Teaching for tolerance and freedom of religion or belief

News, reports and articles
about (in)tolerance education, worldwide


 

The following reports, articles and news items focus on (1) the image of the external and internal others in religion, civics and history textbooks, (2) current debates about religion in school, and (3) the issue of (in)tolerance education in general.

As the list only contains items and pieces of information that are available on the web, it should not be taken as a comprehensive bibliography.

 

Please note: The items are of different origin and quality and the analyses that are given may be biased. The inclusion of any particular item does not indicate positions taken by the Oslo Coalition.

 

Regarding Palestine/Israel, see separate list.

 

See also relevant news items listed on a web page of the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research:

The international press on textbook and curricula issues

 


2005

 

·          SAUDI ARABIA: The History We Don’t Know (on history teaching in Saudi Arabia, by Abeer Mishkhas, Arab View 17-04-05)

 

·          NORWAY: Remedies taken by Norway (to meet the critique from the UN’s Human Rights Committee, cf. November 2004; Communication from the Norwegian Government, 04.02.05)

 

·          GREAT BRITAIN: Islamic schools are threat to national identity, says Ofsted/Office for Standards in Education (The Times 18-01-05)

o       Ofsted Muslim schools row goes on (BBC News 28-01-05)

 

2004

 

·          THE ARAB WORLD/EUROPE: Re-writing the textbooks (Al-Ahram 16.12.04)

 

·          NORWAY UN’s Human Rights Committee criticises the “partial exemption” arrangements in the Norwegian KRL subject (UNHRC November 2004)

 

·          NORWAY/MOROCCO Morocco takes interest in Norwegian model for religious education (Christian Democratic Party Press Release 05.10.04)

 

·          SAUDI ARABIA Saudi moves to reform education system (Middle East Online, 07-09-04)

 

·          SERBIA Serb schools told to drop Darwin (BBC News 07-09-04)

 

·          LEBANON Is latestversion of national history fit to print? (The Daily Star, 02-08-04)

 

·          GEORGIA Update regarding the debate on religious education and freedom of religion (Forum 18 News Service, 23-08-04 – see the last part of this update)

 

·          PAKISTAN Madressah incentives scheme to be expanded: Curricula reforms to continue (Dawn, 27-07-04)

 

·          SAUDI ARABIA Saudi textbooks 'demonise west' (The Guardian 14-07-04)

 

·          EGYPT Religious education faces new threat (Aljazeera.Net, 21-06-04) 

 

·          BOSNIA: Call for End to Sectarian Education (Balkan Crisis Report No 501, I WPR 03-06-04)

 

·          UZBEKISTAN State control of Islamic religious education (Forum 18 News Service, 11-05-04)

 

·          UNITED KINGDOM Schools to teach UK's six main religions (The Independent, 27-04-2004)

 

·          PAKISTAN Letter from Lahore: Hue and cry over curriculum dies down with a whimper (Gulf News, 26-04-2004)

o         Cf. Committee told verses not removed from curriculum (Dawn, 21-04-2004).

o         Cf. Should textbooks be purged of hatred? —Khaled Ahmed’s Urdu Press Review (Daily Times, 02-04-2004)

o         See more relevant links to the debate about jihad verses and textbook revision in Pakistan, on the web-page of the Georg Eckert Insitute > Pakistan

 

·          EGYPT Egyptian Education Minister Discusses Curriculum, Religious Education, Jihad, and Democracy (MEMRI Special Dispatch Series - No. 684 - Egypt, March 19, 2004. Based on articles in Al-Sharq al-Awsat and Al-Ahram, March 9 and 16)

o         Cf. Egypt dismisses teachers based on security reports (Gulf News, 25-03-2004)

o         Cf. Egypt teaches tolerance. School children to learn to tolerate other cultures, authorities deny bowing to US pressure (Middle East Online, 16-03-2004)

 

·          (THE MUSLIM WORLD) Does Islamic education really breed terrorism? (Fatwa by of Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, 16-0204)

 

·          JORDAN, KUWAIT, SAUDI ARABIA Arab schoolbooks reform face opposition (Al Jazeera.net, January 6, 2004)

 

2003

 

·          EUROPE New publication: European Identity And Cultural Pluralism: Judaism, Christianity And Islam In European Curricula

 

·          SPAIN Controversy regarding law passed on Religious Education (IARF Winter 2003/2004)

 

·          NORWAY Report on religious education in Norway (EFTRE 2003)

 

·          EGYPT Wolfram Reiss: Islam – a religion of obedience and understanding? Response to Dr. Salim al-Awa’s article ‘Teaching Islam (4)’ in Al-Usbua, December 29” (Arab West Report 52, 24-31 December 2003)

 

·          EGYPT Wolfram Reiss: Islamic Religious Education in Egyptian Primary Schools. A Response to Mr. Muhammad Selim al-‘Awa’s article ‘Teaching Islam’ in Al-Usbua, December 15 (Arab West Report Nr. 51m 16-23 December 2003)

·           

·          EGYPT, JORDAN, PALESTINE Wolfram Reiss: Die Juden im islamischen Religionsunterricht. Ein Vergleich ägyptischer, jordanischer und palästinensischer Schulbücher. (Ökumenische Informationen der katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur Nr. 49, 50, 51 - Dezember 2003)

 

·          GEORGIA Voluntary 'Religion and Culture' classes compulsory, parents complain (Forum 18 News Service, November 19, 2003)

o         Cf. Religious minorities concerned by "voluntary" 'Religion and Culture' classes (Forum 18 News Service, November 19, 2003)

·          SYRIA Joshua M. Landis: Islamic Education in Syria: undoing secularism (Paper prepared for “Constructs of Inclusion and Exclusion: Religion and Identity Formation in Middle Eastern School Curricula”, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, November 2003)

·          EGYPT Johanna Pink: Nationalism, Religion and the Muslim-Christian Relationship: Teaching Ethics and Values  in Egyptian Schools (Center for Studies on New Religions, 2003)

·          SOUTH AFRICA Religious diversity in schools (South Africa Info 9 September 2003)

o         Launch Of Religion And Education Policy (Govt. press release, September 2003)

o         Draft Policy on Religion and Education in South Africa (Ministry of Education, June 2003)

·          INDONESIA Lily Munir: Nurturing Tolerance in Pesantren (The Jakarta Post, 5 September2003)

·          USA Courtney Goto: The future of Interreligious Youth Education in the U.S. (Current Dialogue, World Council of Churches, July 2003)

 

·          INDONESIA Indonesia lawmakers pass “all faiths” education bill (Indonesia House/Reuters/The Jakarta Post 12 June 2003)

o         Cf. Education Bill Symbolic Victory for Muslim Parties (Indonesia House/Laksamana.Net, 13 June 2003)

o         Cf. Indonesia's Education Bill opens Pandora's box (The Straits Times, June 2003)

 

·          TURKEY Özlem Altan: Sanctifying the Nation. Teaching Religion in Secular Turkey (ISIM Newsletter 12, June 2003, pp. 52-53)

 

·          BELARUS Despite protests, "anti-sect" schoolbook to remain (Forum 18 News Service, June 2003)

 

·          SAUDI ARABIA CMIP: The West, Christians and Jews in Saudi Arabian Schoolbooks (CMIP Report No. SA-03-02, Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace)

 

 

2002

 

·          SAUDI ARABIA Steven Stalinsky: Preliminary Overview Saudi Arabia's Education System: Curriculum, Spreading Saudi Education to the World and the Official Saudi Position on Education Policy (MEMRI Special Report no. 12, December 2002)

 

·          EGYPT Wolfram Reiss: Debate on the Representation of Christianity and Judaism in Egyptian textbooks. Religious News Service from the Arab World, Week 43/2002), 25-31 October 2002.

 

·          RUSSIA Public opinion divided over tuition of Orthodox Culture in state schools (ReligioScope, 4. December 2002)

o         Cf. Schools to teach Orthodox Culture (The Moscow Times, November 2002)

o         Cf. Ministry of Education explains questions involved in teaching Orthodox Culture in school (The Russian Orthodox Church, February 2003)

o         Cf. Ministry of Education document on The Foundations of Orthodox Culture (in Russian)

 

2001

·          UNITED NATIONS Kofi Annan: Intolerance is taught and can be untaught (UN Press Release, November 2001)

 

·          GERMANY, TURKEY, IRAN, EGYPT, PALESTINE, JORDAN  Wolfram Reiss: Zum besseren Verständnis der Kulturen und Religionen erziehen. Revision der Darstellung des Islams und des Christentums in der Schule dringend notwendig. Ökumenische Informationen der katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur Nr. 43, 23. Oktober 2001, pp. 6-12)

 

·          SAUDI ARABIA Neil MacFarquhar: Anti Anti-Western and Extremist Views Pervade Saudi Schools (New York Times, October 19, 2001)

o         Cf. Thomas Friedman: Memo from George W. Bush to Sheikh Saleh al-Shaikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs (from New York Times, Dec. 12, 2001)

o         Cf. Khaled al-Maeena: Memo from the Arab News to the New York Times (Abu Saleh Articles)

o         Cf. Barbara Walters: Mosques and Malls. A Rare Inside Look at Saudi Arabia (including references to hostile images in school education, ABC News March 29, 2002)

·          UNITED NATIONS Intolerance in education (United Nations OnLine, September 2001)

 

·          SYRIA Jews, Zionism and Israel in Syrian Textbooks (CMIP Report No. S-01-06, Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace)

 

> 2000

 

 

·          CANADA (QUEBEC) Bill 118: An Act to amend various legislative provisions respecting education as regards confessional matters (May-June 2000)

o         Cf. a Protestant response: Religious education – an important choice (with a summary of Bill 118’s implications)

o         Cf. The Catholic Committee’s response

 

·          EGYPT The First National Conference on Education for Citizenship and Social Responsibility (US Embassy Egypt, June 2000)

o         Cf. The Center for Civic Education > Egypt (The Center for Civic Education, California, 1998)

 

·          EGYPT Gregory Starrett: Putting Islam to Work: Education, Politics, and Religious Transformation in EgyptBerkeley:  University of California Press, 1998.

 

·          JORDAN Ministry, council reach agreement on Christian education classes (Jordan Times, November 22, 1998).



Compiled for the Oslo Coalition by Oddbjorn Leirvik, Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo

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