In Syria, an Attempt to Change the Textbooks

The head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — and now the de facto leader of Syria — is Ahmad Al-Sharaa. He has been making all the right declarations, about his having broken long ago with Al-Qaeda and ISIS, words meant to reassure both Western and Gulf Arab audiences. After all, Syria will need $350 billion to rebuild, and some of that money, Al-Sharaa undoubtedly hopes, will have to come from the West. Al-Sharaa has insisted that in the new Syria, its many minorities — Alawites, non-Alawite Shi’a, Christians, and Druze — will be treated as equals of the majority Sunni Muslims. However, there are here and there disturbing signs that not everyone is prepared to follow his lead. A Christian couple were found decapitated in northern Syria. Christmas trees have been set on fire. Alawites — and not just those known to have been Assad’s supporters — have been attacked by Sunni rebels. The Americans are still trying to decide what to make of Al-Sharaa, and whether to take him at his word. And even if he means what he says, there are many others — including some in HTS —who may not see things his way. So far the Americans are waiting to see what happens next; Washington is not ready to lift sanctions on the Syrian state quite yet.

Now there is alarming news about proposed changes in the Syrian schoolbooks that suggests the Islamists — a deceptive term that is best understood as referring to those Muslims who take Islam very much to heart — have more influence than we were led to expect by Al-Sharaa’s pronouncements. More on those changes that may be made to the books that will mold the minds of young Syrians can be found here: “Syrian gov’t proposes ‘Islamic path’ changes to education system,” Jerusalem Post, January 4, 2025:

Syria’s education ministry published a list of planned changes to Syria’s school curriculum on Wednesday in a post on Facebook….

The changes include changing the phrases “path of goodness” to “Islamic path” and “those who are damned and have gone astray” to “Jews and Christians.”

What would a Christian schoolboy in Syria make of learning that the only “path of goodness” is the “Islamic path”? Or of reading that he, as a Christian, is “one of those who are damned and have gone astray”? Clearly, those proposing these changes want to put Islam back, front and center, in the national consciousness.

They redefine the word “martyr” from someone who died for a homeland to someone who sacrifices themself “for the sake of God.” The phrase “defending the nation” is set to be replaced with “defending Allah.” The phrase “God’s Sharia” was replaced with “Law of Justice,” and the phrase “human brotherhood” was changed to “faith brotherhood.”…

Additionally, there were several changes to references of the Ottoman Empire. The phrase “Ottoman Administration” will replace “Ottoman Occupation,” and references to the 1916 mass execution of Arab nationalists under the Ottomans were removed.

This is an attempt to remove any resentment, based on history, that may be felt for the rebels’ supporter, Turkey. The Ottomans are no longer to be described in the schoolbooks as having been the “occupiers” of Syria, but more acceptably, as the “administrators” of the country. The execution of Arab nationalists in 1916 by the Turks is no longer to be mentioned at all. Turkey, after all, has been the steadfast ally of HTS and of other Syrian rebels fighting Assad; nothing in Turkey’s past history may be mentioned that would damage that relationship.

We don’t know how many of these proposed changes to Syrian schoolbooks will ultimately be accepted. But the fact that they were made at all, and not rejected outright by Ahmad al-Sharaa, is surely worrisome for those who had hoped that Syria would, under new management, become a democratic and secular polity. These possible changes to the schoolbooks are one more reason for the Trump administration to hold off lifting sanctions on Syria, until the role of Islam in the country has become clear.

Another proposed amendment was to remove references to evolution from the science curriculum.

Many Muslims do not accept that man evolved over time and for them, teaching what they dismiss as “the theory of evolution” is anathema.

Education Minister Nazir al-Qadri said the curriculum is essentially unchanged and will remain the same until specialized committees are able to review and revise the proposed changes….

Al-Qadri may be able to prevent these worrisome changes that have been proposed from being adopted, but the very fact that they are now being considered should alarm those who thought that Al-Sharaa would manage to keep the Islamists — the truest of true believers — securely at bay. If the proposed changes to the schoolbooks are approved, that will be a sure sign that those Islamists have won.

Mar Boutros Qassis, the archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Aleppo, said in response to the changes, “There have been changes related to the Assad regime…which are understandable, however, there have also been amendments that [promote] the Islamic ideology of society and education,” according to the WSJ.

Of course the archbishop is alarmed. Like other Christians in Syria, he had been counting on Al-Sharaa’s reassurances about the treatment of minorities. But if the Islamist faction in the new government can succeed in making these changes to the schoolbooks, what other triumphs will they achieve at the expense of Christians?