Hussain, Azhar
[Author];
Salim, Ahmad
[Author];
Naveed, Arif
[Author]
;
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom,
International Center for Religion & Diplomacy,
Sustainable Development Policy Institute
Footnote:
Includes bibliographical references (p. 136-138) and glossary (p. 134-135)
Description:
This study found that Pakistan's public schools and madrassas negatively portray the country's religious minorities and reinforce biases which fuel acts of discrimination, and possibly violence, against these communities. The study involved the examination of social studies, Islamic studies, and Urdu textbooks and pedagogical methods in Pakistan's public school system and its madrassa system, and the interviewing of teachers and students about their views on religious minorities. The goal of the year-long study was to explore linkages between the portrayal of religious minorities in public schools and madrassas, biases that exist against these minorities, and subsequent acts of discrimination or extremist violence. The study found that: Public school textbooks used by all children often had a strong Islamic orientation, and Pakistan's religious minorities were referenced derogatorily or omitted altogether; Hindus were depicted in especially negative terms, and references to Christians were often inaccurate and offensive; Public school and madrassa teachers had limited awareness or understanding of religious minorities and their beliefs, and were divided on whether religious minorities were citizens; Teachers often expressed very negative views about Ahmadis, Christians, and Jews, and successfully transmitted these biases to their students; Interviewees' expressions of tolerance often were intermixed with neutral and intolerant comments, leaving some room for improvement. For the study, more than 100 textbooks from grades 1 through 10 from Pakistan's four provinces were reviewed. Students and teachers from public schools and madrassas were also interviewed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), Balochistan, Sindh, and Punjab. Thirty-seven middle and high schools were visited, with 277 students and teachers interviewed individually or in group settings. Researchers interviewed 226 madrassa students and teachers from 19 madrassas