Indian Schools Mislead Students - Saudi Gazette

MORE than 2,000 sixth standard students of International Indian schools in Riyadh and Jubail are being taught a misleading lesson about Eid Al-Fitr and Ramadan.

A Hindi textbook introduced this academic year states that Muslims abstain from food and drink in Ramadan in remembrance of Prophet Muhammad's isolation in a Makkah cave without food and water for a month. The textbook says that Eid is celebrated after Ramadan on the second of the moon sighting to mark the revelation of the Qur'an. "Actually it (Eid) is the anniversary of the Holy Qur'an," says the textbook. It also distorts the meaning of Eid Al-Fitr by saying that Eid means "recurrence" and Fitr means "feasting." The month following Ramadan is called Eidi, the textbook says.

International Indian School Riyadh authorities were unaware of the misinformation. "This is news to me," Zeenat Jafry, Girls Section Principal of International Indian School Riyadh, told the Saudi Gazette.

"We have a special committee of subject teachers from both boys and girls section to approve the textbooks. I am not aware of anything controversial that's taught in our school."

However, a parent in Jubail, who first noticed the mistake, said Jubail school authorities have started meeting on the issue. Indian Ambassador M.O.H. Farooq, who is the patron of all Indian schools in Saudi Arabia, has called a meeting of the officials concerned.

Principals of Indian schools in Jeddah and Taif opted for other publishers using their discretionary power to choose lower class textbooks.