This post is like telling people that Christians now worship Jesus. But I put it down for the record, for, after all, many Muslims accept evolution. It’s taught, for example, in Iranian public schools.
Nearly all devout Muslims, however, are human exceptionalists with respect to evolution: while they may accept other species of plants and animals as having evolved, humans are supposed to have been created directly by Allah. So it’s theoretically possible that ISIS could sanction the teaching of non-human evolution. But of course the chance of that happening is close to the chance of the Republicans enacting immigration reform in the U.S Congress.
At any rate, all we know about evolution and ISIS is this report from last September, detailing what ISIS decreed when it took over the Iraqui city of Mosul. As Talking Points Memo noted:
In Mosul, schools have been presented with a new set of rules, advertised in a two-page bulletin posted on mosques, in markets and on electricity poles. The statement, dated Sept. 5, cheered “good news of the establishment of the Islamic State Education Diwan by the caliph who seeks to eliminate ignorance, to spread religious sciences and to fight the decayed curriculum.”
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.” Pictures that violate its ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam will be ripped out of books. Anthems and lyrics that encourage love of country are now viewed as a show of “polytheism and blasphemy,” and are strictly banned.
The new curriculum even went so far as to explicitly ban Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution — although it was not previously taught in Iraqi schools.
That’s not much of a change, but the explicit ban means that ISIS, like some other Islamic countries, sees evolutionary biology as a threat to the faith. Other reforms include not just sex-segregated classes, but sex-segregated teachers, with men teaching boys and women teaching girls. And here’s some more changes:
The extremist-held Iraqi city of Mosul is set to usher in a new school year. But unlike years past, there will be no art or music. Classes about history, literature and Christianity have been “permanently annulled.”
The Islamic State group has declared patriotic songs blasphemous and ordered that certain pictures be torn out of textbooks.
God, what a soul-killer it must be to live in ISIS-controlled territory! It’s like North Korea without the starvation and fulsome worship of Dear Leader. There are no regimes that reject Enlightenment values more completely than the Islamic theocracies.
h/t: Gregory
I think they may have taken their lead directly from the playbooks of Jindal and Perry!
Yeah.
The thought of school children trying to grow up and get an education in that environment is just heartbreaking.
Especially, I assume, for the high school aged students. Imagine finding out that you can look forward to a school day with no art, no music or humanities and the curriculum is dictated by backward goons.
That’s got to be terrible for those poor kids.
And what they can look forward to is even more depressing. Do monstrous things to other people or have them done to you. Or both.
Sadly, I would imagine that both is probably the most common outcome.
There are plenty of images of children present at the public beatings of those who have transgressed in Mosul and Raqqa. Imagine the effect it’s having on them? It’s so sad.
Imagine finding out that you can look forward to a school day with no art, no music or humanities and the curriculum is dictated by backward goons.
You mean, grad school in Chemistry?
Kidding, kidding…
HAHA
It’s early days yet. I have faith that, given a bit of time, ISIS could give North Korea a run for its money. Hopefully they won’t be given the time.
They are running out of food too as so many supply lines are cut. DAESH members and their families get plenty, but there are reports of ordinary citizens either starving or having severely restricted diets. It’s another reason to join up with DAESH – getting food for your family.
Also, as al-Baghdadi already claims direct descent from Mohammed, and he’s of a personality that could easily slide into megalomania, Dear Leader worship isn’t entirely impossible either. Although sticking to Qur’anic values of not worshiping people might stop it.
Ah, but Texas and Oklahoma are still way ahead of them in the “banning AP classes” category. U S A! U S A!
That story about banning AP classes in Oklahoma was the saddest thing I read all week.
It’s disgraceful.
When I travel I don’t like to tell people I’m from Florida for fear of being seen as an ignorant lummox.
I mean, why wouldn’t the rest of country (or world for that matter) think that southerners are morons? We’ve turned our culture into a celebration of ignorance, at least in terms of the commercial media anyway. Instead of William Faulkner, Steve Earle and Jasper Johns, we celebrate Larry the freakin’ Cable Guy.
Ah’m agin’ the banning of AP (and Honors) high school courses. However, from my own substitute teacher experience, I want to see AP- and Honors-capable and -interested students in those courses, as opposed to students who are not interested/motivated and who cannot resist the temptation to get out their digital devices and stick their noses up them.
🐾
My parents grew up in Iraq (Christians). My mother graduated university with a degree in Zoology, my father, in public policy. They learned evolution. They learned math. They learned history. And of course, they learned the Koran (it was required). This is heartbreaking.
But not unexpected.
And ISIS are burning musical instruments in Libya, including drums. Chuffin’ Ada, you can’t even count 1-2-3-4, now.
Illegalizing reality takes a lot of work.
Reblogged this on Almost Rational.
ISIS and the GOP, same old, same old.
I was (unfortunately) engaged in a political discussion while waiting for a bus – a classic captive audience situation. When I managed to get a few words in, I asked a number of questions, like “Do you think evolution should be taught in schools?” “Do you believe in separation of church and state?” “Do you support the death penalty?” “Do you think that civil law should be based on scripture?” Fortunately, she was waiting for a different bus, and since mine came first, my parting shot was, “Congratulations. Every one of your answers was in line with ISIS.”
“Taliban” may be Pashto for “students” (or maybe even “disciples”), but I’m half convinced it’s also Pashto for “teabagger”.
Bingo!
That’s a perfect analogy.
They are Islamic Nihilists, the killers of all joy and life.
Scott Atran tells us these guys just ate too much barbecue and got carried away at a pool party after attending a swap meet; because we all know this has nothing to do with religion.
A lot European muslims think ISIS is utopia. That is, untill you tell them they can’t listen to music, can’t smoke, can’t drink, can’t talk to girls, can’t dance, can’t make jokes or can’t do anything else that might cause a smile on your face. Shut up and pray, all day long. Usually, young muslims are put off by this. Most of them probably don’t even realize how a bad this ISIS caliphate is for them.
It’s like the cultural equivalent of a black hole, tugging itself away inward from all directions, from which ultimately no light
will escape.
Sad. But…perhaps…it’s very severity is self limiting.
Yes, I would hope the very puritanical drabness of IS holds the seeds of its own downfall. People need bread and circuses. The Nazis had Kraft durch Freude and patriotic songs and rallies and stuff. Trying to just stop people from enjoying themselves, ever, surely takes too much effort. How much loyalty to the State will IS ever manage to inspire?
“Other reforms include not just sex-segregated classes, but sex-segregated teachers, with men teaching boys and women teaching girls.”
That is surprisingly tolerant for the Islamic State, considering that some contemporary Islamic groups outright ban the education of women.
Nevertheless, it is likely that some of the teachers are already killed just for good measure.
I think they ar teaching the girls how to be good wives
Muslims, like Christians, Hebrews, Hindus and all the many other religious persons living on our planet are wackos, it’s inherent in and grows out of being overtly superstitious. Belief in the supernatural causes the mind to become deranged in some manner. Belief in Deity’s can sometimes cause the mind to become unhinged and cause a person to act in an unpredictable, irrational and a sometimes violent manner. Psychologists, Sociologists, Neurologists and even some Philosophers have been trying to explain this to us for years but the average human, being a bit slow minded have yet to make the connection. Viva dim witted humanity, may we live long and prosper and hopefully not exterminate ourselves in the process.
On Sat, Feb 21, 2015 at 6:10 AM, Why Evolution Is True wrote:
> BillyJoe commented: “I think they ar teaching the girls how to be good > wives”
sub
Somewhat off topic: Israel’s Ha’aretz asked political parties leaders whether they believe in God, should evolution be taught in school and a few other sci/tech related questions (paywall and in Hebrew – so won’t link).
Not all answered (notably, Benjamin Netanyahu). From those who did, only left wing Zehava Gal’on admitted she’s an atheist. Evolution fared a bit better – although all religious parties are against teaching it (Judaism isn’t any better than Islam or Christianity on this issue).