Teaching for tolerance
and freedom of religion or belief

News, reports and articles
about (in)tolerance education, worldwide

Regarding Palestine/Israel, see separate list.

See also relevant news items listed on a web page of the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research: The international press on textbook and curricula issues

2006

RUSSIA Compulsory Courses on Christianity for Muslim Children in Russia (Kavkaz Center, 31.08.06). Cf. Patriarch Alexy for compulsory Orthodox Culture course in secondary schools in Russia (Liberty Post, 31.08.06), Catholic leaders in Russia support introduction of Basic Orthodox Culture to schools in 15 regions (Liberty Post, 31.08.06). Cf. also Kristus erstatter Lenin ("Christ replaces Lenin", Aftenposten 06.09.06, in Norwegian).

SAUDI ARABIA Revised Saudi Government Textbooks Still Demonize Christians, Jews, Non-Wahhabi Muslims and Other (Freedom House 23-05-06). See full report: Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance. With Excerpts from Saudi Ministry of Education Textbooks for Islamic Education. Cf. Nina Shea: This is a Saudi textbook. (After the intolerance was removed.) (Washington Post 21-05-06)

PAKISTAN Curricula being revised to expurgate hate material (Karachi News 22.01.96)

INDIA Yoginder Sikand: The State and Madrasa Reform: An Indian Deobandi Perspective (Qalandar, January 2006)

2005

INDIA Asghar Ali Engineer: They too Fought for Freedom - Role of Minorities in Freedom Struggle (including reflections on texxtbooks; [JUST] International Movement For A Just World, December 2005)

PAKISTAN William Dalrymple: Inside the madrasas (The New York Review 01-12-2005)

PAKISTAN, PALESTINE, JORDAN, SAUDI ARABIA Reformers work to rid 'diet of hate' from Muslim textbooks (Chicago Sun-Times, 27-11-2005)

PAKISTAN Bernadette L. Dean: Developing a Citizenship Education Programme for Pakistan: Drawing on Progressive Interpretations of Concepts in the Islamic Tradition (Paper for a conference at Teachers College/Columbia University,
November 4th & 5th, 2005)

PAKISTAN Saleem H. Ali: Islamic Education and Conflict: Understanding the Madrassahs of Pakistan (US Institute of Peace, August 2005)

PAKISTAN US concern at Pakistan textbooks (Aamer Ahmed Khan, BBC, 19-08-2005)

PAKISTAN Samina Ahmed and Andrew Stroehlein: Pakistan: Still Schooling Extremists (The Washington Post, 17.07.2006)

TURKEY Asil Ali Özdogru, Gisem Aksoy, Nurcin Erdogan, Fatma Gök: Content Analysis for Gender Bias in Turkish Elementary Schools (SUNY/University at Albany, June 2005).

JORDAN Jordan reconsiders its Islamic teachings (The International Herald Tribune, 13-06-2005)

THE WESTERN BALKANS: Religion in Schools: Problems of Pluralism in the Public Sphere (The Kotor Network, April 2005)

PAKISTAN William Dalrymple: Inside Islam's 'terror schools' (New Statesman 28-03-05)

PAKISTAN Tahir Andrabi et al.: Religious School Enrollment in Pakistan: A Look at the Data (World Bank/Harvard University, February/March 2005)

NORWAY Remedies taken by Norway (to meet the critique from the UN’s Human Rights Committee, cf. November 2004; Communication from the Norwegian Government, 04.02.05)

GREAT BRITAIN: Islamic schools are threat to national identity, says Ofsted/Office for Standards in Education (The Times 18-01-05). Cf. Ofsted Muslim schools row goes on (BBC News 28-01-05)

SAUDI ARABIA > USA New report on Saudi Government Publications (Freedom House, 28-01-05). Full report: Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Fill American Mosques. See comment by Junaid M. Ateef: Are American Mosques Promoting Hate Ideology? (Alt.Muslim 04-02-05).

2004

PAKISTAN Munawar S. Mirza: Gender Analysis of School Curriculum and Textbooks. Islamabad: UNESCO and Institute of Education and Research, University of Punjab (2004)

SAUDI ARABIA Accepting Others in Saudi Arabia (Arab News, 29-12-2004)

PAKISTAN Iftikar Ahmed: Islam, Democracy and Citizenship Education. An Examination of the Social Studies Curriculum in Pakistan (Current Issues in Comparative Education, 7 (1), December 15, 2004)

PAKISTAN Yvette Rosser: Pakistani Studies Textbooks Can Cause Cognitive Dissonance in Students (Esamskriti, December 2004)

THE ARAB WORLD/EUROPE: Re-writing the textbooks (Al-Ahram 16.12.04)

RUSSIA Lessons on religion to become compulsory at Russian schools (Pravda/WorldWide Religious News, 15.11.04)

NORWAY UN's Human Rights Committee criticises the “partial exemption” arrangements in the Norwegian KRL subject (UNHRC November 2004)

INDIA Yoginder Sikand: Indian Madrasas and the Religious ‘Other’: Conflict or Dialogue? (Qalandar, October 2004)

INDONESIA Lily Zakiyah Munir: Islam, Feminism and Islamic Education in Indonesia (Qalander 2004)

NORWAY/MOROCCO Morocco takes interest in Norwegian model for religious education (Christian Democratic Party Press Release 05.10.04)

SELECTED MUSLIM AND EUROPEAN COUNTRIES Educational Strategies among Muslims in the Context of Globalization. Some National Case Studies (Book edited by Holger Daun and Geoffrey Walford, Brill: Leiden 2004)

SAUDI ARABIA Saudi moves to reform education system (Middle East Online, 07-09-04)

SERBIA Serb schools told to drop Darwin (BBC News 07-09-04)

LEBANON Is latestversion of national history fit to print? (The Daily Star, 02-08-04)

GEORGIA Update regarding the debate on religious education and freedom of religion (Forum 18 News Service, 23-08-04 – see the last part of this update)

PAKISTAN Waqar Gillani: Curriculum controversy: Education ministry and textbook board blame each other (Daily Times 24-08-2004).

PAKISTAN Madressah incentives scheme to be expanded: Curricula reforms to continue (Dawn, 27-07-04)

SAUDI ARABIA Saudi textbooks 'demonise west' (The Guardian 14-07-04)

EGYPT Religious education faces new threat (Aljazeera.Net, 21-06-04)

BOSNIA: Call for End to Sectarian Education (Balkan Crisis Report No 501, IWPR 03-06-04)

UZBEKISTAN State control of Islamic religious education (Forum 18 News Service, 11-05-04)

UNITED KINGDOM Schools to teach UK's six main religions (The Independent, 27-04-2004)

PAKISTAN The Subtle Subversion. The State of Curricula and Textbooks in Pakistan (Report by Sustainable Develoment Policy Institute, Islamabad).

> Media reports and debates about issues raised in the SDPI report, March-April 2004 (several articles).

Other articles about Pakistani curricula and textbooks, March-May 2004:

Waqar Gillani: History books contain major distortions. SDPI (Daily Times, 06-05-2004).
John Wilson: Textbook case of radicalism (Observer Research Foundation, 29-04-2004).
Letter from Lahore: Hue and cry over curriculum dies down with a whimper (Gulf News, 26-04-2004).
Curriculum changes termed attack on Pakistan ideology (The Dawn 23-04-2004)
Committee told verses not removed from curriculum (Dawn, 21-04-2004)
Govt to sweep textbooks for objectionable material (Daily Times 14-04-2004)
Khaled Ahmad: Should textbooks be purged of hatred? (Daily Times, 02-04-2004);
Khaled Ahmad: The poison in the books we teach (The Friday Times, 19-03-2004).
A. H. Nayyar: Debating education reform - 1 (The News, 16-03-2004).

EGYPT Egyptian Education Minister Discusses Curriculum, Religious Education, Jihad, and Democracy (MEMRI Special Dispatch Series - No. 684 - Egypt, March 19, 2004. Based on articles in Al-Sharq al-Awsat and Al-Ahram, March 9 and 16). Cf. Egypt dismisses teachers based on security reports (Gulf News, 25-03-2004); Egypt teaches tolerance. School children to learn to tolerate other cultures, authorities deny bowing to US pressure (Middle East Online, 16-03-2004)

USA Lee Kaplan: Textbooks for jihad. Front Page Magazine, 19 March 2004.

PAKISTAN, SAUDI ARABIA, INDONESIA - AND US POLITICS: Andrew Coulson: Education and Indoctrination in the Muslim World: Is There a Problem? What Can We Do about It? (Cato Policy Analysis No. 511, March 11, 2004)

PAKISTAN Tariq Rahman: The Madrassa and the State of Pakistan. Religion, poverty and the potential for violence in Pakistan (Himal South Asian, February 2004).

PAKISTAN Report about madrasas by International Crisis Group: Unfulfilled promises: Pakistan's failure to tackle terrorism (16 January 2004)

THE MUSLIM WORLD) Does Islamic education really breed terrorism? (Fatwa by of Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, 16-02-04)

JORDAN, KUWAIT, SAUDI ARABIA Arab schoolbooks reform face opposition (Al Jazeera.net, January 6, 2004)

2003

PAKISTAN No change in the Islamiyat syllabus: Zobaida (The Dawn 18-12-03)

EUROPE New publication: European Identity And Cultural Pluralism: Judaism, Christianity And Islam In European Curricula

SPAIN Controversy regarding law passed on Religious Education (IARF Winter 2003/2004)

NORWAY Report on religious education in Norway (EFTRE 2003)

EGYPT Wolfram Reiss: Islam – a religion of obedience and understanding? Response to Dr. Salim al-Awa’s article ‘Teaching Islam (4)’ in Al-Usbua, December 29” (Arab West Report 52, 24-31 December 2003)

EGYPT Wolfram Reiss: Islamic Religious Education in Egyptian Primary Schools. A Response to Mr. Muhammad Selim al-‘Awa’s article ‘Teaching Islam’ in Al-Usbua, December 15 (Arab West Report Nr. 51m 16-23 December 2003)

EGYPT, JORDAN, PALESTINE Wolfram Reiss: Die Juden im islamischen Religionsunterricht. Ein Vergleich ägyptischer, jordanischer und palästinensischer Schulbücher. (Ökumenische Informationen der katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur Nr. 49, 50, 51 - Dezember 2003)

GEORGIA Voluntary 'Religion and Culture' classes compulsory, parents complain (Forum 18 News Service, November 19, 2003). Cf. Religious minorities concerned by "voluntary" 'Religion and Culture' classes (Forum 18 News Service, November 19, 2003)

SYRIA Joshua M. Landis: Islamic Education in Syria: undoing secularism (Paper prepared for “Constructs of Inclusion and Exclusion: Religion and Identity Formation in Middle Eastern School Curricula”, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, November 2003)

EGYPT Johanna Pink: Nationalism, Religion and the Muslim-Christian Relationship: Teaching Ethics and Values  in Egyptian Schools (Center for Studies on New Religions, 2003)

PAKISTAN Tariq Rahman: Pluralism and Intolerance in Pakistani Society. Attitudes of Pakistani Students Towards the Religious "Other". Presented at a conference on pluralism at the Agha Khan University, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilization, October 25, 2003 (last revised October 30, 2003).

SOUTH AFRICA Religious diversity in schools (South Africa Info 9 September 2003). Cf. Launch Of Religion And Education Policy (Govt. press release, September 2003); Draft Policy on Religion and Education in South Africa (Ministry of Education, June 2003)

INDONESIA Lily Munir: Nurturing Tolerance in Pesantren (The Jakarta Post, 5 September2003)

PAKISTAN The subtle Subversion: A report on Curricula and Textbooks in Pakistan (Pakistan Facts.com, July 2003)

USA Courtney Goto: The future of Interreligious Youth Education in the U.S. (Current Dialogue, World Council of Churches, July 2003)

INDONESIA Indonesia lawmakers pass “all faiths” education bill (Indonesia House/Reuters/The Jakarta Post 12 June 2003). Cf. Education Bill Symbolic Victory for Muslim Parties (Indonesia House/Laksamana.Net, 13 June 2, 2003); Indonesia's Education Bill opens Pandora's box (The Straits Times, June 2003)

TURKEY Özlem Altan: Sanctifying the Nation. Teaching Religion in Secular Turkey (ISIM Newsletter 12, June 2003, pp. 52-53)

BELARUS Despite protests, "anti-sect" schoolbook to remain (Forum 18 News Service, June 2003)

SAUDI ARABIA CMIP: The West, Christians and Jews in Saudi Arabian Schoolbooks (CMIP Report No. SA-03-02, Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace)

IRAQ New Iraqi school spans chasms between religions (Christian Science Monitor, 07-10-03)

2002

INDONESIA, PAKISTAN, MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, USA Teaching the Other. Muslims, Non-Muslims and the Stories They Teach (Library of Congress Information Bulletin, December 2002)

SAUDI ARABIA Steven Stalinsky: Preliminary Overview Saudi Arabia's Education System: Curriculum, Spreading Saudi Education to the World and the Official Saudi Position on Education Policy (MEMRI Special Report no. 12, December 2002)

RUSSIA Public opinion divided over tuition of Orthodox Culture in state schools (ReligioScope, 4. December 2002). Cf. Schools to teach Orthodox Culture (The Moscow Times, November 2002).

EGYPT Wolfram Reiss: Debate on the Representation of Christianity and Judaism in Egyptian textbooks. Religious News Service from the Arab World, Week 43/2002), 25-31 October 2002.

PAKISTAN Pakistan: Madrasas, Extremism And The Military (International Crisis Group, Asia Report N°36
29 July 2002)

2001

PAKISTAN P.W. Singer: Pakistan's Madrassahs: Ensuring a System of Education not Jihad (Washington DC: Brookings Institutions Analysis Papers #41)

UNITED NATIONS Kofi Anna n: Intolerance is taught and can be untaught (UN Press Release, November 2001)

GERMANY, TURKEY, IRAN, EGYPT, PALESTINE, JORDAN  Wolfram Reiss: Zum besseren Verständnis der Kulturen und Religionen erziehen. Revision der Darstellung des Islams und des Christentums in der Schule dringend notwendig. Ökumenische Informationen der katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur Nr. 43, 23. Oktober 2001, pp. 6-12)

SAUDI ARABIA Neil MacFarquhar: Anti Anti-Western and Extremist Views Pervade Saudi Schools (New York Times, October 19, 2001). Cf. Thomas Friedman: Memo from George W. Bush to Sheikh Saleh al-Shaikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs (from New York Times, Dec. 12, 2001); Khaled al-Maeena: Memo from the Arab News to the New York Times (Abu Saleh Articles); Barbara Walters: Mosques and Malls. A Rare Inside Look at Saudi Arabia (including references to hostile images in school education, ABC News March 29, 2002)

UNITED NATIONS Intolerance in education (United Nations OnLine, September 2001)

SYRIA Jews, Zionism and Israel in Syrian Textbooks (CMIP Report No. S-01-06, Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace)

> 2000

PAKISTAN Jessica Stern: Pakistan's jihad culture (Foreign Affairs, November/December 2000)

BOSNIA Charles J. Russo: Religion and education in Bosnia: Integration not segregation? In European Journal for Education Law and Policy 2: 2000, pp, 121-129

CANADA (QUEBEC) Bill 118: An Act to amend various legislative provisions respecting education as regards confessional matters (May-June 2000). Cf. a Protestant response: Religious education – an important choice (with a summary of Bill 118’s implications); The Catholic Committee’s response

EGYPT The First National Conference on Education for Citizenship and Social Responsibility (US Embassy Egypt, June 2000). Cf. The Center for Civic Education > Egypt (The Center for Civic Education, California, 1998

EGYPT Gregory Starrett: Putting Islam to Work: Education, Politics, and Religious Transformation in Egypt. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.

JORDAN Ministry, council reach agreement on Christian education classes (Jordan Times, November 22, 1998)

Compiled for the Oslo Coalition by Oddbjørn Leirvik, Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo