," and in his saying: "Women are partners to men".
c) The call for the unity of the human race. The persons most favoured by God are those who are
most beneficial to mankind, in accordance with the Saying of the Prophet of Islam: "Human
creatures are the families of God and the ones who are most loved by Him are those who are
most useful to their families."
d) The call for acquaintance and cooperation for the common good as well as for the
performance of all kinds of righteous deeds towards all human beings regardless of their
citizenship or religion, in conformity with the Koranic verse: "O mankind we created you from a
single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know each
other (not that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is
he who is the most righteous of you." (XLIX, 13). The same theme is repeated in the following
Koranic verse: "God forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) faith nor
drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: For God loveth those
who are just." (LX, 8).
e) Religious freedom to every one and prohibition of any exercise of force in this respect, in
response to God's Sayings in the Glorious Koran: "Let there be no compulsion in religion," (II,
256) and "Wilt thou then compel mankind against their will to believe!" (X, 99). These sayings
show how the use of pressure on man's religious freedom is denounced.
f) Prohibition of any attack on the property or the life of a man as expressed in the Saying of the
Muslim Prophet: "You are forbidden to attack the property or the lives of others."
g) House immunity for the protection of man's freedom as mentioned in the following Koranic
Saying: "O ye who believe! Enter not houses other than your own, until ye have asked
permission and saluted those in them; that is best for you, in order that ye may heed (what is
seemly)." (XXIV, 27).
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h) Reciprocal responsibility among members of society, as to the right of every person to lead an
honourable life, and to get rid of poverty and need, by levying a certain tax on the wealth of
those who are financially able, so as to be paid to those in need, whatever their needs may be.
This is in conformity with the words of the Glorious Koran: "And in their wealth the beggar and
the deprived had due share" (LI, 19).
i) Imposing education on every Muslim in order to get rid of ignorance - this is being in response
to the Saying of the Prophet: "Seeking knowledge is the duty of every Muslim; male and
female," - while opening at the same time the horizons of Heavens and Earth for them to ponder
them and pass through them, in compliance with the following verses of the Glorious Koran:
"Behold all that is in the Heavens and on Earth" (X, 101), and "Ye can pass beyond the zones of
the Heavens and the Earth, pass ye! Not without authority shall ye be able to pass!" (LV, 31).
That is the authority of knowledge.
j) Enforcing penalty on all those refusing to be schooled or to do schooling. Such human rights
which have not yet been attained by any State were observed, in abidance with the Sayings of the
Prophet, prior to the construction of schools or Houses of Learning. "Let people learn from their
neighbours and let others teach their neighbours, otherwise I will be fast in my punishment."
k) Imposition of health quarantines in the event of any epidemic outbreak. This has been an
Islamic practice for the last fourteen (14) centuries. No other State at that time could even
recognize such health measures and let them be part of their System of Law so as to serve as
additional precautions for the protection of public health from disease. Islam has ordered this just
as it has ordered the protection of society from poverty and ignorance, as mentioned before,
according to the words of the Prophet: "If an epidemic breaks out in an area and you happen to
be there, do not leave it, and if you happen to be away do not try to enter it."
1) There are countless other Islamic religious laws for the protection of those rights which are
referred to above. They explain, on the whole, the basic inalienable Human Rights. They also
deal in a comprehensive way with man's economic, social and cultural rights from the
humanitarian and idealistic aspects which do not make any distinction or allow for any kind of
distinction between one human being and another, particularly concerning the things provided
for in the International Human Rights Declaration, namely sex or colour or language or religion
or opinion or national or social origin or wealth or country. We also go farther than that and add
things that were not recognized by the Drafting Body of Human Rights, such as those that appear
in the following Koranic Verse: "O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for God, as witness to fair
dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from
justice. Be just: that is next to piety; and fear God, for God is well-acquainted with all that ye
do." (V 8). We can infer from these holy words that no discrimination in human rights ought to
be made because of hatreds or animosities. Likewise Islam declared that women are the sisters of
men and that they have claims over others just as others have claims over them, excepting where
men were given the right to be heads of the families and to look after their affairs, for men's
constitutions are more strongly built and make them more fit to bear the heavy social burden.
Truly, it is a heavy burden laid on their shoulders from which women were freed. However, this
does not affect women's equality in dignity and rights. This is the highest level of justice between
the two sexes.
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7. It is quite clear from these religious Laws of Islam how much concern is given to the basic
human rights and how much care is devoted to the economic, social and cultural rights of man.
Islam has not used these laws for moral sermons but as legal order. It supported them with all the
legislations that are needed to insure their implementation. Neither the provisions of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights nor the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights have gone as far as that; they remained as moral recommendations not
guaranteed by any legal safeguards whether on the international level or on the domestic level. It
can be said that this is our first reservation on the Charter and the Covenant in a general manner.
For this reason the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is careful on not letting these rights fall to the level
of unguaranteed recommendations. It shall continue to observe these rights on the basis of the
Islamic Code, since our religion has guarantees and procedures which were implemented by us
on the national (domestic) level with all our capacities, at all times and in a progressive manner
every year.
SOME RESERVATIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS CHARTER AND COVENANT
8. It is necessary here to present other partial reservations from the Islamic point of view, after
presenting the general reservation in the previous paragraph, without prejudicing the essence of
those rights, as we saw in the legal provisions which we gave in brief. We shall sum up the
partial reservations in the following:
a) What is taken by a foreigner to be a restriction on the part of Islam respecting prohibition of a
Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim and the consideration of this restriction as a violation of
Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
b) What is taken by a foreigner to be a restriction on the part of Islam respecting the prohibition
of a Muslim to change his religion, and the consideration of this restriction as a violation of
Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
c) Finally, the views taken by a foreigner on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia respecting the latter's
attitude of not allowing workers to form labour unions as stipulated in Article18 of the
International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and which gave all workers
the right to form labour unions without being subject to the regulations of their organizations!
and stated that it is not permissible to lay any restrictions on the exercise of such right! Article 18
also gave the worker the right to go on a strike provided he does that within the bounds of the
concerned State.
9. In connection with point (a) concerning the prohibition of the marriage of a Muslim woman to
a non-Muslim and which is considered by a foreigner to be a restriction that violates Article 16
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which gives both man and woman who reach the
marrying age the right to get married without restriction caused by religion, and on which the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gave its reservations when the Covenant was drafted, we would like to
say that the reasoning of Islam in this connection is that this is not a restriction on the freedom of
69
marriage because of religion but because of the need to save the family from disruption due to
the difference in religion, for a husband may not respect the sacred beliefs of his wife because of
different creed, and moreover, a woman is one of two members of the family and is the more
sensitive one in view of her feelings of weakness in respect of man.
10. There branch out the following three cases which are different in their laws, but which have
the same reasoning like the one we explained in the previous paragraph. These cases are:
I: The marriage of a Muslim husband to a paganistic woman or to a woman who does not believe
at all in God has been prohibited by Islam because a Muslim husband will never respect in any
manner the beliefs and practices of such a wife. This will expose a family to disputes and
disruption. Islam considers divorce as the most hateful thing in the sight of God. Thus, it is not
encouraged. Out of this reasoning, such a marriage in which a husband does not respect the
beliefs and practices of his wife, ending thereby in disputes and disruption, had to be forbidden.
Islam does not encourage the disruption of the family and for this reason it has been careful on
letting the foundations of marriage be void of such faults that lead to disruption.
II: The marriage of a Muslim man to a Christian or a Jewish woman has been permitted by
Islam, because Islam glorifies Christ for being a Prophet of God who was born by a supernatural
miracle and glorifies his mother Mary and absolves her from the charges hurled against her by
the Jews. Likewise, Islam glorifies Moses and considers him the Prophet sent by God to the
people of Israel. Thus, a Christian or a Jewish wife who is concerned on keeping her religion
does not find anything to estrange her from her Muslim husband or to expose the family to
dispute and disruption. Thus, Islam has no objection to this kind of marriage despite the
difference in religion.
III: The marriage of a non-Muslim whether he is a Christian or a Jew for instance, to a Muslim
woman has been prohibited by Islam, because a Christian or Jewish husband does not believe in
the sanctity of the creed of Mohammad, the Prophet of Islam, and that he is the Messenger of
God. As a matter of fact he believes that the Prophet is wrong in his message and his sayings,
and this may estrange a Muslim wife from her husband and may expose the family to Conflicts
and disruption. For this reason, this marriage which ends in such a manner has been forbidden.
11. In connection with point (b) regarding the prohibition of a Muslim to change his religion and
which is considered by a man alien to Islam to be also a restriction violating Article (18) of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights which gave every person the right to change his religion
and on which the Kingdom also gave its reservations at the time of the drafting of the Charter,
we say that according to the reasoning of Islam this is not a restriction on the freedom of every
person to change his religion, but is the outcome of a historical incident. It was established to
curb a Jewish conspiracy which was plotted in the early days of Islam when all the Arabs of the
city of Al Madinah Al Munawwara united themselves after an armed conflict between them
caused by the Jewish refugees. The Jews then craftily thought to let some of them join Islam then
renounce it in order to make the Arabs suspect their religion and be misled. A law originated
from that incident preventing a Muslim from changing his religion and threatening to penalize
him so that nobody could join Islam excepting after making a rational and scientific study of its
doctrines ending with his permanent acceptance of the Muslim creed. That was meant to cut off
70
the way for evil men and their like of superficial people, under the threat of punishment, from
joining Islam, for the sake of extirpating malicious elements who have been persisting in
spreading evil on Earth.
12. It is clear from the reasoning of Islam respecting this point also that it does not spring from
the logic of the restriction of freedom but rather from the logic of the curbing of the intrigues of
the plotters who are addicted to the spread of evil in the world. Thus, this matter is purely an
Islamic interpretation - ijtihad - which is one of the requirements of freedom of opinion. It
should not be opposed by a counter-interpretation, for every one has his own interpretation of
things, and we have our own interpretation which is supported by historical facts, and our
concern on not letting any one join Islam excepting those who believe in it in a positive and
decisive manner. This shows the extent of sacredness attached to the faith which Islam does not
allow to be superficial and subject to the misleadings of evil persons.
13. Concerning point (c) as to the failure of the Saudi Kingdom until now to adopt a policy
towards labour unions and their absolute rights as provided for in Article (18) of the Universal
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which gave every worker the right not to
submit excepting to the laws of his union, forbade the imposition of any restriction on the
exercise of such right, and besides, gave the worker the privileged right to go on strike, we would
like to say openly that Marxism, which called for this during the nineteenth Century, is the one
which is depriving the workers of this right throughout the communist countries today. The
communist State does not acknowledge today except its own powers and it chokes every one
who threatens to go on strike or to exercise the right to strike. Likewise, the British Labour
Government complained in past years of the labour unions and their strikes which were not in the
interest of the country. According to their reports, ninety percent of those strikes were in
violation of the law. Similarly, the United States of America was in the fore among the States
which passed domestic legislations curbing these absolute rights. It issued a statute granting the
American President the right to dissolve any labour union if he finds it to be necessary for the
security and interest of the country.
14. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with deep understanding, has given its reservations on this
point which combines odd and absolute rights including the right to strike, in order to prevent the
interests of the workers themselves, and the interests of the national economy from becoming a
tool in the hands of irresponsible subversive foreigners, particularly after issuing the Labour and
Social Security Codes in which it included all the international principles laid down for the
interest of work and workers. It has included in a special manner the right of equitable pay for
performed work, the right of payment for work done on weekends or holidays, the regulation of
working hours, the right of getting annual leaves with pays, health and sanitary conditions as
well as health security conditions, compensation for industrial accidents estimated on the basis of
the degree of disability, the right to be pensioned on reaching the valid retirement age. These
labour and social security statutes have placed the Kingdom, in as far as the field of labour rights
is concerned, in the fore among developing countries.
15. In addition to that, the Saudi Kingdom is still on the threshold of industrial planning designed
to promote economic development which is necessary for furtherance of the prosperity of
everyone. Thus, the Kingdom does not want its young and starting industry to suffer from what
71
the British industry is suffering now. The Associated Press Agency reported on August 26, 1970
AD saying: "The industry of Britain is plagued by strikes which are considered the worst ever
known during the past sixteen years, and which had their worst effects on British economy."
Referring to this, Chairman of the Board of Trade Mr. Michael Nowair warned by saying:
"Britain is now on the verge of an economic depression," the Associated Press added in the same
report: "We do not only have our reservations on such rights but are also surprised to see that
they are issued by an international organization in an age in which everybody is concerned on the
necessity of the spread of security for the sake of the success of the economic development
projects everywhere."
OUR DOMESTIC PROCEDURES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
16. It is quite known that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is still young in its "civilizational"
developments. Most of its establishments and organizations which are connected with our
domestic procedures for the implementation of economic rights are not more than fifteen years
old. But this does not mean that such rights were neglected before. What is meant, in fact, is that
the material means for pushing the wheel of such procedures were not available. Credit goes only
to the Islamic Religion which:
• made all Saudi citizens enjoy before the law, since the formation of the Kingdom, all
their basic rights as human beings and get all their economic, social and cultural rights
freely, without any distinction between one person and another;
• made every citizen also open his heart to every other person in the world, on the light of
the Principles of the Islamic Religion (a summary of which was presented before). Islam
acknowledges the right of every human being to dignity, freedom, equality, culture, and
property ownership without any kind of distinction.
REGARDING CULTURAL MEASURES
17. As the exercise of basic rights, or even civil and political rights by man depends on the extent
of his culture, the first thing which the Kingdom did was to turn its attention to the spread of
knowledge and to provide the means for it, according to its potentialities and capacities and in
compliance with the order of Islam which says that "The quest for knowledge is the duty of
every Muslim; male and female'. We were short at the beginning of all the means for education;
we needed teachers and schools for every one. Thus, our attention, in proportion to the
development of our means, was concentrated on the recruitment of teachers from every corner on
Earth and on the construction of schools in every part of the Kingdom. Construction of schools
reached an average of one school every other three days in some of the past years. We should
bear in mind that on some years the building of schools exceeded 120 per year.
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18. The Kingdom feels proud because education is free at all its levels: elementary, intermediate,
secondary and college, for both males and females. Not to mention also the hundreds of students
who are sent abroad at the expense of the Government for specialization in higher studies
whenever there is need for such studies.
19. Besides, a student gets his books and all educational facilities free of charge throughout the
various levels of education. He also gets monthly pay when he enrolls for higher education. Each
student gets the equivalent of thirty sterling pounds. The idea is to let him concentrate on his
studies and to help his family members whenever there is a need for that. Not a single State in
the world has adopted such measures to encourage education and to provide the means to a
human being to enjoy cultural rights.
20. The Kingdom did not forget vocational training to which it devoted its greatest attention next
to elementary education. It took care of its secondary and higher stages and allocated financial
assistance to every student who joined it.
21. Finally, the Kingdom did not neglect the education of the illiterate whose age is above the
formal school age. As a matter of fact, the Kingdom spent all it could for this type of education.
Having known how well this education can assist them in improving their conditions and income
the citizens took to it with surprising enthusiasm. Night schools specialized in teaching the
illiterate have run up to 600 throughout the Kingdom this year.
22. Though the Kingdom takes good care of education, yet it has not nationalized it. As a matter
of fact it encourages private schools and allocated all possible assistance to them for the sake of
spreading knowledge.
REGARDING SOCIAL MEASURES
23. In accordance with the Laws of the Islamic Religion which hold to the principle of equality
in human dignity and in the basic rights of man, which we outlined at the outset of this
memorandum, the measures taken by the Kingdom in connection with the social rights of man
began to be implemented since its formation, for it was based on the Laws of the Islamic
Religion, without any kind of distinction and with the right of every person living in the
Kingdom to be free of fear, hunger, sickness and particularly of ignorance, as we stated before,
on the basis of complete social security.
24. The Muslim Religion did not recommend this type of security only but made it incumbent on
those who are financially able to pay a tax which it considered to be the right of all needy people.
It set up an independent Fund for all such needy people. The ones who are required to pay this
tax make their payments voluntarily and willingly in fulfilment of their religious duty towards
social security.
25. Thus, the Kingdom has been concerned, in accordance with the Laws of Islam, with the
regulation of this tax since its very foundation. It set up lately a fund for these tax collections and
73
called it the Social Security Fund. The revenues of this Fund, drawn principally from the taxes
imposed on the visible property are 2.5% of total ownership and annual profits. All commercial
stores, companies and businessmen pay the tax, and a share of agricultural and livestock product
throughout the Kingdom is added to it. As you may see, this is a legal measure carried out solely
by the Muslim Religion and every State whose system is based on Islam for the protection of the
right of every person to social security. Moreover, there is the Social Securities Fund which was
established this year for the labourers and workers with view of raising their status and
safeguarding them against emergencies of accidents, sickness and old age, as mentioned before.
26. The ones who benefit most from the Social Security Fund are the aged people, the widows
who have no persons to support them, the sick, and the ones unable to work for one reason or
another, as well as the orphans who have no source of income.
This Fund also shares in compensating those who have suffered from a fire or a flood disaster or
from a house collapse, and assists the needy families of the sick and the prisoners families,
whatever the reasons for imprisonment are, and uses modern scientific and technical means to
prepare those who are fit to earn their living in a decent and honourable way.
27.We cannot forget to mention at this point that every person in the Kingdom has the right to
enjoy the best medical care whether for himself or for his family, free of charge. However,
medicine has not been nationalized. For this reason, the Government constructed hospitals and
established clinics throughout the country and opened their doors for every one for free
unconditional treatment and without any distinctions between one man and another or between a
citizen or a foreigner.
REGARDING ECONOMIC MEASURES
28. Regarding the legal measures taken by the Kingdom for the protection of the economic rights
of each Citizen without any kind of distinction, they are self-evident and self-explanatory,
because the Muslim religion believes in freedom to own property and in freedom of work for
every one. Thus, it provides all the conditions and means for the enjoyment of such rights and
guards them against any encroachment, and does not restrict them excepting where public
interest is involved.
29. As the enjoyment of economic rights by a citizen is for his welfare, and as his happiness is
completely connected with the Economic Development Projects, the Kingdom set up a few years
ago a Council to deal with Planning and Development in a general way, and with Economic
Development in a particular manner, for it is useless to the citizen to be entitled to the enjoyment
of all economic rights if there were no projects to increase economic development, national
income and per capita income.
30. The Kingdom, within the bounds of its material revenue, gives great importance to the
development of the resources of the country, the exploration of its hidden wealth, the
encouragement of industrialization, the reliance on private sector and its support, within the
74
bounds of public interest, without any exploitation and with equitable remuneration for work
performed, leaving no room for any class struggles or grudges. It considers the encouragement of
individual incentive within these bounds as one of the most important factors to push the wheel
of economic development and to safeguard human dignity. It is for the interest of the individual
and the well-being of the group.
THE SPECIAL PROBLEMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN OUR REGIONAL
COUNTRIES ARE THE RESULT OF EXTERNAL FACTORS
31. We regret, at this particular point, in which we ought to explain our own problems that are
connected a with Human Rights in our Regional Arab Countries that we have to refer to the only
basic problem in which Human Rights were exposed to hostile acts. This problem had and will
always have the greatest effect on regional and international peace and on the waste of the largest
portion of the national and individual resources of more than thirteen Arab countries. This
problem has hampered a lot their economic, social and cultural progress since they were seeking
to let the groanings of the Arab people of Palestine be heard. The Palestinians were deprived of
all their basic rights in their historical Fatherland in which they lived since the times of the Arab
Canaanites six thousand years ago and before Israel came to life and resorted to Egypt together
with his twelve children where they multiplied for hundreds of years. Then their descendants
decided to free themselves from the slavery of the Pharaohs and fled to Palestine. They went
there as aggressors and destructive elements in order to establish a homeland for themselves
there through conquest against the Arab people who have the sole right to that historical land.
32. If the law of the jungle had dominated the ancient world when the Israelis conquered
Palestine after fleeing from the slavery of the Pharaohs; that barbaric conquest in which the
blood of the Arab Canaanites was shed, their lands burned, and their towns destroyed during that
period of time as mentioned in the text of the Old Testament; it cannot be permissible in this era,
which saw the birth of the United Nations Charter and the Declaration of the Human Rights
Charter by the United Nations, that conquest, killing, destruction, extermination and wiping out
of people who did not submit during early conquest and at the time when the law of the jungle
was prevailing, and who will not for a better reason submit during the time of the United Nations
Charter, Human Rights and the Universal Charter connected with the implementation of such
rights that have never been so badly violated in history by any race as they have been by the
Israelis, for one single reason, namely their belief that they are the Chosen People of God and are
thus superior to all other peoples; a thing which is unacceptable to anyone at all times. That was
the first and the last reason for the persecution which had befallen the Israelis and which will
always befall them because it is in complete disagreement with the Rights of Man.
33. Since we referred before to the history of their first and ancient conquest of Arab Palestine,
which was taken falsely as a legal justification for their modern conquest and since we pointed
out that the Canaanites refused to submit to them, we feel that it is useful to expand a little on the
history of that barbaric aggression and the bad consequences it had on world peace at that time
when the Canaanites were forced to seek the help of the Babylonians who rushed to their
75
support, ended the State of Israel and destroyed their Temple for the first time and expelled them
from Palestine.
34. When the Babylonian State grew weak and collapsed under the thrashes of the Persian State
at that time, the Persians considered those who were the enemies of their enemies as their
friends. They restored the Jews and allowed them to rebuild their Temple, but under Persian
Rule.
The Arab Canaanites sought anew the help of the Greeks, the enemies of the Persians. To meet
their appeal Alexander the Great went to Palestine, destroyed their Temple for the second time
and expelled the Jews from there.
35. But when the Greek Empire became weak and fell a prey to the Romans and the Romans
entered Palestine, they behaved like the Persians and considered the enemies of their enemies as
their friends. They restored the Jews and allowed them to rebuild their Temple for the third time,
provided they did it under Roman Rule. But the Arabs did not despair and were able to handle
the Romans. Thus, after a while the Romans became aware of the danger of the Israelis and
ordered the destruction of their Temple for the third time, until the Muslim Arabs came over and
liberated Palestine from the Romans. The Arabs did not find a single Jew there.
36. Thus, we see that the rise of the Israelis in Palestine in the past centuries and the murder of its
people upset each time world peace and led to foreign intervention, once on the part of Babylon,
then on the part of Persia, then on the part of Athens and finally on the part of Rome. This
intervention did not happen at any time except for the interest of a new imperialist empire in this
important area of the world, after weakening its Arab inhabitants. Thus, we see that history is
repeating itself today due to the Israeli oppression itself, after the Jews were permitted to reestablish
Israel and go back to their old aggressive actions. As a result, regional peace has been
upset, and had its repercussions on world peace. In Palestine, Human Rights were violated by the
Israelis, in a manner unprecedented in the history of mankind. So, can't we draw a lesson from
the facts of history?
37. While we thank today the UN Human Rights Commission which emphasized to its Special
Rapporteur Mr. Janji the necessity of studying the problems connected with the respect of the
rights of man and his basic freedoms, their implementation and the implementation of his
economic, social, and cultural rights, particularly the regional ones arising from external factors
as indicated in paragraph (206) of the debate of the 26th Meeting of the Human Rights
Commission, we feel that it is the duty of the Arab countries to give major importance to the
sufferings of the Arab people of Palestine whose Human Rights have been violated as a result of
aggression by the Israelis who have gathered from all over the world under the guise of return to
their historical national homeland, while in fact this is no more than revival of the old barbaric
invasion which took place thousands of years ago, we mentioned before, and which is known in
their religions and historical books. They aim at changing the map of this area on the basis of
aggression and the elimination of the Arab people of Palestine, which is contrary to Human
Rights principles.
76
38. It is quite strange that the change of the map of this area in favour of an old Israeli aggression
and an old form of imperialism is accepted, at a time when the United Nations is liquidating
unanimously modern imperialism and aggression since it considers it against Human Rights.
If it is necessary to correct the map of the world on the basis of old conquest, then we would like
to ask why the map is not corrected in favour of Old Athens and Old Rome in Europe today
also?
ISRAEL'S VIOLATION OF ARAB HUMAN RIGHTS
39. We now present the different aspects of violation of Arab Human Rights in Palestine today
as a result of the restoration of the Israeli presence in this Land which has been an Arab Land for
thousands of years. We list the following flagrant violations to which we attract the attention of
the UN Human Rights Commission:
I The creation of Israel in Arab Palestine where the Arabs used to own 96% of the land at the
time of the Declaration of the Formation of the State of Israel, and without consulting the
opinion of the people of the country respecting self-determination, which is acknowledged by the
Universal Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its Article No. 1 in conformity
with the terms of the UN Charter.
11 Stripping the Palestinian Arabs daily of their property in an oppressive manner and expelling
them from Palestine which is in violation of the terms of Article 17 of Human Rights.
III Prohibiting the remaining Arabs in Palestine of the right of movement and the selection of
their places of residence within the State, which is contrary to Article 13 of Human rights.
IV Complete seizure by force of all the lands of the Palestinians and their expropriations from
their Palestinian owners and the expulsion of Palestinians to live in camps either inside or
outside the country, under certain living conditions which aim at the wiping out of these
nationalistic Palestinians who are known since the dawn of history. This is in violation of the
provisions of 'The Special pledge to Prevent Racial Extermination and Application of Penalties
against it' issued in 1948 AD.
V Denying the people of Palestine their right in their historical lands and expelling them for
replacement with ramblers from different citizenships. Besides, commiting all sorts of barbaric
acts like the killing of aged men and the cutting of the abdomens of women, the slaughter of
children and the profanation of the place of worship for their expulsion from their country with
the aim of terrorizing them and making them leave their lands in a permanent manner.
This is contrary to all the basic rights of man. As a matter of fact these new invaders are not
Israelis, but most of them are Caspians, from the Caspian Sea area who adopted the Jewish faith
eleven centuries ago and had no historical connection with Palestine.
77
40. For all these reasons, we draw the attention of the UN Human Rights Commission to this
flagrant violation of Human Rights in the Arab Land of Palestine under the observation of the
UN Organization, and the threat it poses to World peace. This problem cannot be solved
excepting by eliminating its causes which lie in the foreign Israeli conquest, and by restoring the
usurped rights of the Arabs who are the owners of the land, or else woe to Human Rights from
the Israelis who believe, like the Nazis, that they are superior to all other races.
78
Endnotes
1 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 149.
2 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 148.
3 Tafsir: Arabic/Shari’a Section, Twelfth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of
Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 147.
4 Tawhid: Arabic/Sharia Section, Twelfth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of
Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 15.
5 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 43.
6 Jurisprudence, Tenth Grade. Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1427-1428; 2006-2007, p 76.
7 Jurisprudence, Tenth Grade. Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1427-1428; 2006-2007, p 77.
8 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical
Fields Section, Twelfth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 60.
9 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical
Fields Section, Twelfth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 61.
10 Tafsir: Arabic/Shari’a Section, Twelfth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of
Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 80.
11 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 42.
12 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education.
Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 105.
13 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education.
Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 106.
14 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, pp. 185-
186.
15 Aspects of Muslim Political and Cultural History, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1427-1428; 2006-2007, pp. 99-100.
16 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-
1429; 2007-2008, p. 42.
17 Former Treasury official David D. Aufhauser, “An Assessment of Current Efforts to Combat Terrorism
Financing,” Statement before the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, June 15, 2004, available at
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Testimony&HearingID=3a5f7334-eadf-402d-b68c-
16dc9444043f&WitnessID=adc3200b-5f90-42ec-b335-4c8628e05afd (accessed July 14, 2008).
18 Wright, Lawrence, “The Rebellion Within,” The New Yorker, June 2, 2008, available at
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/02/080602fa_fact_wright?currentPage=all (accessed July 14, 2008).
19 Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 67;
Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1427-1428;
2006-2007, p. 67.
20 13 Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 67;
79
Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1427-1428;
2006-2007, p. 67.
21 Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 66.
Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1427-1428;
2006-2007, p. 66.
22 Monotheism and Jurisprudence, Fourth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 49.
23 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields (Boys),
Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006,
pp. 117-120.
Hadith and Islamic Culture: Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, pp. 185-187.
24 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 149.
Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-
2008, p. 149.
25 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 148.
Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-
2008, p. 148.
26 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies (Boys), Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 59.
Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields Section, Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 63.
27 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields (Boys),
Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006,
p. 66.
Hadith and Islamic Culture, Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 94.
28 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006; p. 45.
Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429;
2007-2008, p. 45.
29 Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation, Fifth Grade, First Semester. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 14.
Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation, Fifth Grade, First Semester. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 15.
30 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields (Boys),
Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006,
p. 66.
Hadith and Islamic Culture, Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 94.
31 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields (Boys),
Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006,
p. 66.
Hadith and Islamic Culture, Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 94.
32 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies (Boys), Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 57.
Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields Section, Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 61.
33 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies (Boys), Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 58.
80
Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields Section, Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 62.
34 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 148.
Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429, p. 148.
35 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 148.
Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-
2008, p. 148.
36 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 149.
Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-
2008, p. 149.
37 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 148.
Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-
2008, p. 148.
38 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade (Boys). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, pp. 103-104.
Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, pp. 104-105.
39 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade (Boys). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 104-105.
Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008; pp. 105-106.
40 “Saudi Arabia: USCIRF Confirms Material Inciting Violence, Intolerance Remains in Textbooks Used at Saudi
Government's Islamic Saudi Academy,” U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, June 11, 2008,
available at http://www.uscirf.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2206&Itemid=1 (accessed June
26, 2008).
41 Schwartz, Stephen, “Rewriting the Koran,” Weekly Standard Vol 10, Issue 3, September 27, 2004.
42 Wahid, Abdurrahman, “Right Islam vs. Wrong Islam,” Wall Street Journal, December 30, 2005.
43 Simon, Mafoot, “A Sufi Muslim Takes on Wahhabism,” Sunday Straits Times, 12 December 2004.
44 Institute for Gulf Affairs, http://www.gulfinstitute.org.
45 Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, http://www.cdhr.info.
46 International Quranic Center, http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/main.php.
47 Schwartz, Stephen, The Two Faces of Islam (New York: Doubleday, 2002).
48 Yamani, Mai, Cradle of Islam (New York: I.B. Tauris, 2004).
49 “Saudi academic sentenced to 200 lashes for ‘mocking long beards,’” AFP, March 20, 2005.
50 Qusti, Raid, “Crown Prince Quashes Jail Term of Saudi Writer,” Arab News, March 22, 2005, available at
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=60829&d=22&m=3&y=2005 (accessed June 26, 2008).
51 “Saudi academic sentenced to 200 lashes for ‘mocking long beards,’” AFP, March 20, 2005; Human Rights
Watch Memorandum to the Government of Saudi Arabia on Human Rights Priorities in the Kingdom, February 7,
2006, available at http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/02/07/saudia12622.htm (accessed June 26, 2008).
52 “Saudi Arabia,” from Amnesty International Report 2007, available at
http://report2007.amnesty.org/eng/Regions/Middle-East-and-North-Africa/Saudi-Arabia (accessed June 30, 2008).;
“Crown prince quashes flogging sentence against Saudi academic: report,” AFP, March 21, 2005.
53 “Saudi Arabia,” from Amnesty International Report 2007, available at
http://report2007.amnesty.org/eng/Regions/Middle-East-and-North-Africa/Saudi-Arabia (accessed June 30, 2008).
54 See “Saudi Arabia – Ratification History,” Bayefsky.com, available at
http://www.bayefsky.com/html/saudiarabia_t1_ratifications.php (accessed July 10, 2008); “Reservations,
Declarations, Objections and Derogations – Saudi Arabia,” Bayefsky.com, available at
http://www.bayefsky.com/docs.php/area/reservations/state/151 (accessed July 10, 2008); and “Concluding
Observations – Saudi Arabia,” Bayefsky.com, available at
http://www.bayefsky.com/docs.php/area/conclobs/state/151 (accessed July 10, 2008).
81
55 Concluding observations adopted up to December 3, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, CRC/C/103
(2001) available at http://www.bayefsky.com/html/saudiarabia_t4_crc.php (accessed July 10, 2008).
56 Saudi Arabia's stated reservations to the Universal Declaration emphasized that the provision on the right of
everyone, including a Muslim, to convert to another religion violated the precepts of Islam. This objection was
based on an anecdote of an alleged “Jewish conspiracy.” The Saudi statement reads:
In connection with point (b) regarding the prohibition of a Muslim to change his religion and which is
considered by a man alien to Islam to be also a restriction violating Article (18) of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights which gave every person the right to change his religion and on which the
Kingdom also gave its reservations at the time of the drafting of the Charter, we say that according to the
reasoning of Islam this is not a restriction on the freedom of every person to change his religion, but is the
outcome of a historical incident. It was established to curb a Jewish conspiracy which was plotted in the
early days of Islam when all the Arabs of the city of Al Madinah Al Munawwara united themselves after an
armed conflict between them caused by the Jewish refugees. The Jews then craftily thought to let some of
them join Islam then renounce it in order to make the Arabs suspect their religion and be misled. A law
originated from that incident preventing a Muslim from changing his religion and threatening to penalize
him so that nobody could join Islam excepting after making a rational and scientific study of its doctrines
ending with his permanent acceptance of the Muslim creed. That was meant to cut off the way for evil men
and their like of superficial people, under the threat of punishment, from joining Islam, for the sake of
extirpating malicious elements who have been persisting in spreading evil on Earth.
It is clear from the reasoning of Islam respecting this point also that it does not spring from the logic of the
restriction of freedom but rather from the logic of the curbing of the intrigues of the plotters who are
addicted to the spread of evil in the world. Thus, this matter is purely an Islamic interpretation - ijtihad -
which is one of the requirements of freedom of opinion. It should not be opposed by a counterinterpretation,
for every one has his own interpretation of things, and we have our own interpretation which
is supported by historical facts, and our concern on not letting any one join Islam excepting those who
believe in it in a positive and decisive manner. This shows the extent of sacredness attached to the faith
which Islam does not allow to be superficial and subject to the misleadings of evil persons.
See, Appendix F, Memorandum Submitted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to International Organizations on
Human Rights and Their Implementation Within Its Territory, 1970.
57 These negotiations took place over “several years,” according to the State Department’s letter to Senator Jon Kyl.
See, Appendix B.
58 Following the publication of the Center’s 2006 report and high level media attention to it, Ambassador Hanford
intensified official talks about the textbooks with representatives of the government of Saudi Arabia. In July 2006,
he released a list of reforms that the Saudi government had confirmed were underway. Prominent among them was
the revision of Saudi textbooks, those used both inside and outside the Kingdom – a pledge brought about, the
ambassador stated at a public White House event, largely through the pressure created by the revelations in our 2006
textbook analysis.
59 “Saudi Arabia: USCIRF Confirms Material Inciting Violence, Intolerance Remains in Textbooks Used at Saudi
Government's Islamic Saudi Academy,” U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, June 11, 2008,
available at http://www.uscirf.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2206&Itemid=1 (accessed June
26, 2008).
60 This reference was removed in October 2007, shortly after the USCIRF called for the closure of the school under
the Foreign Missions Act. See, “USCIRF Seriously Concerned About Saudi Academy,” U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom, October 19, 2007, available at
http://www.uscirf.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=88&Itemid=47 (accessed October 19, 2007).
61 Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 67;
Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1427-1428;
2006-2007, p. 67.
62 13 Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 67;
82
Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1427-1428;
2006-2007, p. 67.
63 Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 66.
Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1427-1428;
2006-2007, p. 66.
64 Monotheism and Jurisprudence, Fourth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 49.
65 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields (Boys),
Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006,
pp. 117-120.
Hadith and Islamic Culture: Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, pp. 185-187.
66 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 149.
Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-
2008, p. 149.
67 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 148.
Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-
2008, p. 148.
68 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies (Boys), Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 59.
Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields Section, Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 63.
69 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields (Boys),
Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006,
p. 66.
Hadith and Islamic Culture: Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 94.
70 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006; p. 45.
Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429;
2007-2008, p. 45.
71 Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation, Fifth Grade, First Semester. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 14.
Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation, Fifth Grade, First Semester. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 15.
72 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields (Boys),
Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006,
p. 66.
Hadith and Islamic Culture: Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 94.
73 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields (Boys),
Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006,
p. 66.
Hadith and Islamic Culture: Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 94.
74 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies (Boys), Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 57.
Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields Section, Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 61.
75 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies (Boys), Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 58.
83
Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields Section, Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 62.
76 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 148.
Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429, p. 148.
77 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 148.
Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-
2008, p. 148.
78 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 149.
Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-
2008, p. 149.
79 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 148.
Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-
2008, p. 148.
80 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade (Boys). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, pp. 103-104.
Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, pp. 104-105.
81 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade (Boys). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 104-105.
Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008; pp. 105-106.
82 “Summary of Saudi Arabia’s Comprehensive Program to Revise the National Educational Curriculums,”
(Washington, D.C.: Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, March 2006), p. 15.
83 “Saudi Arabia: USCIRF Confirms Material Inciting Violence, Intolerance Remains in Textbooks Used at Saudi
Government's Islamic Saudi Academy,” U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, June 11, 2008,
available at http://www.uscirf.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2206&Itemid=1 (accessed June
26, 2008).
84 For an account of the formation of the Saudi Kingdom see, Thicker than Oil: America’s Uneasy Partnership with
Saudi Arabia, Rachel Bronson, A Council on Foreign Relations Book, Oxford University Press, 2006; also see, U.S.
Department of State, Bureau of Near East Affairs, Profile: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, February 2008, available at
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3584.htm (accessed June 30, 2008); and Voll, John O., Islam: Continuity and
Change in the Modern World (2nd ed.), (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1994). Also see Schwartz,
Stephen, The Two Faces of Islam: The House of Sa’ud from Tradition to Terror (New York: Doubleday, 2002); and
Smyth, William, “Chapter 1 – Historical Setting,” in A Country Study: Saudi Arabia, Federal Research Division,
Library of Congress, 1992 .
85 U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Near East Affairs, Profile: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, February 2008,
available at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3584.htm (accessed June 30, 2008).
86 Armanios, Febe, “The Islamic Traditions of Wahhabism and Salafiyya,” Congressional Research Service,
December 22, 2003.
87 Trofimov, Yaroslav, The Siege of Mecca (New York: Doubleday, 2007), pp. 28, 30 and 100.
88 Marshall, Paul, “Muzzling in the Name of Islam,” WashingtonPost.com, September 29, 2007.
89 U.S. State Department, International Religious Freedom Report 2007 – Saudi Arabia, released September 14, 207,
available at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90220.htm (accessed June 30, 2008); Annual Report of the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom, May 2008, available at
http://www.uscirf.gov/images/AR2008/annual%20report%202008-entire%20document.pdf (accessed June 30,
2008).
90 See report on schoolteacher Mohammed al Harbi, “Saudi jailed for discussing the Bible,” Washington Times,
November 14, 2004, available at http://washingtontimes.com/word/20051114-015138-3548r.htm (accessed July 8,
2008); “Saudi Arabia: U.S. Should Take ‘CPC’ Action After Teacher is Flogged and Jailed for ‘Praising Jews’ and
Speaking of the Gospels,” Center for Religious Freedom Press release, November 18, 2005, available at
http://crf.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=publication_details&id=4814 (accessed July 8, 2008).
84
91 Adel al-Jubeir, interview by Tony Snow, Fox News Sunday, FOX, May 18, 2003.
92 King Abdullah, Interview with Barbara Walters, Nightline with Barbara Walters, ABC News, 14 October 2005.
93 Al-Faisal, Turki, Letter to USCIRF Chairman Michael Cromartie, 15 March 2006.
94 Shea, Nina, “A Medal for Brass,” Weekly Standard Vol 13, Issue 35, May 26, 2008.
95 See Wright, Lawrence, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (New York: Knopf, 2007);
Trofimov, Yaroslav, The Siege of Mecca (New York: Doubleday, 2007).
96 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, “An Assessment of Current Efforts to Combat
Terrorist Financing,” statement by David Aufhauser, Former General Counsel, US Dept. of Treasury, 108th Cong.,
2nd session, , June 15, 2004, available at
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Testimony&HearingID=3a5f7334-eadf-402d-b68c-
16dc9444043f&WitnessID=adc3200b-5f90-42ec-b335-4c8628e05afd (accessed June 30, 2008);Alexiev, Alex,
“Growing Wahhabi Influence in the United States,” Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary,
26 June 2003.
97 Wahid, Abdurrahman, “Right Islam vs. Wrong Islam,” Wall Street Journal, December 30, 2005
98 “Israeli Rabbi Invited to Saudi Interfaith Meeting,” AP, July 3, 2008.
99 Latham, Judith, “Mecca Conference Promotes Dialogue Between Muslims and Followers of Other Faiths,” Voice
of America News, June 12, 2008, available at http://www.voanews.com/english/NewsAnalysis/2008-06-12-
voa25.cfm (accessed June 30, 2008).
100 Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, quoted
in Latham, VOA News, June 12, 2008.
101 Noting the conference excluded the Ismaili Muslims, who represent about a million Saudi citizens, Sufis, and the
Ahmadiyya Muslims, and limited Shiite representation to a high profile Iranian political leader and a few other more
marginal figures. Ali Al-Ahmed, Institute for Gulf Affairs, Washington, D.C., quoted in Latham, VOA News, June
12, 2008.
102 Shea, Nina, and James Woolsey, “What About Muslim Moderates?”, Wall Street Journal, July 10, 2007. The
actual substance of Mr. Bush's mosque speech – particularly good on religious freedom – was overshadowed by the
announcement of its single initiative: America is to send an envoy to the Organization of Islamic Conference. Based
in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the OIC was created explicitly to promote hostility to Israel, and its meetings largely
consist of ritualistic Israel-bashing. At one last year, Iran's president called for the "elimination of the Zionist
regime." It has no mechanism for discussing the human rights of its member states. It is advancing an effort to
universalize Saudi-styled blasphemy laws, which are applied as often against speech critical of the governments of
OIC member states as against profanities. The OIC council of foreign ministers termed Islamophobia "the worst
form of terrorism." Until then, no Western power had held either member or observer status at the OIC.
103 Vidino, Lorenzo, “How Chechnya Became a Breeding Ground for Terror,” Middle East Quarterly, Vol. XII: No.
3, Summer 2005.
104 Y. Admon, “Saudi Press Reactions to Involvement of Saudi Nationals in Terrorist Activity,” MEMRI Inquiry and
Analysis Series 388, September 12, 2007; Admon cites an initial report from the Lebanese news agency Al-
Markaziyya.
105 See for instance “Pentagon Releases 10 Saudi Detainees,” Washington Post, December 30, 2007.
106 Hammond, Andrew, “Saudi Arabia says arrests 520 terrorism suspects,” Reuters, June 25, 2008.
107 Oppel, Richard A., “Foreign Fighters in Iraq Are Tied to Allies of U.S.,” New York Times, November 22, 2007.
108 Parker, Ned, “The Conflict in Iraq: Saudi Role in Insurgency,” Los Angeles Times, July 15, 2007. News reports
indicate that the Saudi government has taken steps in the past year to staunch the flow of Saudi fighters going into
Iraq.
109 Robertson, Nick, “Failed Suicide Bomber Turns on Al Qaeda,” CNN, September 14, 2007.
110 Associated Press, “Saudi government bans leading Arab paper,” International Herald Tribune, August 28, 2007.
111 As quoted in Dankowitz, Aluma, “Saudi Study Offers Critical Analysis of the Kingdom’s Religious Curricula,”
MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis Series 195, November 9, 2004.
112 Y. Admon, “Saudi Press Reactions to Involvement of Saudi Nationals in Terrorist Activity,” MEMRI Inquiry and
Analysis Series 388, September 12, 2007.
113 Monotheism and Jurisrpudence, First Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 29.
114 Monotheism and Jurisprudence, First Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 29.
85
115 Monotheism and Jurisprudence, First Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 30.
116 Monotheism and Jurisprudence, First Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 30.
117 Monotheism and Jurisprudence, First Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 30.
118 Monotheism and Jurisprudence, First Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 30.
119 Monotheism and Jurisprudence, First Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 30.
120 Monotheism and Jurisprudence, First Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 30.
121 “Summary of Saudi Arabia’s Comprehensive Program to Revise the National Educational Curriculums,”
(Washington, D.C.: Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, March 2006), p. 15.
122 Monotheism and Jurisprudence, Fourth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 48.
123 Monotheism and Jurisprudence, Fourth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 91.
124 Monotheism and Jurisprudence, Fourth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 49.
125 Monotheism and Jurisprudence, Fourth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 93.
126 Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation, Fifth Grade, First Semester. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005 p. 14.
127 Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation, Fifth Grade, First Semester. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 15.
128 Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation, Fifth Grade, First Semester. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 14.
129 Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation, Fifth Grade, First Semester. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 15.
130 Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation, Fifth Grade, First Semester. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1425-1425; 2004-2005, p. 14.
131 Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation, Fifth Grade, First Semester. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 15.
132 Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation, Fifth Grade, First Semester. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 14.
133 Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation, Sixth Grade, First Semester. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 94.
134 Monotheism, Hadith, Jurisprudence, and Qur’anic Recitation, Sixth Grade, First Semester. Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 125.
135 History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sixth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education.
Education Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 76.
136 History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sixth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education.
Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 78.
137 History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sixth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education.
Education Development, 1428-1428; 2007-2008, p. 78.
138 History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sixth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education.
Education Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 76.
139 History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sixth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education.
Education Development, 1428-1428; 2007-2008, p. 78.
140 History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sixth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education.
Education Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 76.
141 History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sixth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education.
Education Development, 1428-1428; 2007-2008, p. 78.
86
142 History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sixth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education.
Education Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 76.
143 History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sixth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education.
Education Development, 1428-1428; 2007-2008, p. 78.
144 History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sixth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education.
Education Development, 1425-1426; 2004-2005, p. 76.
145 History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sixth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education.
Education Development, 1428-1428; 2007-2008, p. 78.
146 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 42.
147 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-
1429; 2007-2008, p. 42.
148 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 42.
149 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-
1429; 2007-2008, p. 42.
150 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 42.
151 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-
1429; 2007-2008, p. 42.
152 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 42.
153 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-
1429; 2007-2008, p. 42.
154 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 43.
155 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-
1429; 2007-2008, p. 43.
156 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 43.
157 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-
1429; 2007-2008, p. 43.
158 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 43.
159 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-
1429; 2007-2008, p. 43.
160 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 43.
161 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-
1429; 2007-2008, p. 43.
162 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 43.
163 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-
1429; 2007-2008, p. 43.
164 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 43.
165 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-
1429; 2007-2008, p. 43.
166 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 43.
167 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-
1429; 2007-2008, p. 43.
168 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1427; 2005-2006, p. 46.
87
169 Monotheism, Eighth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-
1429; 2007-2008, p. 46.
170 According to Doumato, this is a common practice in Saudi textbooks. Doumato, Eleanor Abdella. “Manning the
Barricades: Islam According to Saudi Arabia’s School Texts,” Middle East Journal, Vol. 57, No. 2, Spring 2003.
171 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 148.
172 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429;
2007-2008, p. 148.
173 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 148.
174 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429;
2007-2008, p. 148.
175 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 148.
176 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429;
2007-2008, p. 148.
177 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 148.
178 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429;
2007-2008, p. 148.
179 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 149.
180 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429;
2007-2008, p. 149.
181 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 149.
182 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429;
2007-2008, p. 149
183 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 149.
184 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429;
2007-2008, p. 149
185 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 149.
186 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429;
2007-2008, p. 149
187 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427;
2005-2006, p. 149.
188 Hadith, Ninth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429;
2007-2008, p. 149
189 Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1437; 2005-2006, p. 67.
190 Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1427-
1428; 2006-2007, p. 67.
191 Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1437; 2005-2006, p. 66.
192 Monotheism, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1427-
1428; 2006-2007, p. 66.
193 Reporter David Remnick provided a summary of conspiracy theories involving the Jews from the Hamas charter
in an article in the New Yorker magazine. “In short, ‘No war broke out anywhere without their [the Jews’]
fingerprints on it.’ The Jews also have formed ‘secret organizations’ and ‘destructive spying’ agencies –
Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, and others – to promote the Zionist project … ‘outlined in the Protocols of
the Elders of Zion,’ the tsarist-era forgery of a Jewish plan for world domination.” Remnick, David, “The
Democracy Game: Hamas Comes to Power in Palestine,” The New Yorker, February 27, 2006, p. 62.
88
194 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade (Boys). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 101.
195 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 102.
196 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade (Boys). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 102.
197 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 103.
198 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade (Boys). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, pp. 103-104.
199 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 104.
200 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade (Boys). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 104.
201 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, pp. 104-105.
202 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade (Boys). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 104.
203 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 105.
204 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade (Boys). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 104.
205 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 105-106.
206 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade (Boys). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 105.
207 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 106.
208 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade (Boys). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 105.
209 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 106.
210 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade (Boys). Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 105.
211 Hadith and Islamic Culture, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education
Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 106.
212 Jurisprudence, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1426; 2005-2006, p. 47.
213 Jurisprudence, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1426; 2005-2006, p. 47.
214 Jurisprudence, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1427-
1428; 2006-2007, p. 46.
215 Jurisprudence, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-
1426; 2005-2006, p. 47.
216 Jurisprudence, Tenth Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1427-
1428; 2006-2007, p. 46.
217 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields (Boys),
Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006,
p. 66.
218 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 94.
219 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields (Boys),
Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006,
p. 66.
89
220 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 94.
221 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields (Boys),
Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006,
p. 66.
222 Hadith and Islamic Cultur:, Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 94.
223 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields (Boys),
Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006,
p. 117.
224 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 185.
225 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields (Boys),
Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006,
pp. 118-119.
226 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Shari’a and Arabic Studies Section, Eleventh Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 186.
227 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies (Boys), Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 57.
228 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields Section,
Twelfth Grade. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 61.
229 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies (Boys), Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 58.
230 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields Section,
Twelfth Grade. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 62.
231 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies (Boys), Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 58.
232 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields Section,
Twelfth Grade. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 62.
233 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies (Boys), Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 59.
234 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields Section,
Twelfth Grade. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 63.
235 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies (Boys), Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 59.
236 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields Section,
Twelfth Grade. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 63.
237 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Natural History, and Technical Studies (Boys), Twelfth
Grade. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1426-1427; 2005-2006, p. 59.
238 Hadith and Islamic Culture: Management, Social Studies, Physical Sciences, and Technical Fields Section,
Twelfth Grade. Ministry of Education. Education Development, 1428-1429; 2007-2008, p. 63.
􀀁 The gender of the Arabic words used here indicates that both of the “participants” are presumed to be male –
translator’s note.
239 Zad al-Ma’ad, 40/5.
240 Al-Mughanna, 350/12.