Pakistani Textbooks Teach Children to Hate Christians
The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) has found that Pakistani school children are being taught religious fanaticism and extremism through material found in their textbooks.
A 40-page study released by the human rights group reveals that Pakistani school textbooks are full of information that incites hatred and intolerance against non-Muslims, including Christians.
"This is not only about religious minorities but a national issue," NCJP Executive Director Cecil Shane Chaudhry said, according to AsiaNews. "It is a red flag for the government, which must ask the Church to promote the role of minorities in creating and defending the country."
But many Christians in the community are being attacked regularly and Christian students are no exception.
The Pakistani Teachers' Association wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan after Christian students were forced to recite Islamic prayers.
Christian students have been kidnapped and beaten and in July, a 16-year-old Pakistani Christian girl was sexually assaulted by Muslim attackers in Punjab.
NCJP says that the curriculum plays a part in inciting the violence as it encourages a negative perception of non-Muslims. Additionally, it omits historical facts in textbooks.
"Our textbooks are full of personal opinions," Muslim lawmaker Asma Bukhari told AsiaNews.
One historical account found in a book used at Taliban extremism center read: "The English took power from Muslims, so they considered Muslims as their true enemies. They closed all doors of development to Muslims. So Muslims had no choice but to fight the English...Christian pastors were forcefully converting locals to Christianity."
"Pakistan's public school textbooks contain deeply troubling content that portrays non-Muslim citizens as outsiders, unpatriotic, and inferior; are filled with errors; and present widely-disputed historical 'facts' as settled history," former USCIRF Chairman Robert P. George wrote back in April.
"Missing from these textbooks are any references to the rights of religious minorities and their positive contributions to Pakistan's development. These textbooks sadly reflect the alarming state today of religious freedom in Pakistan. A country's education system, including its textbooks, should promote religious tolerance, not close the door to cooperation and coexistence."
