A GCSE textbook that justified “military jihad” in Gaza has been withdrawn from print.
The 2019 textbook for UK teenagers sitting the AQA Religious Studies GCSE exam, used in schools across England and Wales for the last five years, stated that “Gaza/Palestine” is the only place where the form of war could be justified to “tackle injustice”.
Written by Lesley Parry, Jan Hayes and Sheila Butler, and published by Hodder Education, a division of Hachette UK, the textbook is designed for 14 –16 year olds and covers Christianity, Islam, Judaism and religious, philosophical and ethical themes, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
After uproar about the textbook, AQA criticised the violent jihadi “sentiments” as “unacceptable” and said it was working with the publisher to help create a new edition. Although it has removed the book from publication, it is still for sale on Amazon and many religious studies teachers have it in their classrooms.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said the textbook was “extremely disturbing.”
The AQA GCSE Religious Studies textbook tells students: “There is justification [for using military jihad] in terms of social oppression and poverty in places like Gaza/ Palestine. Social oppression and poverty need to be tackled, so as to take away the injustice, and also this source of anger from radical groups.”
The AQA GCSE Religious Studies textbook tells students: “There is justification [for using military jihad] in terms of social oppression and poverty in places like Gaza/ Palestine. Social oppression and poverty need to be tackled, so as to take away the injustice, and also this source of anger from radical groups.”
In a chapter on jihad, the textbook explains the topic is “often misunderstood”.
“In the modern world where war is prevalent, claims that the war is for the will of Allah often means that non-Muslims interpret jihad simply as holy war.”
It goes on to explain the rules for “a lesser jihad/holy war” and quotes a teaching attributed to Muhammad: “The best jihad is the one in which your horse is slain and your blood spilled.”
The book states: “Even if these quotes are adhered to, there are regulations and rules that should apply concerning behaviour and parameters. This is where extreme groups today like Isis, Al Qaeda, Al Shabab, Boko Haram could be seen to be failing in their Islamic understanding.
“For a military jihad people should be fighting for their faith,” the textbook goes on.
“Currently Muslims are largely free to follow their religion. Hence the groups named above are not justified in their actions.”
The book cites one exception: “There is, however, justification in terms of social oppression and poverty in places like Gaza/ Palestine. Social oppression and poverty need to be tackled, so as to take away the injustice, and also this source of anger from radical groups.”
In keyword boxes on the same page, the book highlights “Syria, Kenya, Somalia, Nigeria, Israel, Palestine” and the phrases: “defence of Allah, no harm done, restore peace, freedom, mercy, respect and protection.”
AQA talking to Jewish Chronicle said: “These sentiments are unacceptable and that is why the publisher has withdrawn this textbook.
“AQA does not publish textbooks. The context publishers include in their textbooks is their own responsibility. We work with publishers to help make sure that their content is in line with our specifications but it is not our content. When there is a concern about the content of a text book it is the publishers’ responsibility to address those concerns.
“This book, which was published in 2019, has been removed from sale by the publisher. They are working on a new edition and we are offering support. They will update print and digital editions as soon as possible.
“Schools and colleges choose their own textbooks when it comes to teaching the AQA GCSE Religious Studies specification.”