Amendments to school textbooks by Syria's new authorities draw outcry
WASHINGTON — Amendments to school textbooks by Syria's new authorities have sparked outrage from parents, educators and rights groups.
The changes, announced Wednesday, affect first-to-12th-grade schoolbooks in all Syrian schools, with a focus on history, religion and science textbooks.
The Education Ministry under the country’s caretaker government announced the decision following the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in an Islamist-led rebel offensive just weeks ago.
The changes include removing all content “glorifying” the former Syrian regime, its leaders, symbols, and the Baath party, which had ruled Syria since 1963.
The ministry’s directive also mandates revisions in subjects such as history, religion and science. For example, any reference to women, love and pre-Islamic gods are to be removed from textbooks. Additionally, the ministry has ordered the removal of an entire unit on human evolution from a science textbook.
Fadwa, a mother of two schoolchildren in Damascus who only gave her first name, expressed her disappointment over the revisions.
“You can remove all mentions of Assad and his regime from all books, but you cannot erase history and obscure science — it’s just wrong,” she told VOA via messaging app. “This is not a political matter, but it concerns the future of our children and country.”
Fadwa is deeply concerned about her children’s education, she said, if the amendments are not reversed.
The caretaker government, including the Education Ministry, is dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, an Islamist militant group that led the offensive leading to the ouster of Assad on Dec. 8.
HTS, once considered al-Qaida’s Syria branch, formally severed ties with the global terror group in 2016. However, experts note, it continues to uphold a radical Islamist ideology.
HTS leaders have pledged to establish an inclusive transitional government that reflects Syria’s religious and ethnic diversity. Observers argue, though, that some of the group’s actions on the ground contradict these claims.
“They say all the good things on television, but the reality is that this group is imposing its ideology on Syrians,” said Youssif Ahmed, a Syrian educator.
“They have no legitimate mandate to make drastic changes on such an important issue as education,” he told VOA. “These matters require patience and expertise, which I’m not sure these people have. They are in a rush to make these big changes which, if implemented, will have long-term implications for the education process in this country.”
Ahmed pointed out as an example the new revisions in which the term “Ottoman occupation” of Syria has been replaced with “Ottoman rule.”
“This is not a move to correct a historical error, but it shows their intention to appease their Turkish allies,” he said.
Turkey, a key backer of the rebels since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, says it has played a role in supporting the offensive that led to Assad’s overthrow. Turkish officials have said Ankara will help the new rulers in Damascus rebuild Syria’s political and economic structures.
While some adjustments such as removing content praising Assad are seen as positive, other revisions raise serious concerns, said Rami Jarrah, a prominent Syrian journalist.
“These amendments require an inclusive framework that ensures representation from all segments of Syrian society in the decision-making process,” he wrote on social media platform X. “Without this inclusivity, these unilateral changes risk deepening societal divisions and undermining the principles of shared governance and national unity.”
In response to growing criticism, Nazir al-Qadri, the caretaker government’s minister of education, said the curricula in all Syrian schools should remain as is until specialized committees are formed to review them.
“We have only directed the deletion of what glorifies the former Assad regime, and we have adopted images of the Syrian Revolution flag instead of the flag of the former regime in all schoolbooks,” Qadri said in a statement on Thursday.
“What has been announced is a modification of some of the incorrect information that the former Assad regime adopted in the Islamic education curriculum, such as explaining some Quranic verses in a wrong way,” he said. “We have adopted their correct explanation as stated in the interpretation books for all educational levels.”
One such revision includes adding the terms “Jews” and “Christians” to the explanation of a verse in the Quran, the holy Muslim book, about those who angered God.
The Assyrian Monitor for Human Rights, a Christian advocacy group based in Sweden, says such amendments pose a danger to religious coexistence in Syria.
“This action is considered an explicit incitement to religious hatred and the spread of discrimination and exclusion speech,” the group said in a statement on Thursday. “This interpretation contradicts the principles of religious tolerance and coexistence that have always distinguished the Syrian society.”
Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, wrote on X that “the new Syria school textbooks are moving from a nationalist to Islamist interpretation of Syrian history.”
This story originated in VOA’s Kurdish Service.
The changes, announced Wednesday, affect first-to-12th-grade schoolbooks in all Syrian schools, with a focus on history, religion and science textbooks.
The Education Ministry under the country’s caretaker government announced the decision following the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in an Islamist-led rebel offensive just weeks ago.
The changes include removing all content “glorifying” the former Syrian regime, its leaders, symbols, and the Baath party, which had ruled Syria since 1963.
The ministry’s directive also mandates revisions in subjects such as history, religion and science. For example, any reference to women, love and pre-Islamic gods are to be removed from textbooks. Additionally, the ministry has ordered the removal of an entire unit on human evolution from a science textbook.
Fadwa, a mother of two schoolchildren in Damascus who only gave her first name, expressed her disappointment over the revisions.
“You can remove all mentions of Assad and his regime from all books, but you cannot erase history and obscure science — it’s just wrong,” she told VOA via messaging app. “This is not a political matter, but it concerns the future of our children and country.”
Fadwa is deeply concerned about her children’s education, she said, if the amendments are not reversed.
The caretaker government, including the Education Ministry, is dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, an Islamist militant group that led the offensive leading to the ouster of Assad on Dec. 8.
HTS, once considered al-Qaida’s Syria branch, formally severed ties with the global terror group in 2016. However, experts note, it continues to uphold a radical Islamist ideology.
HTS leaders have pledged to establish an inclusive transitional government that reflects Syria’s religious and ethnic diversity. Observers argue, though, that some of the group’s actions on the ground contradict these claims.
“They say all the good things on television, but the reality is that this group is imposing its ideology on Syrians,” said Youssif Ahmed, a Syrian educator.
“They have no legitimate mandate to make drastic changes on such an important issue as education,” he told VOA. “These matters require patience and expertise, which I’m not sure these people have. They are in a rush to make these big changes which, if implemented, will have long-term implications for the education process in this country.”
Ahmed pointed out as an example the new revisions in which the term “Ottoman occupation” of Syria has been replaced with “Ottoman rule.”
“This is not a move to correct a historical error, but it shows their intention to appease their Turkish allies,” he said.
Turkey, a key backer of the rebels since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, says it has played a role in supporting the offensive that led to Assad’s overthrow. Turkish officials have said Ankara will help the new rulers in Damascus rebuild Syria’s political and economic structures.
While some adjustments such as removing content praising Assad are seen as positive, other revisions raise serious concerns, said Rami Jarrah, a prominent Syrian journalist.
“These amendments require an inclusive framework that ensures representation from all segments of Syrian society in the decision-making process,” he wrote on social media platform X. “Without this inclusivity, these unilateral changes risk deepening societal divisions and undermining the principles of shared governance and national unity.”
In response to growing criticism, Nazir al-Qadri, the caretaker government’s minister of education, said the curricula in all Syrian schools should remain as is until specialized committees are formed to review them.
“We have only directed the deletion of what glorifies the former Assad regime, and we have adopted images of the Syrian Revolution flag instead of the flag of the former regime in all schoolbooks,” Qadri said in a statement on Thursday.
“What has been announced is a modification of some of the incorrect information that the former Assad regime adopted in the Islamic education curriculum, such as explaining some Quranic verses in a wrong way,” he said. “We have adopted their correct explanation as stated in the interpretation books for all educational levels.”
One such revision includes adding the terms “Jews” and “Christians” to the explanation of a verse in the Quran, the holy Muslim book, about those who angered God.
The Assyrian Monitor for Human Rights, a Christian advocacy group based in Sweden, says such amendments pose a danger to religious coexistence in Syria.
“This action is considered an explicit incitement to religious hatred and the spread of discrimination and exclusion speech,” the group said in a statement on Thursday. “This interpretation contradicts the principles of religious tolerance and coexistence that have always distinguished the Syrian society.”
Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, wrote on X that “the new Syria school textbooks are moving from a nationalist to Islamist interpretation of Syrian history.”
This story originated in VOA’s Kurdish Service.