A report published by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) examined the recent educational directives issued by Syria's new Ministry of Education. These guidelines establish parameters for updated Syrian textbooks and classroom teaching under the recently installed regime.
The findings highlight an intensifying religious discourse in the curriculum, with instructions mandating the elimination of secular scientific material, the removal of women’s images from educational materials, and the incorporation of content that portrays martyrdom as a divine pursuit.The regime chose to preserve certain elements from the Assad-era curriculum, including anti-Western sentiments, terror glorification, and antisemitic content, previously documented in an earlier IMPACT-se study.Through examining both fresh directives and unchanged curriculum components, last month’s report presents a thorough overview of the educational system's ideological trajectory under the new leadership.
Religious and political shifts
A detailed examination of the curriculum revealed religious content inserted across various disciplines, including history and science. For instance, a first-grade science chapter previously titled “The Gift(s) of Nature” will be renamed “The Gift(s) from Allah,” emphasizing divine authority and embedding religious Muslim values in Syrian youth from their earliest education.
The reforms also target secular concepts deemed un-Islamic, such as the complete elimination of an eighth-grade biology chapter on evolution titled “The Origin of Life and its Development on Earth.” These modifications aim to attribute natural phenomena to divine causation, signifying the shift from Assad’s secular Ba’athist regime to the new Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham-inspired one.The guidelines also suggest an expected diplomatic pivot toward Turkey while sustaining antagonism toward Western nations. A sweeping directive calls for softening the Ottoman Empire’s historical portrayal, substituting the “Ottoman occupation” of Syria with the milder term “Ottoman regime.” One specific amendment eliminates text describing Ottoman “injustice and oppression” against Arabs from a third-grade Arabic language textbook.At the same time, the new administration has retained deeply embedded anti-Western narratives, exemplified in 11th-grade Arabic language materials that characterize Western powers as aggressive colonizers who profit from innocent bloodshed.A principal focus of these modifications centers on purging Assad’s influence from educational materials. The guidelines mandate eliminating lessons, imagery, and phrasing that support the “defunct” regime, along with discontinuing nationalistic education courses.Examples include a first-grade chemistry textbook where the revolution’s flag must replace the Assad-era Syrian flag in an Olympic context. Similarly, a second-grade Arabic language textbook requires removing an exercise involving the former national anthem, “Defenders of the Lands.”Gender and antisemitism issues
The curriculum revisions demonstrate a significant regression in female representation, eliminating references to prominent women throughout history. Notable removals include Nazik al-Abid, dubbed the “Arab Joan of Arc”; Queen Zenobia, the third-century ruler of the Palmyrene Empire; and Khawla bint al-Azwar, a seventh-century Muslim warrior.
The three were removed from third-grade Islamic education and social studies materials despite their historical significance. This appears to be rooted in conservative interpretations of women’s societal roles. Furthermore, illustrations featuring women without hijabs are being eliminated, reflecting stricter religious guidelines.While planned modifications regarding Jewish portrayal are minimal, one significant change introduces additional negative references to Jews and Christians. A first-grade Islamic education exercise will explicitly name Jews and Christians – instead of the previous general reference to those “straying from goodness,” based on Quranic interpretation, paving the way for religious prejudice.This addition reinforces existing antisemitic content preserved by the new regime, including stereotypes about Jewish racism and global control. A 10th-grade history text criticizes Jewish beliefs about being “God’s chosen people” and characterizes Judaism as “ethnically exclusive” and supremacist.In the case of Israel, the textbook modifications reflect efforts to distance the new regime from Assad’s narrative, particularly regarding the Yom Kippur War (October 1973), now termed “the 1973 war” rather than a “liberation war.”However, this change appears motivated more by rejecting Assad’s rhetoric than improving attitudes toward Israel.Substantial anti-Israeli content persists, including the portrayal of Dalal al-Mughrabi – a Palestinian terrorist responsible for killing 38 Israelis in the 1978 Coastal Road bus massacre – as heroic in fifth-grade Arabic language materials.Likewise, 12th-grade history continues to depict Zionism as “racist and expansionist,” suggesting it seeks to exploit global resources for the “Zionist Entity’s” benefit, perpetuating antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jewish global dominance.IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff added, “The dramatic fall of the murderous Assad regime heralds the opportunity for a new beginning in Syria. Education plays a pivotal role in shaping this path. However, the textbook reforms introduced by the new regime less than a month after assuming power demonstrate an increasing Islamization.“These textbook revisions are concerning. We will be presenting policy recommendations to the international community so they can advocate for a Syrian curriculum, which embraces international standards of peace and tolerance.”