The London Arabic-language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat has published a report by Huda Jasim on changes made to Iraqi schoolbooks following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. The new schoolbooks will be introduced with the start of the 2005/6 school year in September.
According to the report, the Iraqi education minister formed a committee of senior educators and specialists to reexamine the country's school curricula for the new Iraq. The committee proposed substantial changes to be made to the school textbooks, with the aim of completely eradicating the Saddam personality cult and placing considerably less emphasis on the Ba'th Party than the old textbooks.
The report stated that the new Iraqi history texts will present a new narrative about the Iran-Iraq War, with Iraq, not Iran, in the role of aggressor. Also, unlike the old school texts, the new texts do not teach that the Persians have throughout the ages harbored enmity towards the Arabs, and do not accuse them of sowing internal discord in Islam or of coveting the lands of Iraq and the Gulf states. Iraq is not portrayed as playing a heroic role in the wars against Israel. In addition, the new textbooks include such topics as democracy and human rights, and redefine the terms "citizenship" and "homeland."
The following are the main changes to Iraq's school textbooks for the school year beginning September 2005, which were reported on in the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat report:
Eradicating the Saddam Personality Cult
According to the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat report, the new textbooks no longer promote the Saddam Hussein personality cult, which had left its mark on the educational system. Thus, for example, Saddam's picture, which appeared on the first page of all of the old school books, has been removed. In a high-school English textbook, the sentence "I love Saddam" has been changed to "I love Iraq." Unlike the old texts, a new fifth-grade textbook on Arab-Islamic history does not compare Saddam Hussein to the Abbasid Caliph Harun Al-Rashid.
The following paragraph no longer appears in school textbooks: "We love you, April, month of good fortune and light. It is during you that our Party [the Ba'th] has its birthday, and during you is the birthday of our commander, President Saddam Hussein, may Allah protect him and keep him safe."
The Al-Sharq Al-Awsat report states that the sixth-grade patriotism text no longer mentions national holidays such as Army and Police Day, Teacher and Student Day, the Day of the Establishment of the Ba'th Party, Saddam's birthday, the anniversary of the 1958 July Revolution, and Victory, Peace, and Martyrs' Day. The report states: "The first chapter of the old [fourth-grade national education] textbook focused on the role of 'the leadership of the party and the revolution as headed by President Commander Saddam Hussein (may Allah keep and protect him) in caring for the Iraqi family...' In the new books, this chapter has been changed into a chapter discussing rules of etiquette, including proper manners for eating, speaking, and other etiquette topics." The new geography text reflects post-Saddam changes to the names of districts in Iraq. The former District of Al-Qadassiya is now the District of Al-Diwaniyya, and the former District of Ta'mim is now the District of Kirkuk. [1]
No More Glorification of the Ba'th
According to the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat report, in addition to removing all signs of the Saddam personality cult, the new textbooks seek to clearly distinguish between the history of Iraq and that of the Ba'th Party. The textbooks no longer list what were formerly named as Ba'th Party achievements. For example, the Saddam-era sixth-grade textbook Modern History of the Arab Homeland contained the following passage: "The loyal sons of the Arab nation were able to perceive the severity of the state of schism and regression suffered by the Arab nation, and its need for unity and renewal. This is how the idea of the Socialist Arab Ba'th began. And thus, from its very beginning, the Socialist Arab Ba'th has represented the desire of the entire Arab nation to look towards its future." This textbook went on to describe in detail how the early Ba'th leaders defined the problems facing the Arab nation, and followed this with the history of the 1958 revolution in Iraq and the 1962 revolution in Yemen.
It is apparent from the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat report that the exclusive emphasis on the Ba'th Party that prevailed during the Saddam era is absent from the new sixth-grade textbook Modern History of the Arab World. This book's fourth chapter focuses on the July 1952 revolution in Egypt, the nationalization of the Suez Canal, the Egyptian resistance to the "1956 tripartite aggression," the 1958 union between Egypt and Syria, and the Algerian revolution of 1954. Only within this context is the July 1958 coup in Iraq also mentioned. According to the report, the new Iraqi schoolbooks do not deal at all with the 1963 and 1968 revolts which brought the Ba'th to power in Iraq. [2]
A Change of Attitude Towards the Persians
The negative Arab attitude towards the Persians, a well-known cultural phenomenon since the days of early Islam, was cultivated and strongly encouraged under Saddam, and the Saddam-era textbooks clearly reflected this orientation. The Al-Sharq Al-Awsat report shows that the new textbooks are adopting a more positive attitude towards their neighbors to the East. Absent from the new history texts are statements such as "the stark hostility which Persians harbor towards Arabs" and "the Persian conspiracy against Arabism and Islam." The new Islamic history textbooks do not, as the old ones did, accuse the Persians of fomenting civil strife [ fitna ] during the time of the first three Caliphs, or of playing a role in the murders of the Third Caliph 'Uthman ibn 'Affan and the Fourth Caliph 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. All statements about the war with Iran have been omitted from first-grade reading texts, including "I want to write a letter to my father and his friends who are at the front fighting our Persian enemies and defending the homeland," and "We congratulate you for the victory, oh soldiers. Commander Saddam, we salute you for our victory."
Presenting the Iran-Iraq War in a Different Light
According to the report, the new textbooks reflect an extremely significant change with regard to the 1982-1989 Iran-Iraq War. Contrary to the narrative taught during the Saddam era, that Iranian aggression led to the war, the new books teach that Iraq began the war, and that the war ended without a clear victory. For example, the following paragraph from a Saddam-era text was not included in the new history texts: "On September 4, 1980, Iranian forces shelled Iraqi towns, closed the Straits of Hormuz to Iraqi ships, and shelled 'industrial' installations and boats anchored at the [mouth of the] Shatt al-Arab. The brave Iraqi forces reacted to this aggression on September 22, 1980 – that is, 18 days after the operative moves by Iran to conquer Iraq. The courageous Iraqi army showed the Iranians that these covetous designs were nothing but unrealistic delusions, as the Iraqi army crushed their military forces in one battle after another in various places, and did not permit them to them defile Iraq."
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reports that the new textbooks have also dropped chapters accusing Iran of irredentist aspirations in the Arabian Gulf, which the Iranians call the Persian Gulf.
The following paragraph has been omitted from a sixth-grade history book: "The region of the Arabian Gulf was for centuries subject to Iran's covetous. The Iranian danger to the gulf region is similar to the Zionist danger in Palestine, because Iran falsely claims that the region of the Arabian Gulf should again belong to it. Its claims to Bahrain prove this. In order to realize the covetous Persian designs on Arab territory, Iran plotted with Britain in 1971 to conquer the three Arab Islands in the Arabian Gulf, Tanab Al-Kubra, Tanab Al-Sughra, and Abu Musa, once Britain evacuated them. Due to its conquest of these islands, Iran came to control the Arabian Gulf's Straits of Hormuz."
As part of the change of attitude towards Iran, also not included in history books was a chapter about Iraq-Iran relations following the 1979 fall of the Shah of Iran. One such passage is: "Iraq expected that the new government would change its attitude toward it, and turn over a new leaf in the relations between the states, which were to be founded on mutual respect and good neighborly relations. However, after the Khomeinists took control of Iran, it became clear that they were nothing but an extension of the former government and that they harbored more rancor against Iraq and against the Arab nation than their predecessor. The covetous designs against Iraq and the Arabian Gulf were brought out into the open, and Iran's new rulers began to declare openly, on official occasions and in the media, that they wanted to 'export the revolution' outside of Iran – meaning impose their regime over Iraq and the countries of the Arab Gulf. Their claim that they rule according to Islamic law is nothing but a screen covering their imperialist designs. Islamic law has nothing to do with their actions, which contradict the doctrines of Islam..."
Iraq's Role in the Wars with Israel
The Al-Sharq Al-Awsat report also says that the new textbooks do not include paragraphs from the old texts about the Iraqi army's heroism in the 1948 and 1973 wars against Israel. The fifth chapter of the Saddam-era sixth-grade Modern History of the Arab Homeland included a paragraph on the subject of "Iraqi objection to the U.N. partition plan" that was also not included in the new text. The old text explained: "The socialist Arab Ba'th Party played an important role in resisting the Jewish and Zionist forces, because the party created, from among its warriors and supporters, groups of volunteers who fought alongside the Arab forces for the liberation of Palestine."
As for the role of the Iraqi army in the 1973 war, the Saddam-era text includes the following: "On the Syrian front, the Syrian army could have achieved a clear victory over the Jewish and Zionist forces in the Golan Heights; however, the Syrian forces did not press on due to orders issued by Syrian ruler Hafez Al-Assad. The situation was reversed; the Jewish and Zionist forces took the offensive and advanced towards Damascus, which would have fallen into Zionist hands were it not for the fact that the Iraqi army arrived with amazing speed, entering the fray and fighting heroically. Thus, the Iraqis saved Damascus, and would have brought victory had the Syrian regime not accepted the ceasefire."
A New Definition of Citizenship and Homeland
The new text on national and social education reinterprets the term 'citizenship.' In previous textbooks, this term had been defined as love of the homeland, the people, and the commander; the new textbooks present it as an inner conviction based on connection to the country and the people living in that country.
The new textbooks also define the term "homeland" differently than the old books. According to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, the old books stated that the "homeland" was "the territory where the people lives, whose resources it uses, and upon which it builds its culture. It is comprised of districts, cities, localities, and villages. Our homeland is Iraq, which is part of our greater, pan-Arab homeland." The new text states that the "homeland" is "where any given people lives. It has stable and recognized borders, and is where [the people] builds its culture. Other nations must respect these borders. It is the right of every human being, without regard to his developmental level, to have a homeland…"
As for "citizenship," the Saddam-era text states: "Our basic, fundamental duty to the homeland is to defend and protect it from invaders and from those who covet [our land], so as to protect its freedom, glory, honor, and independence. Defense of the homeland is carried out in many ways - the most important of which is to join in carrying arms, and to be constantly prepared to fight the enemies who covet [our land]. This is done by joining the army, or the People's Army, or by working in the Domestic Security Forces apparatuses."
In contrast, the new textbooks refer to the state's role in promoting proper citizenship: "The citizenry is the basis of democracy. There can be no democratic society which is not based on each and every citizen. The civilized and democratic countries have established rules and principles to guarantee the rights of the citizens, so that the citizens feel safe in them. At the same time, [the citizen] undertakes to carry out his duties toward the state and society. We find, however, various societies which continue to violate citizens' rights, and in them the citizens feel neither safe nor secure."
Education for Human Rights and Democracy
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat also reports that the new Iraqi curriculum teaches that it is the right of every individual to enjoy citizenship, equality, liberty, privacy, freedom of movement and ownership, and the right to live in dignity.
Endnotes:
[1] According to the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat report, the new textbooks mention "different" post-Saddam names for various places, such as Al-Diwaniyya and Kirkuk. However, the Saddam-era place names were actually given by the Ba'th Party for political reasons – for example, the traditional name Al-Diwaniyya was replaced by the Ba'th with Al-Qadissiya, to commemorate the 637 CE battle by the same name in which the Arab Muslims vanquished the Persian army. Similarly, under the Ba'th the oil district of Kirkuk had been renamed Ta'mim ("nationalization"), following the 1972 nationalization of the Iraq Petroleum Company.
[2] At the height of Arab nationalism, the Iraqi Ba'th was locked in a power struggle with both Nasserite Egypt and with the Syrian Ba'th over leadership of the pan-Arab movement. Thus the inclusion in the new textbooks of these segments of Egyptian and Syrian history and their depiction as landmarks in modern Arab history should be seen as a sign of de-Ba'thification.
