On 18 November Middle Eastern experts on education briefed MEPs on possible methods to promote tolerance towards the ‘other’. The hearing, organised by Finnish MEP Hannu Takkula and Romanian MEP Ramona Manescu, focused on “Peace and the “Other” in Tunisian Schoolbooks: an educational approach’.
Participants included Mr. Mohamed Mahjoub and Mohamed Khlifi, both Professors at the University of Tunisia, Dr. A. Groiss, Director of research at the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE) and Dr. Tawfik Hamid.
The Egyptian-born Hamid said “education is not optional, but a vital issue which can change our future”. He added “we have to encourage a critical thinking which goes beyond literature and narrative”.
Dr. Hamid was formerly a member of an Islamic terrorist organization with Dr. Ayman Al-Zawaherri who later became the second in command of Al-Qaeda. Some twenty-five years ago, he recognized what he calls “the threat of Radical Islam” and “the need for a reformation based upon modern peaceful interpretations of classical Islamic core texts”.
Radical Islamist groups such as the Jamaa Islamiya use psychological “brainwashing“ tactics such as suppressing critical thinking, frightening their followers with visions of hellfire and creating impressions of a preferable second life, he said.
He explained to MEPs that a “complete strategic plan” or holistic approach that deals with radical Islam from an ideological, educational, psychological, military, intelligence and counter-intelligence level is needed to make a change in the culture. “Radicalisation, he argued, “will be defeated not militarily but through education”.
“We need to talk about ideology, reformation, education, how the Koran can be interpreted in a different way,” Hamid told participants.
On Tunisian schoolbooks, Dr. Groiss observed that they conform to International Educational Standards on education for peace and tolerance based on UNESCO declarations and resolutions. In this context, “Islam is used as a means of fostering an atmosphere of rapprochement with non-Muslims rather than a means of alienation”, he added.
“The future of mankind depends on our children” concluded Mr. Takkula, “that is why we have to educate new generations in peace, dialogue and tolerance”.