[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20635]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            SAUDI TEXTBOOKS

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                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 21, 2017

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is time to hold the Saudis 
accountable for playing the role of both arsonists and firefighters 
when it comes to terror. Saudi Arabia is a crucial ally in 
counterterrorism. Yet at the same time, their educational curriculum 
promotes hatred and violence towards other religions. This is the very 
rhetoric that breeds terrorism.
  For nearly 15 years, Saudi Arabia has pledged to remove all extremist 
content from their school textbooks. Yet to this day textbooks include 
material that, for example, encourages ``fighting'' any infidel who 
refuses to submit to the supremacy of Islam. Another example comes from 
a textbook on Islamic culture that teaches that ``Christianity in its 
current state is an invalid, perverted religion.'' A high school 
textbook on monotheism further calls all ``infidels,'' as ``enemies of 
Islam and its adherents.''
  And this is just a taste of the extremist content in Saudi textbooks. 
A tenth-grade textbook claims that Zionism spreads ``drugs and sexually 
transmitted diseases . . . in many Islamic countries.'' Even more, a 
middle school textbook glorifies jihad, instructing students that those 
fighting jihad ``should be given transportation, weapons, food and 
anything else they may need to continue their jihad.'' Content in Saudi 
textbooks is so extreme that ISIS used official Saudi textbooks for its 
schools in 2015 until they could publish their own materials.
  The problem is compounded when we realize that these textbooks are 
not just used in the Kingdom. Saudi educational materials are exported 
throughout the world. This kind of indoctrination at home and abroad 
runs counter to Saudi Arabia's efforts in counterterrorism and our 
crucial cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the fight against terrorism. 
Saudi Arabia cannot be allowed to continue promoting textbooks that 
include language that is intolerant, furthers conspiracy theories, and 
encourages violence towards others.
  That's why Representative Keating and I, as Ranking Member and Chair 
of the Terrorism Subcommittee, have introduced H.R. 4549, the Saudi 
Educational Transparency and Reform Act. This bill will require the 
State Department to conduct an annual review of Saudi Arabia's 
textbooks. This review will show if Riyadh is fully implementing its 
repeated commitments to removing extremist content. It will also help 
the U.S. decide if we should continue issuing a waiver for Saudi Arabia 
as a country of particular concern for its religious freedom pursuant 
to the International Religious Freedom Act. Terrorism has long 
threatened both our own country and Saudi Arabia. The fight to combat 
this threat demands that we work to eliminate all sources of 
radicalization and incitement. A complete revision of Saudi Arabia's 
textbooks is a critical piece of this mission.
  And that's just the way it is.

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