When you quote a wisdom from Bernard Shaw, for example, it is known that this is a human who makes mistakes and is correct, and your quoting a word from him does not mean correcting all his sayings, but quoting from a book attributed to God is different. This quoting...
Peace be upon you and the mercy of God and His blessings, dear brothers. What does it mean to add verses from what is called the "Holy Bible" to Egypt's educational curricula?
First, I would like to correct a common mistake that the media has been spreading; it is said that verses from the "Gospel" have been added, while the truth is that all the additions are from the "Corrupted Torah." Egyptian Christians, like all Christians, believe in what they call the "Old Testament" (which is the corrupted Torah) and the "New Testament" (which is the corrupted Gospel).
The added verses are from: (Proverbs, Deuteronomy, and Ecclesiastes), and these three books are from the Old Testament, which Jews also believe in, not just Christians. It seems that some people are ignorant of this, and others want to downplay the gravity of the news by saying, "verses from the Gospel."
What does the addition of these Torah verses mean? We will make the answer in the form of eight points to know the dimensions of this addition so that we can take a well-informed stance on it:
These texts are not added as the words of an infidel thinker from whom we benefit, but they are presented as a narration from God Almighty; as if it is said: "Muhammad narrated from God in the Quran such and such, while in the narration of the Torah such and such." The added Torah verses are not placed for the student to see examples of corruption with an explanation of their invalidity, but they are presented as a source of inspiration and reception from God, and as a respected viewpoint in narrating from the Creator, glorified be He.
When you convey wisdom from "Bernard Shaw," for example, it is known that he is a human who makes mistakes and gets things right, and your conveyance of his words does not mean correcting all his statements. However, the conveyance from a book attributed to God is different; this conveyance is either on the basis of: "Look, students, at the falsehood that these people have fabricated about God and compare it with the truth," or it is on the basis of: "These books are corrupted, but they contain some truth that agrees with the Quran." Of course, no statement has been added to the curricula indicating either of these meanings, which means that they have been added as "respected narrations" from God Almighty.
Placing these verses without denying them means that the corrupted Torah has become a reliable reference for the students, and it is the same Torah that attributes to God Almighty deficient characteristics (Glory be to Him, far above that), such as the claims of Jacob wrestling with his Lord, or the regret of creating humans, or describing the prophets, peace be upon them, with what is unworthy of their status from major sins and reprehensible acts.
Adding these verses transfers the corrupted book from a "criticized material" that students are warned about to a "divine book" that one is guided by what is in it. This does not align at all with the Islamic education methodology that studies His saying, may He be glorified: {So woe to those who write the book with their hands and then say, "This is from Allah," to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn thereby.} (Quran 2:79)
How will the teacher explain to the student the corruption of the People of the Book, then the student reads in the next class (National Education) these verses side by side with the Quran? This causes confusion for the student, and the teacher will not be allowed to criticize the Torah text for fear of the accusation of "ridiculing religions" or provoking sedition by having Christian students in the class.
In the unit "Women's Rights," a text was added that affirms that Christianity prohibits divorce and polygamy under the title "Women's Rights in Christianity." This context implies that the prohibition of divorce and polygamy is a "right" for women and a commendable advantage, while they are two permissible matters in Islam. As if the curriculum is telling the female student: "Christianity gives rights that Islam has deprived you of," instead of cleansing the students' minds of the negative stereotypes that the media has entrenched about Islamic rulings.
Adding these verses means defying the "sovereignty of the people" that democrats boast about. If the people of Egypt had been consulted about adding verses from the Torah to the curricula, the overwhelming majority would have rejected it. Why was the people's opinion not taken here? When it comes to Sharia, they say, "Sovereignty to the people," and when it comes to supporting the books of the People of the Book, the people's opinion is disregarded.
This step means that the ruling institution does not value the scholars. If the government wanted to save the face of the scholars who defend it, it would have consulted them before approving these additions, but it seems that the system does not care about the legal reference, but rather follows what it sees as political interest.
Our trustworthy scholars, may God have mercy on them, were always warning against the danger of missionary schools in Muslim countries, and they explained that they are tools of destruction and centers of defamation and confusion for the creed, even though those schools were practicing their activities away from the eyes, and the general Muslims did not send their children to them.
However, adding these Torah verses is more dangerous than missionary schools; this is a curriculum imposed on our Muslim children in all government and private schools. The suspicions of the People of the Book have now invaded our children in their schools, and they are no longer confined behind the walls of missionary schools.
Adding these verses means that the next step is the defense of some "Islamists" of the corrupted books to justify the mistakes of those who defend them. You will see someone who deceives the Muslims by saying: "Not everything in the Holy Bible is false," quoting His saying, may He be glorified: {Until you uphold the Torah and the Gospel and what has been sent down to you from your Lord.} (Quran 5:68), as if the verse is an acknowledgment of the currently corrupted abrogation! You will see confusion and chaos and blindness from these defenders.
This step also represents appeasement to the Zionists from whom these verses were taken, and appeasement to the Christians who rejoiced at this "victory" at a time when Christians of the diaspora are attacking our Prophet ﷺ, and at a time when our sisters (Camilia, Ebraheem, and others) are still detained in churches.
Placing the image of the "cross" next to the Mushaf on the cover of the National Education book is an elevation of the symbol of shirk; the cross is a symbol of the Christian creed that Jesus is the son of God, and this is the creed that God called "an insult" to Him, glorified be He, as in the sacred hadith narrated by Bukhari: «Allah, the Exalted, said: The son of Adam defames Me, and it is not befitting for him to defame Me... As for his defaming Me, it is his saying: I have a son.»
The cross is a symbol of defaming God, and God forbid, so it is right that the Prophet ﷺ did not see anything in it with a cross except that he would break it (or cut it) meaning erasing its features. This is what Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, understood in the "Umar Covenant" where he stipulated to the Christians: «Not to display the cross on our churches, and not to display our crucifixes or books in any of the Muslims' roads or markets.»
These democrats today do not allow the display of the cross on churches only, but they print it on the books of Muslim children, so that the student sees it every day until he gets used to it, and his sense becomes dull that it is a symbol of shirk and defaming the Lord, glorified be He.
For all these reasons, the corruption of curricula is one of the most dangerous acts, with the longest duration and the most difficult to rectify. People may forget, and generations may become accustomed, but this corruption will remain, studied by successive generations. The addition of these Torah verses to the curricula is a betrayal of Allah, His Messenger, and the Muslims, and a betrayal of our student children.
We must work to eliminate these additions before they become entrenched and firmly established, making it difficult to uproot the thorns, and we become partners in this betrayal. Allah the Exalted has said: {O you who have believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you know [the consequence]}. (Quran 8:27)
Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.