Syria’s education minister recently tried to downplay big changes to school lessons made by new leaders who follow Islamic rules. These changes have upset many people, especially activists who believe they could harm religious minorities. The new leaders took over after removing Bashar al-Assad, who ruled for a long time.
On their official Facebook page, the education ministry announced these changes. They decided to remove poetry about love and women, as well as mentions of “gods” in old history lessons. They also changed the way a part of the Quran is interpreted, suggesting it refers to “Jews and Christians” in a negative way. The Syrian national anthem has also been scrapped from textbooks because they called it “the regime’s anthem.” Instead, the new curriculum encourages students to “sacrifice one’s life for the sake of Allah” rather than for their country.
Education Minister Nazir al-Qadri said these changes are meant to remove praise for Assad and correct misunderstandings about the Quran. He claims that current school lessons will not change until special teams look into them. He emphasized that they only removed parts that celebrated the old president.
However, many people are upset. An activist named Shiyar Khaleal warned on Facebook that teaching ideas based on extremist beliefs could lead to future danger for everyone. Some Syrians worry that the new leaders might be going too far and changing too much.
Another journalist, Ziad Haidar, criticized these changes, calling them “educational executions” that target specific religious groups. The new rulers are trying to reassure minorities that they won’t be harmed, but the international community is also watching closely to ensure safety for all the different groups in Syria.
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