ISIS rolling out own ‘curriculum’ in Syria schools

Militants belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria have reportedly begun implementing their own “Islamic curriculum” for students living in Syria’s northern city of Raqqa, a monitoring group has been informed.

The education department under the ISIS governing body is planning to provide a workshop for male and female instructors to apply the new curriculum, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights quoted a school teacher residing in Raqaa as saying.

The source told the observatory the week-long workshop was scheduled to begin Saturday and that instructors who fail to attend it will be banned from teaching in Raqqa schools.

The ISIS statement also bans referring to Syria as the “Arab Republic of Syria” in school programs and has instead called for replacing it with “Islamic State,” the group said.

Pictures deemed to be against Islamic teachings were also to be removed, the observatory added.

Earlier in August, ISIS said it has decided to ban the study of philosophy and chemistry in Raqqa schools, claiming that the subjects “do not fit in with the laws of god,” the London-based monitor group said.

The observatory said the recent ISIS statement also bans fine arts, music, civics, social studies, history, psychology and religion, including Islamic and Christian studies.