Report claims Saudi Arabia has removed “practically all antisemitic material” from Islamic Studies textbooks
Education authorities in Saudi Arabia have reportedly removed a substantial amount of antisemitic rhetoric from the Kingdom’s Islamic Studies textbooks.
The research group IMPACT-se has been tracking the progress of the expungement of this material, and has reported that “practically all antisemitism” has been removed from Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Studies educational resources, which represents a significant improvement since the organisation’s 2020 report on the issue.
Impact-se CEO Marcus Sheff stated: “This follows the previous removal of significant amounts of antisemitism in other subjects over the last four years. While all textbook reform is important, Islamic Studies textbooks are particularly consequential.”
“Highly inflammatory hadiths and texts” have been removed from textbooks, such as statements accusing Jews of being apostates who have “sold their souls,” according to the report.
However, while many derogatory remarks were removed, the report has found that problems still remain. Zionism, for example, is described as a “Jewish racist political movement” that “aims to expel the Palestinian people and establish a Jewish state by force.”
The International Definition of Antisemitism lists “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination (e.g. by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour)” as an example of antisemitism.
Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism worldwide.