Making Textbook Errors

Thursday 29th 2009f October 2009

In February 2007, it came to light that an Islamic school in Acton was teaching pupils from textbooks that described Jews as "apes" and Christians as "pigs". Needless to say it was a shocking revelation.

Yet the religious nature of the school coupled with our familiarity with some of the racist material produced by some of the more extreme elements of the faith meant we could almost understand how such heinous literature might have filtered into the King Fahd Academy's educational system.

Contrast with a textbook on religion that was this week revealed to be in use in secular schools in Australia - a book which was also on sale in the UK and which was published, not under the influence of fundamentalist Wahhabism but by our very own, highly venerated Cambridge University Press.

This book was presumably written with no agenda beyond educating, enlightening and informing students about various faiths, to foster an understanding and appreciation among children of different religions. And yet, when dealing with Judaism, an objective, fact-based introduction to its beliefs and customs gives way to falsehoods, stereotypes and distorted perspective.
Hence we are told that Jews slaughter lambs at Passover and sprinkle their blood on doorposts, that polygamy is rife in Israel and that "much modern conflict in the world is related to the reaction of other groups to Jewish people".

To their credit, as soon as concern was raised, the publishers agreed to withdraw the textbook from sale and invited the community to participate in redrafting the chapter on Judaism.

And yet, such is the nature of modern commerce that yesterday morning the offending work was still being offered for purchase by a number of reputable online wholesalers in the UK, among them Borders and WH Smith. Somewhat ironically, the listing on both sites read: "The study of religion is important in this multicultural and multi-religious nation. Some understanding of the issues of religious beliefs and lives can help in avoiding the extremes and mistakes of the past."

Indeed. And misunderstanding of the issues encourages the extremes and mistakes of the past.

In an age when the likes of Nick Griffin are invited to appear on flagship political programmes to spout distorted views about non-white, non-Christian cultures, it is imperative that the audience - and the public at large - are given the facts. But when basic school textbooks are feeding such fictions, we start to lose the battle at precisely the point where it needs to be won.