TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - After shaking down the Iraqi border, Syria and some parts of Lebanon, the Islamic State (IS) rebels have started changing school curriculums.
The rebel, which occupied the Iraqi city of Mosul, is set to usher in a new school year. But unlike past years, there will be no art or music subjects. Meanwhile, classes about history, literature and Christianity have been "permanently annulled."
Although the extremists stipulated that the school year would begin on September 9, pupils have uniformly absent for class, according to residents who spoke anonymously. They said families were keeping their children home out of mixed feelings of fear, resistance and uncertainty.
"What's important to us now is that the children continue receiving knowledge correctly, even if they lose a whole academic year and an official certification," a Mosul resident who identified himself as Abu Hassan told The Associated Press. He and his wife have opted for home schooling.
Part of the Islamic State group's core strategy is to establish administration over lands under its control to project an image of itself as a ruler and not just a fighting force. In parts of Syria, the group now administers courts, fixes roads and even regulates traffic. The group recently imposed a curriculum in schools in Raqqa, Syria, scrapping subjects such as philosophy and chemistry.
The new Mosul curriculum, allegedly issued by al-Baghdadi himself, stresses that any reference to the republics of Iraq or Syria must be replaced with "Islamic State." Anthems and lyrics that encourage love of country are now viewed as a show of "polytheism and blasphemy”.
AP | ABC NEWS | DWI ARJANTO
