 The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) chief called Tuesday for reforming religious education in the six-nation bloc hit by a wave of terror, to spread a "moderate and tolerant culture."
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"It's time to develop the syllabus of Islamic education. This must be carried out by specialists among clerics, scholars and experts. I insist they must be moderates," Abdulrahman al-Attiyah told reporters here.
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He was speaking after opening a GCC education ministers meeting focussed on plans to reform education, which has been criticised for promoting extremism following the Sept 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, in which 15 of the 19 suicide bombers were Saudi. "Reform is an urgent matter in all fields and reforming Islamic education is a prerequisite for developing education as a whole," Attiyah said. "From my viewpoint, Islamic education should be limited to teaching religious duties." The GCC is working to spread a "culture of tolerance and respect for others ... as part of its effort to contain terrorism," he said. Also addressing the press, Saudi Education Minister Mohammad al-Rasheed said ministers adopted a resolution to "develop methods of teaching Islamic education" at schools, stressing that textbooks his country do not incite hatred.
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