This IMPACT-se research revisits Jordan’s national school curriculum following our 2019 report. It offers a comprehensive insight into 165 textbooks, dated 2014-2022, across grades 1-12. The study focuses on humanities subjects, particularly Islamic education, history, Arabic language, civics and social studies. Our findings revealed that, in contrast with our initial report, the Jordanian curriculum shows marked deterioration in its commitment to tolerance and anti-radicalism.
The research explores attitudes towards national identity and good citizenship, balancing Jordan’s Arab and Islamic heritage with an emphasis on religious and ethnic pluralism. The study underlines the importance of peacemaking and combating Islamism, while simultaneously presenting contradictory views on jihad war and non-believers. Contemporary relations with global powers are addressed, alongside the legacy of Ottoman history. The portrayal of Jews occupies a central focus, with old and new Islamic education textbooks teaching problematic examples which draw upon antisemitic tropes. Israel is a source of considerable hostility in the textbooks, and there is no vision of peace shared between the two neighbors.
