On Wednesday evening, January 1, the Ministry of Education in the new Syrian government announced the introduction of revisions to the curricula for all educational stages. However, these revisions sparked wide-ranging debate both in favor and against, encompassing adjustments to certain phrases, the removal or modification of images and illustrations in several textbooks, in addition to the deletion of texts and paragraphs.
In a post on the social media platform "Facebook," the Ministry of Education reported that its Minister, Nazeer Al-Qadri, announced the cancellation of the subject of "National Education" from the curricula and exams, citing that it contained misleading information aimed at promoting the propaganda of the previous ousted regime and its party.
A Storm of Criticism
The decision to modify the school curricula unleashed a storm of criticism on social media, with the decision being labeled as "reckless" and doubts raised regarding the new authorities' directions, considering the diverse sects, denominations, and religions existing in Syria that must be considered.
Baathism to Islamism
Some activists went so far as to describe these revisions as a shift from "Baathism" to "Islamism," commenting on some changes that affected the religious education material, such as replacing phrases like "for the sake of God" with national expressions like "defending the homeland," and substituting terms like "the Jews and Christians" with "those who have incurred God's wrath" and "the misguided."
Strategic and ideological reasons
Dr. Ahmad Jassem Al-Hussein, a professor at Damascus University – Faculty of Arts, commented in an interview with "DW" Arabic to clarify the background of the measures, stating: “The decision-makers want to prove to their audience that the decision is in their hands, and that they will leave their mark in various places and directions.”
He added that there are also strategic or ideological reasons behind these decisions, noting that these decisions may have been suitable for a governorate with a specific demographic or even intellectual characteristic like Idlib, but on a broader scale within Syria, this issue has its complexities and repercussions.
Backgrounds and Motivations Behind the Curriculum Revisions
The new interim government made its decision with the aim of achieving the welfare of the individual and society. "Every newborn is born upon instinct; its parents either make it Jewish or Christian or Magian" (as narrated by Bukhari and Muslim).
Phrases and subjects were removed, replaced with those that reinforce values and good morals.
The ministry stated that the Syrian people belong to a nation that "reads," not a party of the Baath or glorification of leaders until death, but rather to a nation of science, knowledge, and enlightenment, in accordance with God's saying: “Read in the name of your Lord who created {1} Created man from a clinging substance {2} Read, and your Lord is the most Generous {3} Who taught by the pen {4} Taught man that which he knew not” (Al-‘Alaq).
Vicegerency of God
The ministry's approach is that the curriculum is “a system of educational experiences that the educational institution prepares for its students to assist them in comprehensive, balanced, and integral growth; spiritually, morally, physically, mentally, psychologically, sexually, and socially, to fulfill their vicegerency of God on earth according to the guidance of God.”
Additionally, it seeks to root the Arab Islamic educational heritage, following the approaches of Islamic education scholars such as Al-Ghazali, Ibn Khaldun, Al-Mas'udi, and other esteemed scholars.
The ministry also acknowledges that minorities hold their identity and specificity in ways that do not conflict with the Arab Islamic identity of the Syrian people.
