International Christian Concern | September 14, 2020
A new report produced by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education studied 238 Qatari textbooks over the last four academic years. The report looks at two separate parts of the curriculum as it relates to Christians. The overall conclusion was that the curriculum does not promote religious tolerance.
It noted some improvements with the Qatari curriculum in that it gives much information about Christian-Muslim interactions during the Middle Ages. There are more exercises related to cultural sharing. However, it does speak suspiciously of missionary activities, generally defined within the spheres of education, deceptive charities, and medical treatments. It warns that such activities are meant to “destroy Islam.”
The report noted almost no improvement with the curriculum of Islamic religious studies. The curriculum heavily emphasizes that Christians want to destroy Islam, and blames local non-Muslim minorities with collaborating with the enemy. The report calls this an “indoctrination toward resentment.” The report also notes that the curriculum does not include material relating to the persecution of Christians. Instead, Christians are viewed as infidels.
What does exist relating to references of tolerance does not met international standards. It warns that pan-Islamic, pan-Arab nationalism, Salafism, and the Muslim Brotherhood “dominate the religious tenor of the curriculum.”