(Reuters/Kham)Third-grade level students attend class at the Mashal Model School on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan.PAKISTAN, April 15, 2016 (Christian Daily): Textbooks in Pakistan that are used to teach about 41 million children negatively portray religious minorities such as Christians and Hindus, referring to them as “nefarious, violent, and tyrannical by nature.” “Pakistan’s public school textbooks contain deeply troubling content that portrays non-Muslim citizens as outsiders, unpatriotic, and inferior; are filled with errors; and present widely-disputed historical ‘facts’ as settled history,” said Robert George, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
A study done by the USCIRF discovered that the public school system still observes fundamental intolerance of religious minorities. Moreover, it was found that the textbooks do not indicate the rights of religious minorities and how these minorities positively contributed to Pakistan’s development.
The textbooks teach Pakistani children that Christians learned tolerance and kind-heartedness from Muslims and that Hindus have their own conspiracies toward the Muslims. This is alarming because Christian and Hindu children will be exposed to these very pro-Muslim messages. The coexistence between Muslims and non-Muslims is not being promoted with what the offensive textbooks are teaching. “These textbooks sadly reflect the alarming state today of religious freedom in Pakistan. A country’s education system, including its textbooks, should promote religious tolerance, not close the door to cooperation and coexistence,” George said.
Source: http://www.hinduismtoday.com/blogs-news/hindu-press-international/christians-and-hindus-portrayed-negatively-in-pakistan-s-school-textbooks/15064.html