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Here's an unpleasant hypothetical.
What if, say, somebody with the mindset of Fred Phelps was an autocratic ruler in a foreign country that issued religious textbooks which proselytized his warped views to the students of religious schools in other nations. You'd be justifiably concerned, right?
Be concerned. Be very concerned.
From an article by John F. Burns from the New York Times:
A British network of more than 40 part-time Islamic schools and clubs with 5,000 students has been teaching from a Saudi Arabian government curriculum that contains anti-Semitic and homophobic views, including a textbook that asks children to list the “reprehensible” qualities of Jews, according to a BBC documentary broadcast on Monday.
Seems unpromising already, right? Read on:
One of the textbooks, according to the BBC program, prescribed execution as the penalty for gay sex, and outlined differing viewpoints as to whether death should be by stoning, immolation by fire or throwing offenders off a cliff. Another set out the punishments prescribed by Shariah law for theft, including amputation of hands and feet. A BBC video accompanying an article on the program’s Web site showed a textbook illustration of a hand and a foot marked to show where amputations should be made.
Ah, the Wahhabis. Such open-minded people. And keep in mind that they're only a little less violent towards other Muslim who they consider apostates. And we consider the Saudis our strongest allies in the Arabian peninsula, to boot.
If anyone ever wonders why I back alternative energy sources, it's not because I want to make points with tree-hugger chicks. It's because it reduces our dependence on the questionable benevolence of the House of Saud. It's becoming increasingly apparent that their "benevolence" is more of a mirage than anything else.
What if, say, somebody with the mindset of Fred Phelps was an autocratic ruler in a foreign country that issued religious textbooks which proselytized his warped views to the students of religious schools in other nations. You'd be justifiably concerned, right?
Be concerned. Be very concerned.
From an article by John F. Burns from the New York Times:
A British network of more than 40 part-time Islamic schools and clubs with 5,000 students has been teaching from a Saudi Arabian government curriculum that contains anti-Semitic and homophobic views, including a textbook that asks children to list the “reprehensible” qualities of Jews, according to a BBC documentary broadcast on Monday.
Seems unpromising already, right? Read on:
One of the textbooks, according to the BBC program, prescribed execution as the penalty for gay sex, and outlined differing viewpoints as to whether death should be by stoning, immolation by fire or throwing offenders off a cliff. Another set out the punishments prescribed by Shariah law for theft, including amputation of hands and feet. A BBC video accompanying an article on the program’s Web site showed a textbook illustration of a hand and a foot marked to show where amputations should be made.
Ah, the Wahhabis. Such open-minded people. And keep in mind that they're only a little less violent towards other Muslim who they consider apostates. And we consider the Saudis our strongest allies in the Arabian peninsula, to boot.
If anyone ever wonders why I back alternative energy sources, it's not because I want to make points with tree-hugger chicks. It's because it reduces our dependence on the questionable benevolence of the House of Saud. It's becoming increasingly apparent that their "benevolence" is more of a mirage than anything else.
