Saudi textbooks, school under federal scrutiny

WASHINGTON — Textbooks used in Saudi Arabian schools and a Saudi-funded school in northern Virginia have come under scrutiny by a federal watchdog panel charged with monitoring international religious freedom. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has asked to see the textbooks, which critics say teach hatred of non-Muslims, but so far has gotten no response from Saudi officials.

Some U.S. officials worry the books will not promote peace in the next generation of children. “World leaders can wrap their arms around each other at diplomatic signing ceremonies,” said Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., at a press conference Oct. 17, “but peace won’t come as long as children are … incited, encouraged … to wrap grenade belts around their torsos and blow things up.”

The commission is also looking at the Islamic Saudi Academy outside Washington, a Saudi-run school that may be using the disputed textbooks on U.S. soil. “They talk about hate,” said Ali H. Alyami, director of the Washington-based Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia. A practicing Muslim who grew up in Saudi Arabia, he said the textbooks teach “Christians and Jews are the enemies of Islam.”