From CDHR
July 19, 2007
A State Synonymous with Suicide Bombers
By Ali Alyami
Though the government has allotted budgetary funds for several thousand new schools, and several new universities, there are still underlying structural problems with Saudi Arabia’s educational system. The government and powerful elements in Saudi Arabia use religion as a pretext for espousing values contrary to the true nature of Islam. Additionally, though there have been some small moves to change particular elements of school curricula, there has been no movement to address overall educational reform. The removal of certain offensive aspects of textbooks does not fully address the problems leading to the export of suicide bombers. It further does not address the legacy of cultural homogeneity and isolation imprinted by the present Saudi system of education.
Support for mujahidin in Afghanistan has helped breed an institutionalized means and mentality for training and exporting Saudi militants. Moreover, media and state-run education feed into such a system. Dealing with topical issues, but not with the overall culture of hate fueled by education “won’t eliminate the terrorist threats our country [Saudi Arabia] is confronting.” As a result, the United States, its troops abroad, the Iraqi people, and indeed the whole world – because terrorism is a global problem – will be faced with the threat of terrorism. Saudi Arabia should address overall structural reform politically, economically, and to a large extent socially. But so far the House of Saud has proven unwilling to deal even with substantive structural reform to education.