Pakistani school textbooks biased against non-Muslims

Pakistani school textbooks are biased towards the country’s Muslim majority and teach intolerance towards religious minorities, a study has found.

The books were also found to lack content on the rights of religious minorities and informations on their  positive contributions to the development of Pakistan.

Robert P. George, the chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, said in a statement that the literature contains “deeply troubling content that portrays non-Muslim citizens as outsiders, unpatriotic, and inferior”.

He added that they were riddled with errors and presented disputed historical matters as fact.

“A country’s education system, including its textbooks, should promote religious tolerance, not close the door to cooperation and coexistence,” said Mr George.

According to the study, “Teaching Intolerance in Pakistan: Religious Bias in Public School Textbooks,” which was sponsored by the USCIRF the school books portray those of other religions and untrustworthy and inferior.

Conducted by Peace and Education Foundation, a non-government organization in Pakistan, it also found that the books do not discuss the complexities of religion.