On January 23, 2020, Syria and Iran signed a memorandum of understandings in the sphere of education which includes, inter alia, an Iranian pledge to renovate 250 schools in Syria, assist in the training of educational staff, assess Syrian curricula and support vocational training in the country.[1] Following the signing of the MoU, Syrian journalist 'Abd Al-Razzaq Diab warned, in an article on an opposition website, that it would enable the Iranians to inject their “sectarian drugs” into the minds the Syrians, as well as the Iranian philosophy, which champions "killing, death and weapons." He said that Syrians should not be surprised if courses in mechanics and electricity are replaced with courses on making explosives, and if women’s weaving and embroidery classes are replaced with classes on making explosive vests.
It should be mentioned that, throughout the Syria war, oppositionists have been warning about the spread of the Shi'a and of Iranian ideology in the country.[2]
‘Abd Al-Razzak Diab (Source: Horrya.net, March 29, 2017)
The following are translated excerpts from Diab's article: [3]
"The Education Ministry of the [Syrian] regime's government signed a memorandum of understanding a few days ago with its Iranian counterpart, which authorizes the latter to supervise the overhaul of [Syria’s] school curricula, to print [Syrian textbooks] in Iran, and to renovate 250 schools, [and includes] additional aspects involving Iranian participation in [teacher] training and instruction, in [administering] and marking exams, and in supporting vocational education.
"This means that the [Syrian] regime is handing over to the Iranians not only the keys to the Syrian economy, but also the keys to the Syrian minds, so they can damage them, inject them with their ludicrous sectarian drugs and create new generations that believe in the Rule of the [Shi'ite] Jurisprudent and in [Iran's] Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp which champions resistance and loyalty to the Holy Islamic Republic [of Iran].
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"Under Iranian patronage our children will learn how to chant 'Death to America and to Israel,' and to attend Husseiniyyas [Shi'ite religious centers] to weep over those abandoned and killed in the Battle of Karbala.[4] They will plan revenge against the descendants of the criminals who carried the head of Hussein [ibn 'Ali] to Yazid ibn Muawiyah,[5] and each morning they will sing the eternal Khomeinist anthem of the [Iranian] Revolution, instead of the [Syrian] national anthem…
"What does the Iranian Ministry of Education have to offer the Syrians, as the product of a regime that doesn't believe in the role of art, music, cinema and theater and not even in the right of a woman to attend a football game or to choose her clothes or their style? It is a regime that only declares [its commitment to] the industry of militias bearing the names of the oppressed and the downtrodden and of the flagbearers of revenge and killing.
"Other details of the MoU [signed by Syria and Iran] relate to Iran's involvement in vocational education, so it is quite possible that we will soon see training courses in manufacturing bombs and explosives instead of in mechanics and electricity, and [courses in] making explosive vests instead of weaving and embroidery classes for girls and women… And Shi’zation will become part of the curriculum, enshrined in formal contracts, with [the Syrians receiving] nothing in return.
"[True,] the French [also] occupied Syria, but they outlined the future organizational blueprint for Damascus, built progressive schools, and established the modern Syrian state. The national leaders and intellectuals of that time learned from them the experience of government and parliament, and [the French] also contributed to the establishment of the Syrian banks and their administration. My intent here is not to honor colonialism, as some people prefer to understand it, but rather to compare between colonialism with a cultural and humanistic heritage and an occupier that possesses nothing but a philosophy of killing, death, and weapons.
"The tyrannical rulers have brought [us] not only the occupiers, but also [the occupiers'] ways of thinking and methods of operation, so that the disaster will be complete and impossible to overcome… Now that the resources of the country – phosphates, natural gas, and military bases – have been delivered [to the occupiers], they are manufacturing people to defend this thievery using the power of thought, and a new generation is being produced that will see the occupiers as partners…"
[1] Al-Watan (Syria), January 23, 2020.
[2] See MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 1131, "Shi'ization Of Syria: In Damascus, Unprecedentedly Extensive Observance Of The 'Ashura," November 13, 2014; Special Dispatch No. 7790, Syrian Opposition Websites: Iran Consolidating Its Presence In Eastern Syria, West Of Euphrates, To Form Continuum From Iran, Through Iraq And Syria, To Mediterranean, April 12, 2018.
[3] Syria.tv, February 5, 2020.
[4] In the year 680 CE, Hussein ibn 'Ali, considered to be the founder of the Shi'a, was killed in the city of Karbala in present-day Iraq. Shi’ites commemorate his death each year with fasting and memorial ceremonies.
[5] The second Umayyad Caliph, whose army defeated and killed Hussein ibn 'Ali and his supporters in the Battle of Karabala.
