Eliminating Religious Extremism Should Start with Textbooks

According to a report from People’s Daily Online on November 10, a recent study released by the U.S. government indicates that in Pakistani textbooks, religious minorities are often depicted as inferior or second-class citizens, enjoying only limited rights granted by Pakistani Muslims. Within Pakistani schools, the majority of teachers view non-Muslims as "enemies of Islam." The study concludes that the instructional discrimination present in Pakistani schools may lead to the growth of religious extremist forces in the country, exerting a negative influence on national and regional stability. In a certain sense, a textbook is the "specimen" of a nation's culture and the "template" for shaping the mindset and thinking of its citizens. Because textbooks are directed at youth during their formative years, they exert a critical influence on the establishment of their worldview, values, and outlook on life. If radical ideologies are accepted by youth through textbooks, they can easily be distorted and exploited, producing disastrous results for society. Pakistan’s current educational syllabus was formulated in the 1980s under the military government of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq ^[1]. Guided by this syllabus, schools—places intended for the transmission of Dao ^[2] and the imparting of professional knowledge—have been transformed into centers for the development of fundamentalists. This situation helps explain why war is often supported, tolerated, or forgiven in that context.

In fact, as recently as the end of October, two terrorist bombings occurred in the city of Atyrau in western Kazakhstan, perpetrated by an Islamic extremist organization known as the "Soldiers of the Caliphate." According to reports, the primary members of this organization are all hidden in the border regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan; their objective is to launch jihad within Kazakhstan and participate in international terrorist activities. While school education is not omnipotent, under conditions of incomplete or asymmetric information, it can create deep-rooted influences. Therefore, to eliminate the foundations of extremist ideologies and organizations, it is insufficient to rely solely on military strikes; one must also eliminate the soil in which they exist and grow. This soil consists of textbooks and school education centered on prejudice and intolerance. Does this mean, then, that textbooks should contain no religious content at all? In reality, this is a factor that often triggers debate and bedevils the compilation of textbooks in many countries. For example, in 2009, the Texas State Board of Education in the United States invited experts to review the state's public school history syllabus; conservative experts advocated that the syllabus should emphasize the role of the Bible and Christian faith in American history, while liberal experts hoped to modify the existing syllabus as little as possible.

In my view, textbooks should proactively manifest and reflect religious culture, ethics, history, and art. On the one hand, it is difficult for textbooks to avoid religious content altogether. Whether in the East or the West, and regardless of the form of religion present in a country, religious factors invariably permeate its language, history, geography, ethics, arts, and customs. On the other hand, while schools and textbooks bear the responsibility of transmitting knowledge, they also serve the important functions of ideological guidance, moral formation, and the updating of concepts. Religious factors should become one of the essential components of school education and textbooks.

From this, it is evident that we should not simply reject religious content in textbooks. Rather, we should introduce basic religious knowledge in an objective and rational manner, opposing both the vilification, distortion, and targeting of other religions, and the exclusive promotion of a single type of religion or sect. Regarding the methods by which religious content enters textbooks, it can be described objectively through the facts of historical evolution, introduced through comparisons of similarities and differences, or manifested through its unique value in arts curricula. In fact, religion can either be exploited by extremist organizations through radicalized textbooks or serve global harmony through peaceful and rational ones. For example, secondary schools in Germany (including vocational schools) offer courses on religious ethics and morality, introducing students to ethical thoughts worthy of emulation from various religions. These play an important role in answering students' questions regarding the meaning of life and providing norms of behavior.

In conclusion, culture is enduring, while the conflicts of interest between nations or ethnicities are merely temporary. One should not create generations of bigoted and extreme people for the sake of temporary interests. Because those who sow hatred can only harvest retribution, while those who sow goodwill can harvest understanding. Those who are bigoted and extreme will eventually destroy the very culture upon which they depend.