Nerve Endings Firing Away

A review of a sample of official Saudi textbooks for Islamic studies used during the current academic year reveals that, despite the Saudi government’s statements to the contrary, an ideology of hatred toward Christians and Jews and Muslims who do not follow Wahhabi doctrine remains in this area of the public school system. The texts teach a dualistic vision, dividing the world into true believers of Islam (the “monotheists”) and unbelievers (the “polytheists” and “infidels”).

This indoctrination begins in a first-grade text and is reinforced and expanded each year, culminating in a 12th-grade text instructing students that their religious obligation includes waging jihad against the infidel to “spread the faith.”

Fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers were Saudi and yet none of the post-9/11 ‘war on terror’ involved any steps against the Saudis. Of course, we know of the incestuous ties between the oil kingdom and the Bushies but I am surprised there hasn’t been much clamor for action against the Saudis by Bush opponents as well. Has the Saudi influence permeated into the American bureaucracy to such an extent? Washington Post reports (see above) on the real roots of Islamic terrorism and the failure of the Saudi kingdom to take any corrective action in spite of promising to do so.

On the other hand, America’s “scandalously bad” textbooks are now blamed for its falling school standards.