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The following are excerpts from several programs in which Saudi intellectuals discuss the Saudi education system. They were aired on LBC TV on November 5, 2006, and on 'Ein TV on August 13, 2006. 

LBC TV, November 5, 2006:

Saudi journalist Hussein Shubakshi: When a Saudi researcher published a serious study about the curricula, and about using astronomy to observe the [Ramadhan] moon, he was sentenced to thousands of lashings. This demonstrates clearly how much we accept dialogue.

I would like to focus on a very important point regarding the training of the teacher to deal with students. There are, of course, great fears, which in many cases are justified, about the "covert curriculum," which brings the teacher's personal convictions into the classroom, as well as out of the classroom, when he deals with a certain student or groups of students during their breaks. He passes on to them his convictions, views, books, booklets, and cassettes, which contain many views that are considered "extremist" - or, at the very least, different views that involve an extremist framework, and which are packaged in a political wrapping. This is very dangerous.

Interviewer: Is this done beyond the framework of the curricula?

Hussein Shubakshi: Yes, it is done out of the classroom, but of course, under the mantle of education and "extra knowledge." This way, one can inject a lot of poison, as indeed was the case for many years. One aspect of this phenomenon was the restriction of the liberty that was traditionally available for extra-curricular student activities. I myself was in the scouts and on the school's soccer team. I participated in school plays and other artistic activities – all within the official educational framework. All this has stopped. Today, such activities are fought against.

[...]

Saudi university lecturer Nasser Al-Hanini: Every society has marginal groups... How large is the group that perpetrated the bombings, compared to the number of our youth? In addition, the ideological writings of this group, which committed killings and bombings, are not part of the curricula at all. They have different writings. They published their research on the Internet, and everybody is familiar with them. They have nothing to do with the curricula or with the extra-curricular activities.

View the entire transcript.

The Middle East Media Research Institute contributes a regular series of posts about media in the Middle East for Passport.

Interviewer: And what about now?

Mohsen Rezai: Now, the [Iranian] officials should be careful not to view America and the West as clumsy and incapable people. [...]

America's arrival in the region presented Iran with an historic opportunity. The kind of service that the Americans, with all their hatred, have done us - no superpower has ever done anything similar.

America destroyed all our enemies in the region. It destroyed the Taliban. It destroyed Mr. Saddam Hussein. It imprisoned the hypocrites [Mojahedin-e Khalq] in France. It did all this in order to confront us face to face, and in order to place us under siege. But the American teeth got so stuck in the soil of Iraq and Afghanistan that if they manage to drag themselves back to Washington in one piece, they should thank God. [...] The most important thing is that we have to make sure that we view our regional influence as a national interest, and continue to preserve it. For this, two things are necessary: One is that we must be steadfast, display courage, and not be afraid. The second is that we must refrain from anything unreasonable or adventurous.

View the entire transcript.

The Middle East Media Research Institute contributes a regular series of posts about media in the Middle East for Passport.

In an interview with Iran's Channel 2 on November 12, Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Commander Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi stated that Iran had based its strategy on the U.S. military's strengths and weaknesses. He discussed the capabilities of the Shahab missiles and the weaknesses and the cowardice of the U.S. military, claiming among other things that the Iranian military could disrupt enemy satellite systems. 

General Yahya Rahim Safavi: Naturally, a 20-30 meter [deviation] is acceptable, because the force of the explosion and the radius of the shockwaves exceed 20 or 30 meters...

The Americans and the countries that have satellite systems - especially those that monitor Iran's airspace or the atmosphere - can see our missile launchings clearly - not the radar systems, but the satellites of the various countries. They see both the launching and landing points. It is completely obvious to them that these were real maneuvers. In fact, the maneuvers were carried out with combat weapons, and were not just for show ... The Americans have many weaknesses.

In fact, in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, they clearly displayed their strengths and weaknesses. We have planned our strategy precisely on the basis of their strengths and weaknesses...

We don't see any motivation among the American forces in Iraq. They are very cowardly. There are even scenes from Iraq in which they are seen crying. When their commanders encounter a problem, they burst into tears. We did not see such spectacles in the eight years of the Iran-Iraq war. I can therefore say that our advantage over the foreign forces is moral and human.

To view the entire transcript

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The Middle East Media Research Institute contributes a regular series of posts about media in the Middle East for Passport.