Syria’s new government is facing backlash after announcing changes to the school curriculum, including introducing what some critics say is an Islamist slant to teaching.
The changes, published in a list of amendments on the education ministry’s official Facebook page, include changing the phrases “path of goodness” to “Islamic path,” and “those who have are damned and have gone astray” to “Jews and Christians” – which pertains to an ultra-conservative interpretation of a verse in Islam’s holy book, the Quran.
The modifications also redefine the word “martyr,” from someone who died for the homeland to someone who sacrificed themselves “for the sake of God.”
Some chapters were removed entirely, the list shows, including a chapter on “the origins and evolution of life.”
It is not clear yet whether the amendments have yet been rolled out, but they would apply to all students from ages 6 to 18.
While some changes renouncing former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime were welcome to those reacting online, the religious chapter modifications sparked outrage on social media.
The newly appointed ministry assumed its role last month after Assad was toppled by rebels led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), a group that emerged out of a former al Qaeda affiliate. Its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has in recent weeks sought to distance HTS from al Qaeda, touting a new government that thrives on tolerance and inclusivity.
Before he was ousted Assad led the Baath Party, a secular, nationalist party that had been in power in Syria since a 1963 coup d’état.
Some social media users questioned why an interim government is making amendments to the curriculum, while others rejected what they perceived as attempts to “erase” parts of the country’s history.
“The current government is a caretaker government that does not have the right to make these amendments to the curricula,” one user commented on the ministry’s Facebook post. “The curricula must be amended in accordance with the new constitution.”
Others criticized what they viewed as an Islamist slant to some of the language.
Amid the backlash, the ministry sought to play down the changes saying, “the curricula in all schools across Syria remain unchanged until specialized committees are formed to review and audit them.”
A statement issued on behalf of education minister Nazir Mohammad al-Qadri said that the ministry “only instructed the removal of content glorifying the deposed Assad regime and replaced images of the regime’s flag with those of the Syrian revolution’s flag in all textbooks.”
The ministry said its announcement pertained to the correction of certain “inaccuracies” that were present during the Assad regime in the Islamic education curriculum, “such as the misinterpretation of some Quranic verses.”
The new education minister has previously said that Syria’s school curricula will not change beyond the removal of references to the former ruling Baath party.
In an interview with Reuters last month, al-Qadri said that both the Islamic and Christian religion will continue to be taught as subjects in school, and that primary schools will remain mixed between boys and girls. Secondary education will stay largely segregated, he told Reuters, as they were during the Assad era.
The HTS-led cabinet is meant to be an interim government until the country holds elections, which de facto leader Al-Sharaa has previously said may take up to four years to organize.
It remains unclear how the caretaker government will hand over power after previously saying it would only stay in office until March 2025.