The Islamic State’s approach to educating children is incredibly similar to how schools were used to indoctrinate children in Nazi Germany, according to a new report published by a counterterrorism think tank.
Extensive research conducted by the Quilliam Foundation says the Nazi process of making children central to its operations and ideology from a young age was “perfectly applicable” to the educational system of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh.
The report describes how ISIS has been highly effective in passing on its values and ideas to children who are emotionally vulnerable and susceptible to being influenced by trusted teachers.
This process of exploiting and manipulating young minds is strikingly similar to the Nazi educational model, which was designed to produce loyal servants of the state.
A section of the 100-page report, which can be read in full here, says:
Islamic State’s approach to education reflects elements of Nazi Germany, in the way that children and pedagogy are perceived. Nazi leaders chose to use German youth as a catalyst for change away from the ‘decadent’ politics of inter-war Germany, towards the new ‘national community’ of the future. In order to successfully instrumentalise German youth, education in Nazi Germany was turned into a system of indoctrination, rather than empowerment.
The detailed report, put together after extensive research on life in ISIS-controlled territories, also discusses how the extremist organisation runs its school system.
A school week in the Islamic State runs from Sunday to Thursday with segregated classes. Children under the age of 6 will attend kindergarten, where they are taught in mixed classrooms.
When they turn 6, students attend five years of elementary school before spending four years at high school until they turn 15. Children are not required to wear uniforms, though their dress must adhere to strict religious law.
The curriculum is very restricted, with numerous subjects excluded from the approved content.
Subjects like music, philosophy, and social studies do not feature at all, while geography and history have been diluted to bear relevance to only Islamic history.
The report cities an example of a geography textbook that “only names contintents.”
Physical education is taught to children but under the name of “Jihadi Training,” and it includes shooting, swimming, and wrestling.
An Islamic State preacher, center left background, giving lessons to Syrian boys in how to recite the Quran, in Tel Abyad, in Raqqa province, northeast Syria.
Quilliam is a global think tank that advocates religious freedom, human rights, and democracy while aiming to counter the spread of ideological terrorism.
The full report is titled “The Children of Islamic State,” and it was written by Noman Benotman and Nikita Malik.
source : businessinsider.de
