Education and Religious Discrimination in Pakistan: Relating Textbooks Portrayal with Attitudes of Students Towards Religious Diversity In collaboration

Education and Religious Discrimination in Pakistan: Relating Textbooks Portrayal with Attitudes of

Students Towards Religious Diversity

In collaboration with International Center for Religion and Diplomacy

Based on “Connecting the Dots: Education and Religious Discrimination in Pakistan – A Study of Public Schools and Madrassas"

ContextEducation has served as a vehicle to use religion as a single force to

unify the social, cultural, linguistic, ethnic and geographic diversity of Pakistan – often to the extent of exclusion of religious minorities.

“The Subtle Subversion: The state of Curricula and Textbooks in Pakistan” by A.H Nayyar and Ahmad Saleem (2003) was landmark study, which found that textbooks reflect; insensitivity towards religious diversity, incitement of militancy and violence, glorification of war, factual inaccuracies, omission of historical events and so on.


2006 Curricula ReformsThe Subtle Subversion .. Inspired 2006 reforms. Curricula for public

school system was dramatically altered – guidelines issued to eliminate; biases, historical revisionism, and religious exclusivity, compulsory teaching of Islam to non Muslims.

Social studies, 4-5: greater incorporation of the respect for tolerance and diversity

History 6-8: Recommended two out of 15 chapters on pre-Islamic history – also suggest to ‘discuss the role played by religious minorities in creation of Pakistan’.

Pakistan Studies, 9-10: Inclusion of the concepts of tolerance and respect for diversity, excessive criticism of India has been reduced, and effort appears to have been made to reduce material prejudicial towards the non-Muslims of pre-partition India

Compulsory subjects: Social and Pakistan Studies and Urdu – measures taken to reduce the Islamic content


However six years after reforms, we analyze the textbooks again and find no real change.

The current study recently published under the title Connecting the Dots: Education and Religious Discrimination in Pakistan is a follow up of Subtle Subversion and analysis of the Post-reforms textbooks. It also extends the analysis to include the attitudes of teachers towards non Muslims and the influence of textbooks and teachers on the attitudes of students. It covered both Public Schools and Madrassas. Through case studies, it also analyzed the discrimination experienced by non Muslim students in public schools.


Methodology

Textbooks analysis – all Textbook BoardsInterviews/FGDs with students and teachersCase studies of discrimination faced by non

Muslim studentsInterviews with education experts Covered Madrasa education alongside public

schooling


Textbook analysis

A total of 107 textbooks for grades 1-10 produced by the four provincial Textbook Boards.

Following subjects were covered; Urdu, Social Studies, Pakistan Studies, Islamic Studies


Findings


1- Compulsory teaching of Islam• Integrated textbooks for grades 1-3 combine lessons on Urdu, Social

Studies and Islamic Studies into one book – taught to all including non Muslim students.

• ‘Meri Kitab’ for grade 1, Punjab (2010-11), contains seven lessons on Islamic sermons out of total 16, with further instructions to the teachers to inculcate Islamic values in the minds of students.

• Islamic contents in Urdu lessons


Textbook Board Grade Lessons with Islamic contents Total lessons

Balochistan 3 10 40

Sindh 4 10 36

Balochistan 5 8 38

Sindh 6 9 33

Punjab 1-10 96 362

Portrayal of non Muslims: Positive and neutral

Although less frequent, there are passages in various books with positive or neutral representation of minority religions/non Muslims. These could be divided into four categories;

1- Promoting tolerance within Islam2- Recognition of past historical harmonious

relationships3- Description of equality under the law4- Accurate representations of non Muslim religions


2- Portrayal of non Muslims: Derogatory

With some exceptions, the overall portrayal is derogatory.

They are often portrayed as second-class citizens.


Hindus

Based on “Connecting the Dots: Education and Religious Discrimination in Pakistan – A

Study of Public Schools and Madrassas"

Grade Board Extract from Social Studies

4 KPK Muslims treated Hindus in [a] very good manner despite that Hindus used to maintain deep animosity against Muslims.

5 KPK …But Hindus never cooperated with Muslims. They were not ready to accept the existence of Muslims in the subcontinent. Due to this, the social, religious and political differences between Muslims and Hindus persisted and there was a growing concern towards partition.

6 Punjab “Before the Arab conquest the people were fed up with the teachings of Buddhists and Hindus.” “The foundation of [the] Hindu set up was based on injustice and cruelty. The system of Islam, which was based on justice, equality and brotherhood as described earlier, impressed a lot to the Hindu culture and set up.”

8 Balochistan

“All those who created the Two Nations Theory were primarily the supporters of Hindu-Muslim unity. However, what made them to take first steps towards the preservation of a separate Muslim identity was the racist mentality of Hindus.”

10 (Pak Studies)

KPK Hindus were against the creation of Pakistan. Despite their utmost opposition, when Pakistan was created, they used all means to weaken and harm Pakistan. Hindus inthe ‘East Pakistan’ started mobilizing their fellow citizens against the ‘West Pakistan.

Christians“Christian Missionaries took full advantage of the British occupation of

Asia and under their patronage started converting people of different religions to Christianity.” [Social Studies, Sindh, 8th]

“Under Muslim reign in Jerusalem, Muslim ruler’s [sic] treatment with non-Muslims, including Christians and Jews was very fair and just. They have always provided Christians [sic] full protection and had granted them all rights they deserved, but Christians never appreciated nor liked Muslim rule on Jerusalem… They provoked Christian to fight against the Muslims by inciting that, those who will die in a battle against Muslim will have reward and their all sins will be forgiven. [sic]” [Social Studies, Punjab, 7th]


SikhsWhile the instance of derogatory portrayals of Sikhs was relatively low, when they

were mentioned, they were depicted in a negative light.

“The British and Sikh soldiers insulted the Muslim women and killed the children. Great numbers of Muslims were forced to vacate Delhi and only one-fourth of the total Muslim population remained in the city.” [Social Studies, Sindh, 8th]

“… Hindus and Sikhs had started [a] massacre in the Muslim settlements in Bharat (the new name of India after partition). In order to protect their lives, property and honor, 12.5 million Muslims started migrating to Pakistan.” [Social Studies, Balochistan 8th]


Jews“Some Jewish tribes also lived in Arabia. They lent money to

workers and peasants on high rates of interest and took over their earnings. They held the whole society in their tight grip because of the ever-increasing compound interest…In short, there was no sympathy for humanity. People were selfish and cruel. The rich lived in luxury and nobody bothered about the needy or those in sufferings.” [Social Studies, Punjab, 7th]


Omission and distortion of history

There is a persistent omission of the role played by religious minorities in the creation, progress and defense of Pakistan in most of the subjects.

Historical events are reported with biases as well as inaccuracies


3- Pakistan as Islam and under threat• Islamic identity as the defining characteristic of Pakistan• Defending Pakistan is defending Islam since both are under threat –

implicit meanings could be inferred that minorities are threatening; “Pakistan is an Islamic country and Muslim citizens are brothers to one

another.” [Social Studies, Punjab, 4th]

“To keep the Islamic identity and existence it is necessary for our country to safeguard religion and its values. Pakistan is the only country which came into being in the name of Islam.” [SS, Punjab, 5th]

“Islamic society was devoid of every kind of evil, but gradually the Muslims began turning away from the Islamic principles and un-Islamic ways popularized, which became one of the reasons of Muslim downfall.” [Pak Studies, Punjab, 9-10th]


“The foreign cultures are leaving deep influence over the Islamic values because of the electronic media. There is every danger that we may lose our cultural identities. In such circumstances and because of the vast changing cultural and religious situations, it is necessary for us that we must fully defend our political borders, take care of our basic views with love and devotion for Islam. This can ensure the safety of our country. The anti-Islamic forces are always trying to finish the Islamic domination of the world. This can cause danger for the very existence of Islam. Today, the defense of Pakistan and Islam is very much in need. It is more needed today because Pakistan is the only Islamic country which is an atomic power. Some people call this atomic power of Pakistan as Islamic bomb. Today, all the anti-Islamic powers look at Pakistan in such a way that we may remain away and aloof from the leadership of the Islamic world… The spirit of jihad may be inculcated among the people and Islamic viewpoints may be propagated.” [SS, Punjab, 5th]


Attitudes of students: Methodology• Individual, semi-structured in depth qualitative interviews

and FGDs• 70 individual interviews (42 males, 28 females)• 87 students participated in 12 FGDs in four provinces• Analysis is based on the views expressed by 157 students

of Grades 8-10. Themes: Views about other religions, citizenship rights, identity, social and

personal interaction, sectarian diversity, Jihad


Identity : Who lives in Pakistan?

Responses were almost always in terms of religious identity. Muslims, non Muslims and some referred to sectarian diversity. While this reflect the awareness of religious diversity, also implies the reduction of identities into single religious identity – closely in-line with the ‘religio-nationalism’ constructed in the textbooks.


Citizenship: Are non Muslims living here citizens of Pakistan?

Almost 60% of the respondents said they are citizens of Pakistan. Some also said they are good citizens.

“Yes, they love Pakistan and consider it as their own land.”

Some of these students however didn’t consider them good/equal students

“No, they are not good citizens, because they are not doing anything for us [Pakistanis].” — Male Student (Punjab)

“No, they are not equal. We shall respect them but can’t have extended and equal relationships with them as they belong to ‘other’ religions.” — Male Student (KPK)


Slightly less than half didn’t consider them Pakistani citizens because of their religion.

“Although non-Muslims are living in Pakistan, I don’t accept them as Pakistani because they don’t believe in Islam.” — Female Student (Punjab)

“No, there are separate countries for separate religions where they can spend their life with freedom. So they should go there.” — Male Student (Punjab)

“No, they are outsiders. When their children are born, they teach them their religion and their language. In my view, if the child is born in Pakistan, he/she should be Muslim.” — Male Student (KPK)


Can minorities play a role in the development of Pakistan?

While the majority of the students stated that minorities can play a constructive role in the development of Pakistan through education and hard work, a significant number of respondents contested this possibility – primarily because they suspected their patriotism and loyalties.

“They can’t do that as they are jealous of Pakistan and they can’t play their role; they are just living in Pakistan.” — Female Student (Punjab)

“No, they can’t play any role. All they would do is to work for their personal gain; however, they won’t work to make the country safe or lead it towards progress. I know this because they are non-Muslim.” — Male Student (KPK)


Views about other religions• Contradictory views about other religions. • Many students suggested both Islam and their teachers urge them to

respect religious minorities.• Many of those who had minorities students in the class had good

opinions of them.• Nonetheless the apparent messages of respect, when probed

further, were supplemented by negative views of other religions – particularly Hindus, Jews and Ahmadis.

• In many instances, respect was aimed at converting non Muslims into Islam.

• Overall the perception of Christians was better, however, often associated with low social status and derogatory terms.

• While some students expressed desire to have good relations with minorities, most students viewed the relationships between Muslims and non Muslims with animosity.


Interaction with non MuslimsDo you have you any non Muslim friend? If not, why?More than half didn’t have any non Muslim friend – primarily because they

don’t have non Muslims in their neighborhood or in class. Many students however, opted to not befriend;

“I don’t befriend non-Muslims because they belong to other religions.” — Male Student (Punjab)

“I don’t want any friendship with non-Muslims.” — Male Student (Punjab)“I don’t have any non-Muslim friend as my parents don’t like it.” — Female Student

(Sindh)

Or the motivation for befriending is to convert them into Islam“There was one friend but not anymore. We tried to convert him to Islam so that Allah

is pleased. As a friend he was very good but he didn’t convert.” — Male Public School Student

“I don’t have any non-Muslim classmate; otherwise I would have spent time with her so that she wouldn’t feel herself alone in the society. Such behavior can impact on their lives and they might convert to Islam.” — Female Student (Punjab)


For those who didn’t have non Muslims around them, nearly half said they would befriend them if given the opportunity;

“I would like to befriend non-Muslim students if they have a good attitude.” — Male Student (Sindh)

Others indicated that they would not befriend religious minority students due to various degrees of intolerant attitudes;

“They are different from us in every sphere of life.” — Male Student (Sindh)“I wouldn’t befriend them as they are not trustworthy.” — Male Student (Sindh)“No, because I and my parents have doubts that they [religious minorities] attract

[Muslims] towards their religion.” — Female Student (Sindh)


Comparative religions• Half of the students said they are not taught comparative religions• Half, however, said their teachers tell them various historical

events and stories about other religions.• These formal/informal lessons were nonetheless reported to be

aimed at establishing Islam as the dominant and only true religion.

“Yes, they say that Islam is right by comparing with other religions” - Female student (Sindh).

“Yes, the teachers did the comparison of various religions in class. The teachers told us about the injustice done by other religions” – Female student (Punjab).


ConclusionDespite the 2006 Reforms textbooks continue to be

discriminatory against non MuslimsAttitudes of the students resonate the educational

discourseIdentities are reduced to singular religious identity

which then serves as the basis for discrimination in terms of citizenship rights and social interaction.

Explicit message of hatred are present in textbooks as well as in the attitudes of students.


Documents

Education and Religious Discrimination in Pakistan: Relating Textbooks Portrayal with Attitudes of Students Towards Religious Diversity In collaboration