Chapter One: Unfulfilled Joy: A Great Step by Al-Sisi: Reforming the School Curricula of Religious Studies

Introduction:

1-We have read the news about a good step taken by Al-Sisi, on the website mojaznews.com.

2- This piece of news tackles the intention of the Egyptian Ministry of Education, under the auspices of Al-Sisi, to formulate obligatory curricula books, on all school grades, on morals and ethics to replace curricula books of religious studies (both Coptic Orthodox and 'Islamic') in public schools; the Egyptian street has witnessed recently low levels of moralistic values, especially that rates of sexual harassment of female citizens have increased. Such new curricula would be applied in the school year 2014-2015. The Egyptian President urges the completion of this step due to the lack of moralistic values among most Egyptian youth. The new curricula would get the agreement of the Orthodox Church and Al-Azhar, and it would show the values of tolerance in the celestial religions and show their impact on civilization. We have remembered our endeavors during the era of Mubarak to propose projects of reform of education before the year 2000.

Firstly:

1- We have felt pleased to read about such a step; reform we have dreamed of is about to be realized. Some of our 30-year old endeavor would bear its fruits, especially in reform of education and Al-Azhar. Our book published here on our website titled "Tenets of Islamic Sharia and Means of Application" mentions details on such reform in schools curricula of Egyptian education, Al-Azhar, and reform of mosques.

2- One day, we would publish some personal history accounts within our intellectual battles with some personalities, which occurred because of our call for reform on all levels. Among such battles is a major one about reforming Egyptian education. Our projected have been called "Egyptian Education and Tolerance", propagated and discussed within Ibn Khaldoun Center in the period 1989:1999. The main focus of our project has been reforming school religious studies curricula for both Egyptian Sunnites and Coptic Orthodox curricula and the curricula of history and Arabic language. We have written as well teachers' guide about how to teach the new curricula proposed in the project. We have written as well a movie scenario about a famous Coptic character during the Abbasid Era, and its synopsis is published here on our website titled "A Great Copt in the Era of Treacherous Caliph". We have written a documentary movie on the Egyptian phenomenon of Egyptian Sunnites attending Christian saints, especially the Virgin Mary, festivals in churches of Cairo. This documentary movie was produced by Ibn Khaldoun Center. The owner of this center, the sociologist Dr. Saad Eddine Ibrahim, opened the forum to discuss our project and invited personalities from all Egyptian institutions: Egyptian Cabinet, Ministry of Education, the Coptic Orthodox Church, Al-Azhar, media men, some people from the cultural elite and writers. We were surprised to find vitriolic attack and criticism from all parties, especially concerning reforming the curricula of Sunnite religious studies. Our person was verbally abused. No one among these attackers read carefully what we have written; they asked Azharite men about us and attacked us verbally based on the Azharite stance against us. When criticism and verbal abuse dwindled gradually, some others read or project carefully, and discussions took place to apply it on some samples of students and teachers, with proper remuneration and rewards for them. This was never materialized; Ibn Khaldoun Center was closed down, and its owner was arrested. Several Egyptian Quranists affiliated with the center, under our direction, got arrested due to their participation in the project. Before they would get us, we fled to the USA; if we would have been arrested among criminals, we surely would have been got killed in prison!

3- Later on, we will publish all details of the project of reforming education. Here, suffice it to mentions some brief points.

Secondly: An overview of the project "Egyptian Education and Tolerance" and contents of our book Teachers' Guide on how to teach religious studies in schools:                           

1- from the introduction: "… we mean to to offer a reform point of view to change the way religion is taught in school curricula to make them approach the facts and tenets of Islam, based on the Quranist studies over the major values and tenets of Islam that ought to be taught and applied in our lives. Eventually, we propose curricula of moralistic values and ethics to replace books of Sunnite Islam and Coptic Orthodox studies in schools, and the new curricula should have grades/points to be added to the final exams results. Such changes in methodology of teaching religion must not contain any error; otherwise, dangers concerning Egypt and its citizens would occur. A unified curriculum of ethics and morals to all Sunnite and Orthodox students is a good start to focus on avoiding divisions and discriminations among equal citizens. The unified books for all students should urge tolerance, human rights, charity, piety, justice, love, patience, peace, and chastity, values urged in Islam as we read in the Quran, and urged in the Bible. Some other values include resisting injustice, aggression, ugliness, evildoing, wrongdoing, sinning, extremism, violence, terrorism, and enmity. Such a new curriculum would be a balance to create new generations of upright citizens. If such balance would fail, obnoxious impact would be felt on creeds and the nation. For the love of Islam and Egypt, we have written this book. Signature: Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour 1998".

2- Contents of the book: Teachers' Guide: A Vision on Teaching Islamic Studies in Schools. PART I: Samples of errors in the public guides for teachers: Firstly: Demonizing the other. Secondly: Ignoring the other. Thirdly: Ignoring Egypt and its stature in the Quran. Fourthly: Ignoring Quranic stories about Egypt and the Egyptians. Fifthly: Ignoring piety as the Islamic uppermost value. PART II: Guiding teachers of Islamic studies in schools. Firstly: Getting to know vales of Islam in the Quran: justice – absolute religious freedom – tolerance (charity and patience) – charity and patience in the call to Islam – pardoning and forgiveness – charity in one's heart – relation between patience and charity. Fighting in Islam is only in cases of self-defense, especially to insure freedom of religion and to achieve peace. Secondly: Belonging to Egypt and allegiance to it is a duty of all Egyptian citizens. Characteristics of Egypt as we read them in the Quran. Conclusions: Concerning new curricula hat unify Sunnite and Orthodox Coptic students within one shared book for all creeds: 1- about acts of worship 2- about demeanor, moralistic values, and ethics and how to combat destructive behavior. Final notes on application mechanisms.

Lastly:

1- Any reformer talks a lot about the bad points, urging their change, and rarely praises anything or anyone; yet we sincerely laud Al-Sisi in this step of education reform, hoping he would be a torchbearer and trailblazer of reformation on all levels: especially legislative and constitutional. Terrorism cannot be fought only by policemen and military men; its roots are deep-seated in tents that claim to be part of Islam, but they are not part of it for sure. Egypt needs comprehensive reform on many aspects, based on justice and freedom.

2- We never lauded or faltered before in our life any ruler of Egypt. We remain specialized in criticizing the bad points and aspects. Yet, we see some goodness in Al-Sisi. May God help him to reform all that has been distorted and corrupted by his predecessors.