Pakistan promotes hatred and religious intolerance through textbooks

[Yusuf]

ISLAMABAD: Nearly four decades after the 1971 war, Pakistani school textbooks continue to focus on conspiracy theories involving India, Russia and the US regarding the creation of Bangladesh while glossing over the Pakistan Army's atrocities in the erstwhile East Pakistan.

While the findings of Pakistan's Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission on the 1971 Indo-Pak war were never made public, students at the Matric and Intermediate levels of school (Classes nine to 12) "are being taught conspiracy theories and a factually incorrect version of history", according to an article on the website of the Dawn newspaper.

The Pakistan Studies textbook for Classes nine and 10 fails to mention the role of late premier Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto or the Pakistan People's Party in its section on the 1971 war and lists the "role of Hindu teachers" and "international conspiracies" among the reasons for the "Fall of East Pakistan".

"A large number of Hindu teachers were teaching in the educational institutions in East Pakistan. They produced such literature which created negative thinking in the minds of Bengalis against the people of West Pakistan," the textbook states.

The section on "international conspiracies" states: "About 10 million Hindus were living in East Pakistan. India stood at the back of these Hindus to protect their interests. India wanted to separate East Pakistan to strengthen the economic position of the Hindus.

"Many Hindus acted as spies for India. Russia was against Pakistan because Pakistan had allowed America to establish military bases in Pakistan."

"On the other hand, America also wanted separation of East Pakistan. Under the circumstances Russia openly supported India's aggression against Pakistan."

The article noted that Pakistani historians and academics "have long decried the white-washing of the state curriculum" and it was "appalling" that the government is "yet to make changes in the syllabi being taught to Pakistan's future generation".

While the Pakistan Studies textbooks for Classes 10 and 11 mention the role of the Mukti Bahani and India's support for the group, they are an "incorrect version of the story behind the creation of Bangladesh", the report said.

Both textbooks make no mention "of the documented atrocities committed by the Pakistan Army - which includes rapes, targeted killings - against the Mukti Bahini and the genocide of the Bengali population".

The textbooks fail to mention the number of civilian deaths in East Pakistan in the period leading up to the creation of Bangladesh.

Nor do they "mention Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's inflexible stand on sharing power with Mujib-ur-Rehman's Awami League", the report said.

Abbas Hussain, director of the Teachers Development Centre, described this version of history "a farce".

"We give our children hocus pocus in textbooks." Asked how teachers feel about teaching students such material, Hussain replied: "Most teachers have classroom schizophrenia, where the children and teachers are in a sort of conspiracy that there is a real world outside the classroom and there is a fictitious world in the classroom and you jolly well obey that!"

Noted academic Pervez Hoodbhoy said: "Forty years later, Bangladesh has many disputes with India but it shows not the slightest inclination to reintegrate with Pakistan.

"If Pakistan's school books actually taught honest history, they would be explaining why East Pakistanis felt exploited and fought for their independence. Instead, our children are taught cock-and-bull conspiracy nonsense."


Read more: Pak textbooks focus on conspiracy theories on 1971 war - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...971-war/articleshow/7111377.cms#ixzz18LonOrR1


This is why the younger generations will live in even more denial. Live in lala land and spew even more hatred against "Hindu" India. Kuch nahi ho sakta us desh ka. It is set for doom.

 

[Ray]

Nothing wrong in Pakistan and conspiracy theories in their history text book.

Their history text book delves in the greatest conspiracy - the history of PAKISTAN.

The Pak TV programme appended in DFI (Sethi was it?) stated that India is but an adjunct of Pakistan since it came first and India came into being in 1947!!

 

[Ray]

As far as 1971 is concerned, I heard Parvez Musharraf on TimesNow.

He too belives that India organised Mujib and then broke up Pakistan.

He forgot that Mujib won the election as the majority party, and was elected by the Pakistani people.

But then India must have bought up the complete Pakistan electorate and then paid the Pakistan Army to rape and pillage East Pakistan! He forgot that too!

It proves that the Pakistanis including their leaders are so consumed by the Hate India campaign that when they think of India, a Hoover Vacuum cleaner works on their brains and leave vacuum between their ears!

Very mentally challenged people, these Pakistanis.

 

[Ray]

The ideology of thought control in Pakistan

DAWN.com: The ideology of thought control in Pakistan

The ideology of thought control in Pakistan

Denial is not just a river in Egypt. It has become something of a personality cult in Pakistan. Nowhere is this cognitive dissonance more visible than amongst the educated who refuse to accept facts and logic, clinging instead to a neurotic persecution complex.

Columnist Khaled Ahmed says: "The vast majority of literate Pakistanis take comfort in ignorance, skepticism and conspiracy theories. The self-glorification of an imagined past matched by habits of national denial have assumed crisis proportions today when Pakistan's existence is under far more serious threat from fellow Muslims than it was in 1947 from rival non Muslim communities." What lies beneath this inability to critique and lack of intelligent analysis? Undoubtedly, one's education influences views on politics and society. As Robert Frost aptly puts it: "education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence."

To sift the chaff from the grain, let us consider a ubiquitous slogan about the 'ideology' of Pakistan. A staple of our school textbooks, it echoed in massive public rallies as well as debates on secularism. Pakistan ka matlab kiya? La illaha il lallah (What is the meaning of Pakistan? There is no God but Allah) has become the rallying cry of the campaign to Islamise Pakistani society. Ironically, it is a slogan that was coined long after the creation of Pakistan, but it is now being falsely ascribed to the leaders of the Pakistan movement in 1947.

Religion has often proved to be a powerful binding factor which has merged heterogeneous groups into a distinct nationality. Through appeal to supernatural authority, religion promotes national unity as a divine command. Examples abound in contemporary history: the Greek church as a source for Greek nationalism, the Catholic church as a factor in Irish separatism, Judaism and the state of Israel, Islam and Pakistan.

Soon after he seized power in 1977, General Zia ul-Haq sought to create a nation based on religion rather than on secular principles. An important part of the Islamisation agenda was defining the Islamic 'ideology' of Pakistan. In stark contrast to modern textbooks, no textbook written prior to 1977 mentions the 'Ideology of Pakistan'.

Since education was a key factor in Zia's Machiavellian manoeuvrings, a presidential order was issued that all Pakistan Studies textbooks must "demonstrate that the basis of Pakistan is not to be founded in racial, linguistic, or geographical factors, but, rather, in the shared experience of a common religion. To get students to know and appreciate the Ideology of Pakistan, and to popularise it with slogans. To guide students towards the ultimate goal of Pakistan – the creation of a completely Islamised State."

Instead of being a Muslim state as envisaged by its founders, Pakistan was recast in the mould of an Islamic state, where Islamic law would reign supreme. A state sponsored and systematic purging of liberal and secular values of future generations of Pakistan ensued.

History was rewritten to redefine Pakistani as an Islamic society, and no research on ancient India, the medieval period or the colonial era. Our history was linked with the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, thus alienating it from ancient Indian history. This interpretation creates a Muslim consciousness that seeks it's identity outside India.
Historian Mubarak Ali cautions "History should not be influenced by religious beliefs since history has no religion. Pakistan came into being in 1947, but our history existed before this which cannot be deleted."

History textbooks written soon after Partition – a time when the grief of shattered families who experienced communal killings was at its peak – show a more liberal mindset. The history of the subcontinent was taken to start with the ancient Indus valley civilisations rather than with the conquest of India by the first Muslim invader, Mohammad bin Qasim, in 712. In contrast to today's history books, these books contained discussions of the empires of Emperor Ashoka and the Maurya dynasty. Has there has been a deliberate revival of communal antagonism over 30 years after Partition? Undoubtedly, the permanent militarisation of society requires a permanent enemy.

Although Edward Everett may state that "education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army", the task of defending Pakistan's ideological borders has been entrusted to the military as they are defenders of the 'faith.' Textbooks extol the achievements of Muslim conquering heroes, as well as those of the Armed Forces. In sharp contrast, no contributions by any heroes in fields like education, medicine, law or social work are highlighted.

September 6 commemorates the defense of the country against an Indian attack in 1965. According to our textbooks, it was India which attacked Lahore in the middle of the night, without any provocation, but our army won this war. The reality is that Pakistan started the 1965 war on August 5 by sending soldiers into Kashmir and India retaliated the following day.

Instead of the soul searching and accountability undertaken by nations like Japan and Germany after devastating wars, our history textbooks explained the separation of East Pakistan in 1971 as an evil design by India which created the guerrilla group Mukhti Bahini in order to seize Pakistani territory. Although we lost half of Pakistan, there was no mention of the gross inequalities which led to the grievances of the Bengalis. Tens of thousands died, millions were displaced, atrocities were committed and the country was rent asunder. But the guilty were never punished.

The seeds of the distortion of history and the preponderance of religious dogma which were sown decades ago are bearing fruit today. Examples from the curriculum designed by the Federal Ministry of Education abound. The Social Studies textbook for Class 7 says: "European nations have been working during the past three centuries, through conspiracies on naked aggression to subjugate the countries of the Muslim world."

14-year-old students of Pakistan Studies are being taught that: "one of the reasons of the downfall of the Muslims in the sub-continent was the lack of the spirit of jihad."

13-year-olds are instructed: "In Islam jihad is very important"¦..The person who offers his life never dies"¦.All the prayers nurture one's passion of jihad."

Thus, a primary and secondary school environment is being created which is nurturing prejudice and extremism. "College and university come much too late; change must begin at the primary and secondary school level," sums up physicist and lecturer Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy.
Although religious schools or madrassas in Pakistan are often blamed for breeding extremism, only 6 per cent of children are educated in these schools. Furthermore, research does not confirm the link between madrassa education and terrorism. The cause for the intolerance experienced by Ahmadis, Hindus and Christians lies in public education, structured as it has been to defend Pakistan against some phantom enemy. Non-Muslims are forced to read the same textbooks which contain derogatory remarks against Hindus, e.g being eternal enemies of Muslims. Our myopic educational system discourages questioning and causes ethnic and religious minorities to be viewed with suspicion.

Pakistan is primarily a young country, so it is the youth which is severely impacted by rampant unemployment, inflation, corruption and violence. Many amongst this disenchanted segment have started seeing religion as their anchor and are attracted to demagogues like Zaid Hamid. A self-proclaimed jihadist who claims to have fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan, Hamid banks on the insecurity and frustrations of college students and television viewers. Just as Adolf Hitler dwelt on Germany's 'wounded honour' in his famous beer-hall oratory in Munich (where he promised that Germany would conquer the world), Hamid calls for the Pakistan Army to go to war against India and liberate Kashmir, Palestine, Chechnya and Afghanistan.

Our curriculum stresses the formal and ritualistic aspects of Islam, as against those which emphasise social justice. Science and secular knowledge are regarded with contempt. Dr Hoodbhoy says, "I have never seen a first-rate Muslim scientist become an Islamist or a terrorist even when he or she is a strong believer. But second-and third-rate technologists are more susceptible. These are people who use science in some capacity but without any need to understand it very much—engineers, doctors, technicians, etc.—all of whom are more inclined towards radicalism. They have been trained to absorb facts without thinking, and this makes them more susceptible to the inducements of holy books and preachers."
The steady diet of religious fundamentalism and blind faith has clouded objective and rational thinking, and transformed Pakistan from a moderate Muslim-majority country into one where the majority wants Islam to play a key role in politics. A 2008 survey by World Public Opinion found that 54 per cent of Pakistanis wanted strict application of Sharia. The British Council polled 1226 young Pakistanis between 18 and 29 in 2009 and found that 'three-quarters of all young people identify themselves primarily as Muslims. Just 14 per cent chose to define themselves primarily as a citizen of Pakistan.'

Pakistan's skewed priorities may account for the huge amount spent on its ever increasing "defence needs" and only 1.5 per cent of it's GDP on education. But lost in the brouhaha over the lack of access to education is the dire need to revise the dogmatic and distorted school curriculum. As the pendulum swings in Pakistan between radicals and moderates, we need our friends to stand with us and demand that Pakistanis don't need an education which stunts, blinds, distorts and deadens any more. As Alvin Toffler said, "The illiterate of the future will not be the person who cannot read. It will be the person who does not know how to learn
The ideology of thought control in Pakistan | | DAWN.COM

Thought provoking?

What is your take?

 

[Tronic]

Brigadier, I was told by a Pakistani friend that Dawn and Geo news were no longer responsible and impartial networks and whatever they print and broadcast is simply anti-Pakistani propaganda. lol. Cognitive dissonance? I think Maheen Usmani is spot on.

 

[thakur_ritesh]

Brigadier, I was told by a Pakistani friend that Dawn and Geo news were no longer responsible and impartial networks and whatever they print and broadcast is simply anti-Pakistani propaganda. lol. Cognitive dissonance? I think Maheen Usmani is spot on.

anything that doesnt go with the stated ideology, propaganda of the pa/isi has to be anti-national propaganda of outside forces out to destroy pakistan, people saying that have to be traitors, and all the state sponsored propaganda/conspiracy theories very conveniently become "common knowledge" that one was bound to know.

in short words the story of pakistani mindset.

 

[Singh]

1. I would like to quote from "Prometheus Rising" by Robert Wilson. A book that has been on my to finish list since forever.

Basically human mind is divided into 2 roles, one that of thinker and other that of prover. The Thinker can think virtually anything and the Prover will prove whatever the Thinker thinks.

That is why if you think Pakistan is a terrorist state, your mind will find evidences to prove what you think. And if you think Hindus are the spawns of Satan, your mind will find evidences to prove what you think.

Truth only comes out after years of experimentation by different people or groups of people. For eg Earth is round, was only proved much later after experiments and demonstrations by dozens of scientists.

And if the Thinker believes in something passionately, the Prover will so concretely embed that belief in the psyche that it will be impossible to convince a person otherwise.

Unfortunately in Pakistan, due to a concerted propaganda effort a large majority of its society is brainwashed into believing some untruths and they have convinced themselves of this untruth.

2. To compound the issue the narrative that the "Military-Jihadi Complex" has devised is so simple that even a common man can understand. By blaming India/Hindus, Christians/West, Jews/Israel they can find correlation with what is written in Quran regarding them, and also with historical accounts.

3. And because this narrative doesn't threaten the self-esteem and belief of Pakistanis, there is a real chance that the skeletons will not come tumbling out of the closet. A Person's self-esteem/ego is pivotal, humans are by default designed to fend off anything that attacks their self-esteem. If Pakistanis were to admit that they are in a mess created because of their own mistakes, their ideology possibly requires a fundmental shift or their very raison d'etre is based on falsehood their pride will crumble. A person will rather be in denial than confront his/her own mistakes. And this is the reason why inspite of knowing that everyone is mortal nobody really gives a fig about it.

These are some of the reasons on top of my mind.

 

[Tshering22]

A very interesting article from some people who are willing to wake up to the internal destruction that excessive of organized religion has caused in their country. Though many people interpret Pakistani news channels like DAWN, SAMA, GEO etc as being infiltrated by CIA and Mossad financiers who are hell-bent on weakening Pakistani morale and encourage its disintegration.

This repeated obsession with external elements is causing them to disintegrate faster than ever.

 

[Dovah]

Basically human mind is divided into 2 roles, one that of thinker and other that of prover. The Thinker can think virtually anything and the Prover will prove whatever the Thinker thinks.

That is why if you think Pakistan is a terrorist state, your mind will find evidences to prove what you think. And if you think Hindus are the spawns of Satan, your mind will find evidences to prove what you think.

Nailed it!!

This article just reinforces what we knew all along. It also explains the kind of behavior you come across when you converse with a Pakistani. Richard Clarke was right about Pakistanis I guess.

 

[Energon]

Excellent article highlighting the pitfalls of social engineering through historical obfuscation/revisionism, introduction of biased religious sentiment and antagonism toward reasoning and critical thinking in early education. The key here is to exploit "sentiments" and then hinge the internalization of this nonsense to self worth. This is the root of the cognitive dissonance.

The tragedy of the current Pakistani situation is that the "ghairiat brigade" is terrified of coming terms with the reality because their sense of self worth depends upon it. And all the while their worst fears become a self fulfilling prophecy. The very (radicalized) jihadi protectors "essential" for their survival turn upon the society and the humiliation keeps piling up.

What I find amusing is that in spite of the blatant real time example in Pakistan, there are many in India who wish to do the same... introduce religious sentiments (because they feel they have been "wronged") engage in historical revisionism and then link it all to self worth and blind nationalism.

 

[S.A.T.A]

The idea of a nation or a nationhood proceeds from the strength of the cultural cohesion of a society,which provides a sense of geographical unity that enables a sustainable nation state.National unity, proceeding from a cultural and geographical unity, do not function in isolation,they lend uniformity to the overall national structure.This is why, for eg the Jewish state could not have existed anywhere but where and how it is today.

Pakistan was never going to be success because it was a state forged in the name of a religion,which was not the source of the cultural and geographic unity.Pakistan came about,solely for the reason,the founders of Pakistan used the term 'amalgamated territories containing majority Muslims,that Indian Muslims did not want to exist as a captive minority in a naturally Hindu nation.It was bad argument,because India was never home to any Muslim nation at any point in its history.

 

[Tronic]

A very interesting article from some people who are willing to wake up to the internal destruction that excessive of organized religion has caused in their country.

You are beating a dead horse mate. We have gone through this already lol.

http://defenceforumindia.com/indian...nse-n-attack-will-heavy-iaf-7.html#post294629
http://defenceforumindia.com/indian...nse-n-attack-will-heavy-iaf-8.html#post294657

 

[Galaxy]

Pakistan schools teach Hindu hatred

Pakistan schools teach Hindu hatred

09th Nov,2011

ISLAMABAD: Text books in Pakistani schools foster prejudice and intolerance of Hindus and other religious minorities, while most teachers view non-Muslims as "enemies of Islam," according to a study by a US government commission released on Wednesday.

The findings indicate how deeply ingrained hard-line Islam is in Pakistan and help explain why militancy is often supported, tolerated or excused in the country.

"Teaching discrimination increases the likelihood that violent religious extremism in Pakistan will continue to grow, weakening religious freedom, national and regional stability, and global security," said Leonard Leo, the chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Pakistan was created in 1947 as a homeland for the Muslims of South Asia and was initially envisaged as a moderate state where minorities would have full rights.

But three wars with mostly Hindu India; support for militants fighting Soviet-rule in Afghanistan in the 1980s; and the appeasement of hard-line clerics by weak governments seeking legitimacy have led to a steady radicalisation of society.Religious minorities and those brave enough to speak out against intolerance have often been killed, seemingly with impunity, by militant sympathizers.

The commission warned that any significant efforts to combat religious discrimination, especially in education, would "likely face strong opposition" from hardliners.

The study reviewed more than 100 textbooks from grades 1-10 from Pakistan's four provinces. Researchers in February this year visited 37 public schools, interviewing 277 students and teachers, and 19 madrases, where they interviewed 226 students and teachers. The Islamisation of textbooks began under the US-backed rule of army dictator Gen. Zia-ul-Haq, who courted Islamists to support his rule.

In 2006, the government announced plans to reform the curriculum to address the problematic content, but that has not been done, the study said. Pakistan's Islamist and right-wing polity would likely oppose any efforts to change the curriculum, and the government has shown no desire to challenge them on the issue.

The report found systematic negative portrayals of minorities, especially Hindus and to a lesser extent to Christians.

Hindus make up more than one per cent of Pakistan's 180 million people, while Christians represent around two per cent. Some estimates put the numbers higher. There are also even smaller populations of Sikhs and Buddhists.

"Religious minorities are often portrayed as inferior or second-class citizens who have been granted limited rights and privileges by generous Pakistani Muslims, for which they should be grateful," the report said. "Hindus are repeatedly described as extremists and eternal enemies of Islam whose culture and society is based on injustice and cruelty, while Islam delivers a message of peace and brotherhood, concepts portrayed as alien to the Hindu."

The books don't contain many specific references to Christians, but those that "that do exist seem generally negative, painting an incomplete picture of the largest religious minority in Pakistan," the report said.

Attempts to reach Pakistan's education minister were not successful.

The textbooks make very little reference to the role played by Hindus, Sikhs and Christians in the cultural, military and civic life of Pakistan, meaning "a young minority student will thus not find many examples of educated religious minorities in their own textbooks," the report said.

"In most cases historic revisionism seems designed to exonerate or glorify Islamic civilisation, or to denigrate the civilisations of religious minorities," the report said.

"Basic changes to the texts would be needed to present a history free of false or unsubstantiated claims which convey religious bias."

The researchers also found that the books foster a sense that Pakistan's Islamic identity is under constant threat.

"The anti-Islamic forces are always trying to finish the Islamic domination of the world," read one passage from social studies text being taught to Grade 4 students in Punjab province, the country's most populated. "This can cause danger for the very existence of Islam. Today, the defense of Pakistan and Islam is very much in need."

The report states that Islamic teachings and references were commonplace in compulsory text books, not just religious ones, meaning Pakistan's Christians, Hindus and other minorities were being taught Islamic content. It said this appeared to violate Pakistan's constitution, which states that students should not have to receive instruction in a religion other than their own.

The attitudes of the teachers no doubt reflect the general intolerance in Pakistan.

The 2011 Pew Research Center study found the country is the third most intolerant in the world, but because of the influence they have, they are especially worrisome.

Their views were frequently nuanced and sometimes contradictory.

'Pakistan schools teach Hindu hatred' | | DAWN.COM​

 

[Yusuf]

Nothing surprising in the report and it's known to us for a long time. You cannot help anyone bent on destroying themselves.

An old saying goes that the more your enemies are jealous of you or hate you, the more you progress.

 

[sob]

What goes around comes back to you.

And then they question why they have such a negative global image.

 

[nitesh]

Pakis are just following, for what they are born, nothing new.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Does the UN address this at all? Probably not. It is too busy thinking of ways to condemn Israel for "racism."

And Obama will never speak against Islam.

 

[SPIEZ]

Does the UN address this at all? Probably not. It is too busy thinking of ways to condemn Israel for "racism."

And Obama will never speak against Islam.

You should visit the other side. They think they are the upholders of peace, Islamic saviors, bla blah blah.... And they should do this so that Islam is pure and Islam haters (read India and USA and sometimes Israel) are brought to book

I wonder if it's just what they just speak, or really what they feel.

 

[Galaxy]

How Pakistan pumps in hatred through textbooks

How Pakistan pumps in hatred through textbooks


Amir Mir in Islamabad | November 16, 2011

The findings of a recent US report indicate how deeply ingrained hard-line Islam is in Pakistan and help explain why militancy is often supported, tolerated or excused in the country, writes noted Pakistani journalist Amir Mir.

A recent study report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has researched the Pakistani school textbooks to discover how the ruling regimes attempt to construct nationhood in the young minds and how textbooks are misused as an instrument of ruling paradigms to develop a particular anti-Hindu and anti-India mind set.

Funded by the USCIRF, the 139-page study report was prepared by the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy in partnership with a Pakistani think tank, the Sustainable Development Policy Institute.

The report was released in Washington on November 9.

After poring through more than 100 textbooks from grades 1 to 10 across all four provinces; visiting 37 public schools and interviewing 277 students and teachers; visiting 19 madrassas and interviewing 226 students and teachers, the US commission members discovered that there is religious bias in Pakistani textbooks which teaches bigotry against the minority communities of the country.

The USCIRF study report shows how education can be distorted to construct a particular kind of national chauvinism and a mind set and how ruling regimes intervene in education to promote certain ideologies that suits their own interests.

'Pak textbooks promote intolerant views towards non-Muslim minorities'

Textbooks are the obvious examples of how history is manipulated, especially if it is conceived by ruling regimes and authored by people with interest in constructing a nation based on a homogeneous nationality.

The USCIRF, an independent, statutory body which advises the US government on religious freedom around the world, has called every year since 2002 for the US State Department to designate Pakistan as a "country of particular concern", but to no avail.

"The goal of the 2011 USCIRF study was to explore what linkages, if any, exist between the portrayal of religious minorities in Pakistan's public schools and madrassas, biases that exist toward these minorities, and acts of discrimination or extremism resulting from such biases," Leonard Leo has written in the preface to the study report. The results of the study, according to him, were "eye opening and concerning."

The commission members unanimously observed that teaching discrimination increases the likelihood that violent religious extremism in Pakistan will continue to grow in time to come, weakening religious freedom, national and regional stability, and global security.

"Textbooks being used in Pakistani public schools and madrassas promote intolerant views of non-Muslim minorities, extol jihad, and portray non-Muslims not at citizens with rights but as infidels, pagans, apostates or subservient dhimmis", says the study report.

Interviews with teachers and students, carried out as part of the investigation, found that negative views of non-Muslims contained in the textbooks are widely held by teachers and transmitted to children.

 

[Galaxy]

'Anti-Islamic forces are always trying to finish the Islamic domination of the world'

"The commission's study documents how Pakistan's public schools and privately-run madrassas are not teaching tolerance but are exacerbating religious differences," said the USCIRF chairman Leonard Leo while releasing the report.

The findings indicate how deeply ingrained hardline Islam is in Pakistan and help explain why militancy is often supported, tolerated or excused in the country.

Pakistan was created in 1947 as a homeland for the Muslims of South Asia and was initially envisaged as a moderate state where minorities would have full rights.

But three wars with mostly 'Hindu' India; support for militants fighting Soviet-rule in Afghanistan in the 1980s; and the appeasement of hard-line clerics by weak governments seeking legitimacy have led to a steady radicalisation of society.

Religious minorities and those brave enough to speak out against intolerance have often been killed, seemingly with impunity, by militant sympathisers.

According to the findings of the commission, despite efforts by Pakistani authorities to reform the education system over the past six years, including revisions to the national curricula, the problematic content remains in textbooks, including those that have been reprinted since the revisions were introduced.

Even ostensibly non-religious textbooks contain significant Islamic content, and they are used by Muslim and non-Muslim children alike.

For example, in grade 3, 4, 5 and 6, Urdu-language social studies textbooks used in all the four provinces, lessons with Islamic content comprise about one-quarter of the total.

The study found that in the textbooks, the defence of Pakistan is equated with the defence of Islam. "The anti-Islamic forces are always trying to finish the Islamic domination of the world," reads an excerpt from a social studies textbook of grade 5.

"This can cause danger for the very existence of Islam. Today, the defence of Pakistan and Islam is very much in need. Where references to non-Muslims or non-Islamic beliefs do appear, they are often derogatory," the report states.

'Hindu culture is portrayed as unjust and cruel'

"Religious minorities are often portrayed as inferior or second-class citizens who have been granted limited rights and privileges by generous Pakistani Muslims, for which they should be grateful, and to whom religious minorities should be subservient," the report states.

"The contributions of religious minorities towards the formation, development, and protection of Pakistan are largely absent."

Hindus are often singled out, as are Ahmadis, adherents of an Islamic sect considered heretical by mainstream Muslims.

"Although an unbiased review of history would show that Hindus and Muslims enjoyed centuries of harmonious co-existence, Hindus are repeatedly described as extremists and eternal enemies of Islam. Hindu culture and society are portrayed as unjust and cruel, while Islam is portrayed as just and peaceful."

The few references to Christians "seem generally negative, painting an incomplete picture of the largest religious minority in Pakistan," while Jews are depicted as predatory moneylenders.

The USCIRF report acknowledged that many public school teachers and students do "advocate respect for religious minorities, but a large portion does not understand minority citizenship rights and are wary about them ever holding public office."