Subscribe Today
Request a Clip
Egyptian TV host Ibrahim Eissa said in a December 16, 2020 show on Al-Kahera Wal-Nas TV (Egypt) that children in Egypt are being taught to idolize men of war as heroes, and that Jihad, conquest, and spreading Islam are ideals. Expressing criticism, he said that religion has been turned into nothing but Jihad and that history has been turned into nothing but confrontation with colonialists. Eissa argued that instead, children should be taught that science and innovation are forms of victory. For more about Ibrahim Eissa, see MEMRI TV clips No. 8568, 7852, 7295, 7172, 6767, 6530, 6416, and 5150.
Ibrahim Eissa: "Are you trying to train students to wage jihad for the sake of Allah? If you want to teach them history, teach them history within the right framework. Teach them real history, with all its positive and negative aspects. Do not idealize history for them and teach them that were the best, the greatest, and that we have never done anything wrong. You think that if you educate the children this way, you make them understand.
"But you do not educate them at all. This subject is a done deal for them. What do they understand from it? Who is the hero for them? The hero is the one who rides his steed, fights, and kills. And jihad... Right now, do we need to strengthen our students and youth's zeal for jihad for the sake Allah? Are we still in the era of wars and raids?
[...]
You want to create a hero, but your idea of a hero is the one wielding a sword, fighting people, and raiding foreign lands to spread Islam? No, that is not the hero of our times. By the way, this was not the hero even in old times. These were military commanders. This kind of heroism exists in a certain historical context, but we will not talk about that right now.
"What we are saying is that the heroic character that should be promoted in our country these days is that of the national hero. The hero is not the one wielding a sword, but the one using his brain, using knowledge.
[...]
"We are witnessing religion being turned into nothing but jihad, history being turned into nothing but the confrontation with colonialism, and heroism being presented only as heroism in war. And all the children are learning this. How come? What we need now is to broaden our horizons.
[...]
"We should teach our children that science is heroism, that innovation is victory. This is what we need. But to lock us inside the world of battles, wars, and jihad... This brings on ideals like the 'Islamic Caliphate' and so on. You teach, and teach, and teach... Don't we have enough in the Friday sermons, saying that the Caliphate, wars, and raids are the best things in the world?"
Latest Clips
