The Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas recently reported that the Kuwaiti education ministry plans to delete Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from the high school curriculum. This article states that everyone has the right to freedom of religion, including the freedom to change his religion and beliefs. Dr. Rashid Al-'Anzi, chairman of the committee on human rights curricula, explained that the article was deleted "because it is contrary to the Islamic shari'a… and is not in accordance with what we want the pupils to learn." [1]
In response to this report, Kuwaiti reformist and intellectual Dr. Ahmad Al-Baghdadi wrote an article in the daily Al-Siyassa in which he harshly condemned this change of the curriculum, calling it a "pedagogic tragedy and disaster". In another Al-Siyassa article, he criticized Arab education in general and the introduction of religion into all topics of study.
The following are excerpts from the articles:
The Decision to Delete Article 18 Undermines the Foundations of Modern Education in Kuwait
In the first article, titled "Protecting Religion through Ignorance," Al-Baghdadi wrote: "The current education minister, who knows nothing about education and pedagogy, is destroying what is left of modern education concepts in Kuwait, out of [a desire] - conscious or unconscious - to appease the religious groups. How else can we explain his reliance on the help of Dr. Rashid Al-'Anzi, a professor of law who does not specialize in education or pedagogy, and who, to judge by his statements, also knows nothing about religion?…
"Who says that Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is contrary to Islam? The freedom to change one's religion is a basic human right, and the Koran specifies no definite punishment for one who does so. Moreover, there is controversy among religious scholars regarding the punishment of an apostate woman [murtadda] or an apostate man [murtadd], since there is disagreement as to whether or not an apostate [man] corrupts society.
"Has Dr. [Al-'Anzi] considered the negative impact [of the decision to drop this article] on the image of Islam? [What will] people [think when they hear] that Islam does not allow freedom of religion or belief? Why doesn't Al-'Anzi delete other articles of the Human Rights Declaration which he regards as contrary to the Islamic shari'a? Is it not the function of education to present material objectively, without interfering with it, especially when it is quoted from a foreign [source, like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights]?... Where is [the principle] of accurate quoting? Why does the education ministry [bother to prepare] a curriculum with international contents, if it plans to distort it and present it in an inappropriate manner? Moreover, why should a teacher refer to religion when teaching a curriculum on human rights?… Is the education ministry required to introduce religion into all topics of study? If it is, then why not hand over the schools to the religious education [authorities] and be done with it? After all this religious interference, can the [education] minister deny that his ministry is effectively under the control of the religious groups, and does only what they want?..." [2]
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A Call to Separate Religion from Scientific Education
In the second article, published one month later and titled "Education that Will Never Work," Al-Baghdadi wrote: "It is no coincidence…that education is failing in all Arab countries. Is it reasonable for everyone to ignore the fact that education cannot be religious in its content and orientation? Unfortunately, everyone is disregarding the fact that education cannot work, in any society, unless the contents of the curricula are secular, or at least modern…
"Introducing religion into every scientific field [of study] causes a drop in the level of scientific teaching. I ask the minister of education to have a look in one of the elementary school arithmetic books, which have been infused with religious contents that do not belong in them…
"We are not permitted to adopt the secular teaching methods, although we know that the secular Western or Japanese education is much more effective, pedagogically and scientifically, than the quasi-religious education [that exists] in the Arab states… Secularism is a way of life which is completely impossible [for us] to implement in our education [system]… The best proof of the [religious] orientation [of Arab education] is the deletion of articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights because they are contrary to Islam.
"The expected result of this hodgepodge method of teaching human rights in Kuwaiti schools is that pupils will acquire a deficient and distorted understanding of the truth, and will also learn things that are false. The balanced approach that the Arab education ministries are aiming for - [an approach] that combines religion and secular sciences - has not been realized in a satisfactory manner, or to be more precise, has failed completely.
"Until the Arab governments decide on their pedagogical philosophy - [and adopt] a purely religious philosophy or a purely secular one - scientific education will remain a tattered hodgepodge [of conflicting notions], and will produce graduates that have diplomas instead of people with a [true] love of knowledge.
"Anyone who believes he can walk a tightrope for very long is deluding himself and will end up failing abysmally. This is what happens to anyone who places himself under the control of the religious groups, who have never brought humanity anything but misery." [3]
Endnotes:
[1] Al-Qabas (Kuwait), December 14, 2006.
[2] Al-Siyassa (Kuwait), December 16, 2006.
[3] Al-Siyassa (Kuwait), January 23, 2007.
