Tuesday, March 9, 2004
Egypt removes thousands of Islamist teachers, says report
Agence France-Presse Cairo, March 9
Thousands of Islamist teachers were removed from their jobs in Egypt, education minister Hussein Kamel Bahaeddin said in remarks published on Tuesday in the Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.
Asked by the Saudi-owned daily how the government dealt with the infiltration of Islamists into Egyptian schools, Bahaeddin replied: "Thousands of extremist teachers were removed."
The minister said his decision to remove them was based on reports from the security services and from supervisors in his ministry as well as on complaints from students' parents.
He added that he "removes a teacher immediately" once he determines he or she is bent on challenging national policy, without saying whether the teachers were removed permanently, according to the London-based daily.
On March 1, Bahaeddin said Egypt would take lessons from no one over reforming its school books in a bid to promote religious tolerance and stamp out sources of terror. The comments published by the government newspaper Al-Messa appeared as the United States has stepped up its campaign for reform in Arab countries, including calls to amend school textbooks deemed intolerant.
In response to charges from Islamists, the minister said "rumours that we have withdrawn from school texts Quranic verses and the sayings of Prophet Mohammed, and that we marginalise Islamic history, are totally unfounded."
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.