IMPACT-se Review of GEI PA Report_Image of Palestinian wielding slingshot

IMPACT-se Review: The Georg Eckert Institute Report on the Palestinian Curriculum

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The 2021 Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research report into Palestinian Authority textbooks is a welcome addition to the corpus of knowledge about the most recent iteration of the Palestinian national curriculum. Commissioned by the European Union, this report identifies many of the same systemic problems that other research institutes have brought to light over the past several years: Palestinian textbooks feature content that promotes the glorification of terrorism and martyrdom, violence, antisemitism and hate. The report, however, fails to provide a complete and accurate picture of the state of the PA curriculum. It exaggerates positive features, minimizes negative aspects, and refrains from drawing meaningful conclusions about self-evident problematic findings. It examines minor aspects of the textbooks without attempting to describe how they fit into the greater narrative of the PA curriculum. Overall, the report does not discuss the likely effect of the curriculum on Palestinian students, nor what type of Palestinian national civil society may emerge as a result. These errors and omissions will leave an unwitting reader with an unrealistic understanding of the PA textbooks, which is unfortunate given the time and effort that went into preparing the report. Complete Review HERE

BESA_Mideast Shapes_Doha Schoolchildren-Attend Exhibition (Vinod-Divakaran)

Through Education Middle East Powers Vie to Shape the Next Generation of Muslims

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Education is emerging as a major flashpoint in competing visions of a future Muslim world. Rival concepts being instilled in the next generation are likely to shape what amounts to a battle for the soul of Islam. Reports published earlier this year by the Israel-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE) chart a notable divergence in educational approaches across the Muslim world. At one end of the spectrum are Pakistan and Turkey, two of the more populous Muslim countries. Their claim to leadership of the Muslim world is rooted in conservative if not ultra-conservative interpretations of Islam that increasingly shape their education systems. Saudi Arabia and the UAE reside at the other end of the spectrum with their reduced emphasis on religion in education and emphasis on science as well as religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue. Straddling the two approaches is Qatar, the world’s only other Wahhabi state alongside Saudi Arabia—even if it adhered to a more liberal interpretation long before the rise of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.  Complete Article HERE