Syria’s newly formed government is under fire for proposed amendments to the school curriculum, which critics claim introduce an Islamist bias to teaching.
Changes, posted on the education ministry’s official Facebook page, include replacing phrases such as “path of goodness” with “Islamic path” and defining “those who have gone astray” as “Jews and Christians.” These changes reflect a literal interpretation of a Quranic verse. A new definition for “martyr” now refers to a person who has given his life “for the sake of God,” rather than a person who died for the homeland.
Among other things, chapters on “the origins and evolution of life” have been withdrawn from the syllabus, as per the ministry’s list. These changes will impact 6 to 18-year-old students, although it is still unclear if these have been formally introduced.
Some of the changes, like the abolition of references to former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, were welcomed, but the religious changes triggered a storm of protests on social media, with accusations that the government was erasing parts of Syria’s history and that the legitimacy of an interim government in making drastic curriculum changes has been raised.
The caretaker government is not supposed to amend curricula, one of the commenters argued, and added that it was something that should be aligned with a new constitution.
Education Minister Nazir Mohammad al-Qadri tried to calm the storm, saying that curricula would not be changed until specialized committees reviewed them. He explained that only references to the Assad regime as glorious and images of its flag were removed and replaced with symbols of the Syrian revolution. The ministry also said some corrections aimed to correct the misinterpretation of Islamic teachings during the Assad regime.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s de facto leader and head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-led government, has made efforts to distance his administration from HTS’s al Qaeda roots, promoting tolerance and inclusivity.
The HTS-led government is an interim one, with elections anticipated by 2025. But the question still remains as to how and when the power will shift to an elected leadership.
