Thread: Row over Saudi school textbooks

A Saudi-funded Islamic school in west London has been accused of using textbooks containing offensive remarks about Christianity and Judaism.
Allegations about the Arabic books emerged when a former teacher accused the King Fahad Academy, Acton, of institutional racism.

The school has denied the allegations as "grossly offensive, highly inflammatory and entirely false".

Translations of sections of the books were "taken out of context", it said.

About 600 children, aged five to 18, attend the King Fahad Academy private school which receives more than £4m from the Saudi royal family each year.

'Worthless religions'

The controversy centres on the use of textbooks produced by the Saudi Ministry of Education.

The allegations emerged when a British Muslim teacher started a case for unfair dismissal, complaining that he was made to suffer for whistle-blowing allegations of cheating at exams, and suffered discrimination as a non-Saudi.

The school denies the allegations and maintains that the teacher was rightly dismissed for misconduct.

A textbook dated 2005/2006 allegedly asks the reader to "give examples of worthless religions... such as Judaism, Christianity, idol worship and others".

The book also allegedly asks the reader to "explain that those who die without adhering to Islam will go to hellfire".

In another textbook for 12 and 13 year olds, dated 2004/2005, the author allegedly says that a Koranic verse, which talks of turning people into monkeys and pigs, is about Jews and Christians.

The author quotes an early Islamic scholar as saying: "The monkeys are the Jews. And the pigs, they are the Christian infidels at Jesus's table."

These books have good chapters that can be used by the teachers - it depends on the objective they want to achieve

Dr Sumaya Aluyusuf
King Fahad Academy

King Fahad Academy director Dr Sumaya Aluyusuf admitted the textbooks - translated for the BBC Two's Newsnight programme by two independent scholars - were kept at the school.

However, she said they were no longer part of the curriculum.

"We have these books in our school but they are not taught currently; we teach an international curriculum," she said.

She said she would not withdraw them, saying: "These books have good chapters that can be used by the teachers - it depends on the objective they want to achieve."

But the translations were "taken out of context" and had "lost some of their meaning", she said.

The academy promoted "inter-culturalism and inter-faith awareness", she added.

School inspection

Louise Ellman MP, chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, criticised the "unacceptable situation".

"It is incitement... we are in a situation where people are being killed because of extremism.

"This is about division and hatred," she said.

Ofsted inspected the school last spring and concluded it provided a good Islamic education and knowledge about British institutions and citizenship.

It noted that the school did not completely meet regulatory requirements, although no issues about alleged intolerance were identified.

Ofsted told BBC News its inspection team included a Muslim Arabic speaker but that not all textbooks would have been examined.

BBC NEWS | UK | Row over Saudi school textbooks
lol this is their curriculam in london, imagine what they teach students in saudi arabia