2006年VOA标准英语-Report Says Saudi Textbooks Teach Intolerance a

By Teresa Sullivan
Washington
25 May 2006

A private research group in Washington says religious textbooks in Saudi Arabia, despite revisions, continue to teach intolerance and violence.
 

Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance   
  
The Washington-based Center for Religious Freedom and the Institute for Gulf¹ Affairs recently analyzed² 12 new textbooks the Saudi government says were purged³ of all intolerant language.

In its study, entitled Saudi Arabia's Curriculum of Intolerance, the center examined textbooks used in Saudi schools and in Muslim academies in 19 capitals around the world.

The report criticizes what it calls the "Saudi ideology⁴ of hatred," saying supposedly revised textbooks still teach that Christians⁵, Jews and other Muslims are "enemies." It says the textbooks condemn⁶ all those who do not practice the strict Saudi state-supported Wahhabi sect⁷ of Islam.

At a recent conference at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, the head of the Center for Religious Freedom, Nina Shea, described what even the youngest students are being taught.

"It is an ideological⁸ curriculum of intolerance against the unbeliever," said Nina Shea. "This includes explicitly⁹ Christians, Jews, and other Muslims are all demonized. They assert that peaceful co-existence is not possible. The first grade text condemns¹⁰ Christians and Jews explicitly to hellfire, so it implants¹¹ the idea that they are evil. It goes against the Islamic teachings that these are heavenly religions. And again, keep in mind this is not religion talking, this is the government of Saudi Arabia."

Professor Ahmed Ibn Saidfuddin of the Imam Ibn Saud University in Riyadh acknowledges the curriculum of Saudi schools does need changing, and he insists it is being done. But he rejects the accusation¹² that what is taught in Saudi schools condones¹³ terrorism.

"Of course, we have to be very careful because we are not changing religion here, we are not changing our view of how important Islam is for us," said Ahmed Ibn Saidfuddin. "What we are doing is at least removing, reinterpreting some of the things that might be misinterpreted by extremists. But these curricula have always been in existence for many centuries. They did not produce terrorists."

The Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, also disagrees, saying the Freedom Center report does not accurately¹⁴ describe what is happening in Saudi Arabia. He says the government has worked diligently¹⁵ over the past five years to revise not only textbooks, but to introduce new teaching methods.

But Saudi dissident and scholar Ali Al-Ahmed of the Institute for Gulf Affairs disagrees. He says there is a link between the Saudi teachings and terrorism.

"The Saudi education system is an often ignored front on the war on terror," said Ali Al-Ahmed. "The Saudi 9/11 hijackers were a product of this education system. As children they were indoctrinated with this curriculum that is full of hate and hostility¹⁶ toward the other. So it was not a hard thing for them to be converted al-Qaida terrorists in a matter of months. These textbooks groom¹⁷ millions of children into hateful, angry, and misinformed youths that are just one step away from being the perfect terrorist."

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States were from Saudi Arabia.

Ahmed says reforming the Saudi education system must be an integral part of the war on terrorism.

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 purged   

清除（政敌等）( purge的过去式和过去分词 )； 涤除（罪恶等）； 净化（心灵、风气等）； 消除（错事等）的不良影响

参考例句：

• He purged his enemies from the Party. 他把他的敌人从党内清洗出去。
• The iron in the chemical compound must be purged. 化学混合物中的铁必须清除。

4 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

5 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

6 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

7 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

8 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

9 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 implants   

n.（植入身体中的）移植物( implant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters. 激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Perhaps the most far-reaching project is an initiative called Living Implants From Engineering (LIFE). 也许最具深远意义的项目，是刚刚启动的建造活体移植工程 (LIFE)。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

12 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

13 condones   

v.容忍，宽恕，原谅( condone的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A morality that condones such bloodshed is totally unacceptalbe to me. 宽恕这种杀戮的道德是我完全不能接受的。 来自辞典例句
• When government condones evil, he insists, "the true place for a just man is a prison." 他坚持认为，当政府宽容罪恶时，“正直人的真正去处是监狱”。 来自哲学部分

14 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

15 diligently   

ad.industriously;carefully

参考例句：

• He applied himself diligently to learning French. 他孜孜不倦地学法语。
• He had studied diligently at college. 他在大学里勤奋学习。

16 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

17 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。