One impediment to this kind of change is the fact that Saudis doubt their leaders really want it. Instead, they believe the Saudi royal family is merely paying lip service to critics in the United States. When President Barack Obama visited Saudi Arabia in June, a group of U.S. lawmakers staged a press conference to complain that Saudi textbooks still promote hatred of non-Muslims.
It's precisely these kinds of actions that provoke defensiveness and even resistance back in Saudi Arabia—most notably from those who could have the most influence over any future reform: the teachers themselves.
Hesitant to speak at first, an Islamic-studies teacher in his 30s sits in a cafe attached to a Western-style hotel in the Saudi city of Jeddah. Wearing a shin-length thobe, the style favored by most religious men in Saudi Arabia, the teacher—who does not want to give his name—says he's angry about the changes to Saudi textbooks.
"All teachers are under stress about this issue," he says. "This is all due to political pressures from the West. They ordered that these changes be made. This is wrong."
The concept of al Walaa wal Baraa simply means that Muslims should not go out of their way to befriend non-Muslims, the teacher says—more specifically, that Muslims should be "emancipated" from non-Muslims.
Removing this idea from the curriculum will "open doors," the teacher says. "The new generation will ... think that it is OK for [non-Muslims] to enter Mecca" and spread other religions, he says. As for non-Muslims who already live in Saudi Arabia, "These people are here under our protection. It is forbidden to kill them."
It's precisely these kinds of actions that provoke defensiveness and even resistance back in Saudi Arabia—most notably from those who could have the most influence over any future reform: the teachers themselves.
Hesitant to speak at first, an Islamic-studies teacher in his 30s sits in a cafe attached to a Western-style hotel in the Saudi city of Jeddah. Wearing a shin-length thobe, the style favored by most religious men in Saudi Arabia, the teacher—who does not want to give his name—says he's angry about the changes to Saudi textbooks.
"All teachers are under stress about this issue," he says. "This is all due to political pressures from the West. They ordered that these changes be made. This is wrong."
The concept of al Walaa wal Baraa simply means that Muslims should not go out of their way to befriend non-Muslims, the teacher says—more specifically, that Muslims should be "emancipated" from non-Muslims.
Removing this idea from the curriculum will "open doors," the teacher says. "The new generation will ... think that it is OK for [non-Muslims] to enter Mecca" and spread other religions, he says. As for non-Muslims who already live in Saudi Arabia, "These people are here under our protection. It is forbidden to kill them."
