Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Poisoning young minds

Friday, Oct. 26, 2001 | 9:40 a.m.

Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

ALMOST FOUR MONTHS AGO this column discussed the hate being taught in Palestinian schools. Because of personal experiences I felt comfortable pointing to the hate-and-kill-Jews philosophy taught to young people in Palestinian textbooks. There isn't even a glint of hope for peace taught these students until Israel no longer exists as the sole democracy in the Middle East. Even the maps used for instruction present all of Israel as Palestine. So I asked what can we expect from Arafat and his pals now running the Palestinian Authority.

Israel does exist and there is little chance its people will be driven into the sea. But what about our "friends" in Saudi Arabia? According to a report by New York Times reporter Neil MacFarquhar from Riyadh, many of the same extremist views are being taught in Saudi public high schools. There the curriculum is both anti-Western and loaded with extremist views of Islam.

A Saudi newspaper editor is quoted as saying, "If you review the curriculum in Saudi Arabia, you would see that it promotes any kind of extremist views of Islam, even in the eyes of very devout Muslims." Through the use of Saudi-financed charities these views are spread over the world, including Afghanistan.

When considering that the FBI list of 19 hijackers who struck Sept. 11, 2001, includes at least 10 Saudis, the public school educational success becomes clear. Nearly 20 pages of a high school text are devoted to berating infidels like Christians, Jews and atheists. MacFarquhar quotes from the textbook, "One of the major requirements in hating the infidels and being hostile to them is ignoring their rituals and their festivities." In Pakistan, where during recent decades the collapse of public schools has been taking place, the vacuum has been filled with religious schools. These schools not only teach hate but also the use of weapons, explosives and martial arts. There are thousands of these madrasahs or religious schools in Pakistan. Not a bad deal for poor students where free room and board are also provided.

Peter Fritsch, a Wall Street Journal reporter, tells readers about his discussions with imam S.M. Saeed. "Mr. Saeed says his madrasah's teaching staff addresses more than just religious text. They have discussed the events of Sept. 11 with their young charges, for example. One theory picked up from Arab press reports and printed in at least two Pakistani newspapers has been stressed for students, Mr. Saeed says: 'Four thousand Jews who worked in the World Trade Center were tipped off and did not appear at work that morning.' " Nothing like using the big lie to blame Jews for the Twin Towers tragedy.

The more we learn about the hate fomented in the world by extremists the more it sounds like what Hitler accomplished in German schools. Although some Germans didn't believe Hitler's propaganda, many went along for the ride. The much lower educational level of Islamic countries makes it easier for the hate and lies to penetrate the minds of the poor and the young. The results are human bombs being exploded in crowds so the killer has a special place in paradise waiting for him.

As a former teacher, I believe that the poisoning of young minds has created some of the world's deadliest weapons. We now have the job of showing them that what they learned is wrong and not the truth. These lessons will cost many lives before we get their attention but they will at least hear our voice.

Professor James J. Napoli, writing in the Hartford Courant after 10 years of teaching in Egypt, summed up the problem we face. "Any retaliation against terrorists, no matter how carefully considered and in spite of U.S. relief aid to the Afghan people, is bound to be greeted with angry protests in such a poisoned atmosphere. But then, so would doing nothing.

"Even U.S. intervention to protect Muslims in Kuwait, Bosnia and Kosovo got precious little credit. Satan never gets a break."

I'm not sure that even if we get them to hear our voice that it will change the minds of those alive today. Maybe future generations given educational opportunities other than those offered by Saudi-funded imams will improve a world with fewer extremists.