Seeker Blog

This is an update to my earlier post "Saudi Publications on Hate Ideology Fill American Mosques"

John Burgess (bio) of Crossroads Arabia wrote on the Freedom House report here.

The report is a serious one that makes serious allegations. I’ve asked the Saudi Embassy for more information and their reaction to the report and will post on what I learn. Even if the presence of these materials can be at least partially explained away, I don’t believe it excuses their presence. Saudi Arabia has changed greatly since the 1960s. Changes within the last two years, in fact, have made most books about Saudi Arabia terribly out-of-date. Government-produced materials that have passed their “sell-by” dates don’t belong on any bookshelves, for whatever reason, particularly when they no longer reflect reality. The reality is that the Saudi government is demanding moderation in the mosques and schools; textbooks have been rewritten to exclude the objectionable material the report notes….

As I noted above, I’m working to get official comment and reaction to this report. I’ll pass it on as soon as I get it.

I recommend that you read John’s post, plus his entries in the comments section of the post. There is much fruit to be picked there. This is from John’s Comment #9:

I think the Saudis are taking the right steps. They’re reforming education, from the textbooks and curriculum to the conduct of teachers in the classrooms. Saudi media are criticizing and ridiculing those who go beyond the acceptable. Government officials condemn excesses.

But the past can’t be erased overnight. Saudi religious education (which comprises a too-big a part of education in general) was corrupted, thus corrupting the views of generations of students. This, I hold, was the result of a combination of thinking “Well, a religious message can’t be a bad thing,” and great official indifference and neglect of what was actually going on.

The fact is, there are parts of the Quran that can be exploited to make particular political points. There are harsh words about Jews and Christians in the Quran. There are also kind words about them. What one chooses to emphasize makes all the difference.

The Old Testament is not a great source for favorable comment about religions the Israelites were seeking to displace as they moved into the Holy Land. Protestants in Europe didn’t have much to say favorable–but a lot to say hatefully–about Catholicism… and some Protestant sects still feel that way.

We are never going to see all Saudis, all Arabs, all Muslims suddenly wake up one day and say “Oh, we must have been wrong! Jews and Christians are our brothers!” Our best hope is that most can reach the realization that a way to co-exist peacefully must be found.