[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 14 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. CON. RES. 14
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the education curriculum in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 5, 2003
Mr. Smith (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Ensign, Mr.
Feingold, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Voinovich, and Mr. Wyden)
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the education curriculum in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Whereas the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, were
carried out by 19 hijackers, including 15 Saudi Arabian nationals;
Whereas the Government of Saudi Arabia controls and regulates all forms of
education in public and private schools at all levels;
Whereas Islamic religious education is compulsory in public and private schools
at all levels in Saudi Arabia;
Whereas the religious curriculum is written, monitored, and taught by followers
of the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, the only religious doctrine that
the Government of Saudi Arabia allows to be taught;
Whereas rote memorization of religious texts continues to be a central feature
of much of the educational system of Saudi Arabia, leaving thousands of
students unprepared to function in the global economy of the 21st
century;
Whereas the Government of Saudi Arabia has tolerated elements within its
education system that promote and encourage extremism;
Whereas some of the textbooks used in schools in Saudi Arabia foster a
combination of intolerance, ignorance, and anti-Semitic, anti-American,
and anti-Western views;
Whereas these intolerant views make students in whom they are instilled prime
recruiting targets of extremist groups;
Whereas extremism endangers the stability of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the
Middle East region and threatens global security;
Whereas the events of September 11, 2001, have created an urgent need to promote
moderate voices in the Islamic world as an effective way to combat
extremism; and
Whereas the Government of Saudi Arabia is currently conducting a review of its
education curriculum: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
That the Congress--
(1) supports the review by the Government of Saudi Arabia
of its education curriculum;
(2) calls on the Government of Saudi Arabia to ensure that
such review is thorough, objective, and public;
(3) requests the United States Representative to the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) to--
(A) address the issue of the educational curriculum
reform at the 2003 session of the UNESCO General
Conference; and
(B) encourage UNESCO to examine the educational
system in Saudi Arabia and monitor the progress of the
efforts to reform the curriculum; and
(4) urges the Government of Saudi Arabia to reform its
education curriculum in a manner that promotes tolerance,
develops civil society, and encourages functionality in the
global economy.
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