The Saudi Arabian textbook controversy refers to criticism of the content of school textbooks in Saudi Arabia since the September 11 attacks. The United States demanded that Saudi textbooks be reviewed and revised to remove material perceived as spreading intolerance and hatred.
After the bombing of the Twin Towers in New York, the American government called on Saudi Arabia to reform its educational curriculum by eliminating educational material that demonizes Christians and Jews and promotes holy war against "unbelievers."
Senior Saudi officials assured the United States that the reform was completed, but a new report by the human-rights group Freedom House suggested otherwise.[1][2] Saudi officials have tried to convince Washington that the educational curriculum has been reformed. On a speaking tour of American cities, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki bin Faisal, told audiences that the Kingdom has eliminated what might be perceived as intolerance from its old textbooks.
In November 2010, the BBC's investigative program Panorama reported that Saudi national textbooks advocating anti-Semitism and violence against homosexuals were still in use in weekend religious programs in the United Kingdom.[3]
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