The Hamburg Cell: close reading
Abdullah Al-Dukhaini, a spokesman for the Education Ministry, told Arab News that the ministry decided to move the teaching of jihad from the high school level to intermediate school because intermediate students are prepared to learn the “correct concept of jihad” before “erroneous concepts” reach them.
One has to read almost of the bottom of the longish piece, though, to find out what this “correct concept of jihad” might be — here’s their version:
Al-Dukhaini said the ministry wants to teach students that jihad is only permissible when defending against aggressors, and with the approval of the country’s ruler and parents.
Textbooks include a warning to pupils that the only one entitled to “raising the banner of Jihad” is the ruler and no one else. No individual Muslim or a Muslim group is permitted to do so.
Once the appropriate textbooks have been published, it will be interesting to see the various translations offered for the relevant passages and the kinds of interpretation they call forth from different points of the compass…
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h/t for the Saudi education pointer, John Burgess at Crossroads Arabia.
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Kumail:
March 5th, 2013 at 11:12 pm
This verse is clearly tactical advice for Muhammad and his followers, not a general principle. But in the end it doesn’t matter, people will always take from religion what they want to in a particular situation.
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The Saudis don’t seem to mind fueling jihad against the ruler of Syria. I think this is more about preempting domestic threats to the kingdom than it is about a genuine desire to prune the implications of jihad in the Muslim World. Still, good move for them.
Charles Cameron:
March 12th, 2013 at 5:28 am
I’d hoped to respond at greater length, but time presses on. Thanks for this comment, Kumail — I suspect you’re right on all counts.