Tufail Ahmad, Director of MEMRI's South Asia Studies Project

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October 1, 2013

Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.1020

Textbooks In Pakistani Government Schools Teaching Hate Against Christians And Hindus, Jihad And Martyrdom To Young Students
By: Tufail Ahmad*

Introduction
This paper examines the role of school textbooks in promoting hate against religious minorities in Pakistan. On September 22, 2013, more than 80 Christians were killed and hundreds wounded when two Taliban suicide bombers targeted worshippers as they were leaving after a Sunday mass at the 130-year old All Saints' church in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.[1] Imran Khan, the leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party which governs the province, slammed the attackers but in the same breath asked: "why do terrorist attacks occur when dialogue is on the table?" the insinuation being that foreign forces planned the attack to sabotage Pakistan's peace negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).[2] Jundul Hafsa, a militant outfit which functions as part of the Hakimullah Mehsud-led TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack. Ahmad Marwat, the group's spokesman, said the following about Christians: "They are the enemies of Islam; therefore we target them... We will continue our attacks on non-Muslims on Pakistani land."[3] There are 200,000 Christians in the province and of them 70,000 live in Peshawar. [4] Such hate against Christians is the result of decades of teachings in government-run schools across Pakistan. In Pakistan, where Islamist groups are launching regular attacks against non-Muslim Pakistanis like Christians and Hindus as well as some sects of Muslims such as Shi'ites and Ahmadi Muslims, whom they do not consider to be real Muslims, the official and unofficial media, government leaders and religious scholars have legitimized hate against religious minorities, with the term "minority" itself having come to be seen in a pejorative context. As a result of such legitimization of hate through school textbooks, government policies, sermons in mosques and religious congregations, there is growing persecution of Pakistani Christians, Hindus, Shias and Ahmadi Muslims. In September 2012, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) released a paper by this author, cataloguing Islamist and jihadi attacks against these minority groups and underlining the need to put Pakistan on international genocide watch.[5]

After the September 22 church attack, senior Pakistani journalist Aamer Ahmed Khan commented on the Pakistani elite's silence in condemning such attacks on minorities in unequivocal terms, stating: "This silence of our ruling elite is itself the real Talibanism."[6]In Pakistan, the federal government and the provincial government headed by Imran Khan's party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are engaged in talks with the Taliban. Their ministers are publicly seen as silent in their criticism of jihadi groups and the TTP. In turn, the Taliban are emboldened. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI-led government has recently been in the news for initiating policies to restore jihadi lessons in school textbooks which were removed as part of reforms by the previous government of the secular Awami National Party (ANP). "What kind of sovereignty, freedom, and Islamic values are these when Islamic teachings, jihad, and national heroes are removed from textbooks? Jihad is part of our faith. We will not back down (from our decision)," Shah Farman, the information minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told reporters on August 21, 2013.[7]

Pakistani Journalist Maheen Usmani: "14-Year-Old Students Of Pakistan Studies Are Being Taught: 'One Of The Reasons For The Downfall Of The Muslims... Was The Lack Of The Spirit Of jihad'"; "13-Year-Olds Are Instructed: 'In Islam, Jihad Is Very Important'"

Throughout Pakistan's history, since its creation in 1947, hate speech against nonMuslims has been a normal phenomenon in Pakistani society. In August-September 2013, a Lahore Grammar School received backlash for introducing a supplementary course titled "Comparative Religion" which was designed to "educate about Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and Hinduism."[8] A television channel played its part in inciting popular opinion against the school. According to a report, "The course received considerable backlash, gaining mainstream attention following an episode of a talk show aired on ARY News, Khara Sach, on September 16, 2013. In the episode, hosted by [television] anchor Mubasher Luqman, the school was falsely accused of attempting to convert students to other religions..."[9] In an article published by the Dawn newspaper earlier, journalist Maheen Usmani described how religious fundamentalism and state-sponsored obscurantist textbooks are creating a generation of literate Pakistani youth who identify themselves more with Islam than with Pakistan. In the article, titled "The Ideology of Thought Control in Pakistan," she observes:[10] "Let us consider a ubiquitous slogan about the 'ideology' of Pakistan. A staple of our school textbooks, it echoed in massive public rallies as well as debates on secularism.'Pakistan ka matlab kiya? La illaha il lallah' (What is the meaning of Pakistan? There is no God but Allah) has become the rallying cry of the campaign to Islamize Pakistani society. Ironically, it is a slogan that was coined long after the creation of Pakistan, but it is now being falsely ascribed to the leaders of the Pakistan movement... History textbooks written soon after Partition a time when the grief of shattered families who experienced communal killings was at its peak show a more liberal mindset. The history of the subcontinent was taken to start with the ancient Indus valley civilizations rather than with the conquest of India by the first Muslim invader, Mohammad bin Qasim, in 712... "The seeds of the distortion of history and the preponderance of religious dogma which were sown decades ago are bearing fruit today. Examples from the curriculum designed by the Federal Ministry of Education abound. The Social Studies textbook for Class 7 says: 'European nations have been working during the past three centuries

through conspiracies on naked aggression to subjugate the countries of the Muslim world.' 14-year-old students of Pakistan Studies are being taught: 'one of the reasons for the downfall of the Muslims in the sub-continent was the lack of the spirit of jihad.' 13-year-olds are instructed: 'In Islam, jihad is very important... The person who offers his life never dies... All the prayers nurture one's passion of jihad.' "The cause for the intolerance experienced by Ahmadis [i.e. Ahmadi Muslims, declared non-Muslims under Pakistani law], Hindus, and Christians lies in public education, structured as it has been to defend Pakistan against some phantom enemy. NonMuslims are forced to read the same textbooks which contain derogatory remarks against Hindus, such as them being eternal enemies of Muslims. Our myopic educational system discourages questioning and causes ethnic and religious minorities to be viewed with suspicion..." In addition to official school textbooks, there are thousands of unregulated madrassas (Islamic seminaries), whose curriculum is not discussed here, that teach their own Islamist and jihadi lessons, leading to hate campaigns against religious minorities in Pakistan. And many of these madrassas not only engender extremism among Pakistani youth but have also emerged as training grounds for terrorists. As late as August 2013, the United States imposed sanctions on the Ganj Madrassa in Peshawar for training and recruiting militants belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.[11] The head of the madrassa, Fazeelat-ul-Shaykh Abu Mohammed Ameen Al-Peshawari aka Shaykh Aminullah, has been a UN-designated terrorist since 2009, for his support for Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Study By Pakistani NGO: Textbooks Teaching Jihad And Martyrdom To Primary School Children Include Desired Learning Outcomes Such As: "Must Be Aware Of The Blessings Of Jihad, And Must Create Yearning For Jihad In His Heart"; "Recognize The Importance Of Jihad In Every Sphere Of Life"
A landmark study of Pakistani school textbooks, "The Subtle Subversion The State of Curricula and Textbooks in Pakistan" edited by A. H. Nayyar and Ahmad Salim and published by the Islamabad-based Sustainable Development Policy Institute, reveals a worrying picture. Their study examines in detail how school textbooks nurture Islamism and promote hate and jihad among students of primary schools and disturbingly even non-Muslim Pakistanis have to go through this daily school ordeal from early childhood. A sample of highlights from the study is given below:[12] i) The 2002 National Early Childhood Education Curriculum requires as an objective: "To nurture in children a sense of Islamic identity and pride in being Pakistani. There is no mention that this is to be done among Muslim students alone." ii) For Class IV and V students, the Urdu curriculum requires: "A feeling be created among students that they are the members of a Muslim nation. Therefore, in accordance with the Islamic tradition, they have to be truthful, honest, patriotic and life-sacrificing mujahids (janbaz mujahid)", "To educate and train the future generations of Pakistan as a true practicing Muslim"; "To develop a sense of pride in being Muslim and Pakistani"; "Knows that national culture is not the local culture or local customs, but that it means the culture the principles of which are laid down by Islam." iii) A lesson on "Our Country" in the Class II Urdu book states: "Our country is Pakistan. We live in our country. Pakistan is an Islamic country. Here Muslims live. Muslims believe in the unity of Allah. They do good deeds..." A Class 6 book teaches:

"Who am I? I am a Muslim. I am a Pakistani. I love my country and I love my people;" "You know that you are a Muslim and your religion is Islam." iv) The National Early Childhood Education Curriculum requires the teaching of the following "life skills" to both Muslim and non-Muslim children: "Use greetings such as Assalam-o-Alaikum [words of Islamic greeting]"; " Know when to say Bismillah [I begin in the name of Allah]"; "Recite the first Kalimah [words declaring belief in Islam] and understand its meaning"; "Name the five daily prayers"; "Learn about Ramadan and Eidain [Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha]". v) The 1995 primary education curriculum requires both Muslim and non-Muslim children to "be proud of the Islamic way of life, and try to acquire and adopt Islamic teachings"; "try to adopt principles of Islamic way of living"; "participate in Salat ba Jamat [collective prayers] in mosques, to develop a sense of respect for Muezzin and Imam"; "read the Koran, and respect it"; "listen to the events from Islamic history and derive pleasure from them"; "try to adopt principles of Islamic way of living"; "respect for Islamic beliefs and practices"; "study religious books in order to understand Koranic teachings"; "respect Islamic or national customs and urge others to do the same"; "love Islamic traditions", etc. vi) Class 5 textbooks teach the following: "Events from the life of the Holy Prophet, His family and Islamic leaders"; "Stories of Imams and the Prophet's companions (sacrifice: from the life of Hazrat Usman [third caliph of Islam])"; "Stories about the Pakistan movement, eminent personalities of Pakistan, and martyrs of Pakistan"; "Simple stories to urge for jihad"; "Unity of the Islamic world", etc. vii) The following objectives of teaching Urdu are laid down for both Muslim and nonMuslim children: "To create love for religion and respect for personalities [of Islam and Pakistan]"; "must have belief in the unity of God, and know that Allah is the creator of the universe"; "Must regard Islamic ways as the best of all; "Must have reverence for all the messengers of God, the Prophet Mohammad..., his family members, his companions, the imams and the leaders, and must try to know their teachings and adopt their ways"; "Must maintain affinity (love) with the Islamic world"; "Must respect the leaders, books, places of worship of other religions"; "Must be aware of the blessings of Jihad, and must create yearning for Jihad in his heart." viii) The authors, A. H. Nayyar and Ahmad Salim, observe: "The... disturbing part of this is to make the non-Muslim students read the Koran, not in Islamiat [Islamic Studies] which they are not required to learn, but in the compulsory subject of Urdu. Urdu textbooks from Class I to III, which are compulsory for students of all faiths, contain lessons on learning to read the Koran. Progressing from Class I where Arabic alphabets are introduced in a lesson titled Iqra, to the lesson entitled 'E'rab' on punctuations in a Class II Urdu book, to the lessons in a Class III Urdu book entitled 'Koran Parhna' (reading the Koran), which has seven lessons (out of a total of 51) on learning to read the Koran. The non-Muslim students must learn these lessons and prepare them for examinations also." ix) The textbooks teach: "Hindu has always been an enemy of Islam"; "The religion of the Hindus did not teach them good things Hindus did not respect women"; "Hindus worship in temples which are very narrow and dark places, where they worship idols. Only one person can enter the temple at a time"; "In our mosques, on the other hand, all Muslims can say their prayers together." x) The following chapters, learning outcomes and educational activities related to jihad and shahadat (martyrdom) are part of the Pakistani school curriculum both before military ruler General Zia-ul-Haq ushered Pakistan on a bold jihadi path and continuing after him: "Recognize the importance of jihad in every sphere of life"; "Must be aware

of the blessings of jihad, and must create yearning for jihad in his heart"; "Concept: Jihad; Affective objective: Aspiration for Jihad"; "Love and aspiration for Jihad, Tableegh (Proselytization), Jihad, Shahadat"; "To make speeches on Jihad and Shahadat"; "To make speeches on Jihad"; "Evaluation: To judge their spirits while making speeches on Jihad, Muslim History and Culture"; "Concepts: Jihad, Amar bil Maroof and Nahi Anil Munkar [promoting virtue and rejecting vice]"; "Importance of Jihad"; "Concepts of Ideology of Pakistan, Muslim Ummah and Jihad"; "Folk tales (mythical, moral, Islamic, travel and adventure, jihad)."