It states that Saudis must be brought up on the basis of Islamic faith and that the state will accordingly strive to maintain the country’s Arab and Islamic values and “protect Islam”.
The constitution stipulates that education will “aim at instilling the Islamic faith in the younger generation” and mould children to be “useful” in society.
Human rights organizations have long raised alarm over Saudi Arabia’s repression of liberal thought with prosecutions and arrests, including the imprisonment and lashing of secular blogger Raif Badawi.
They have been doing this for decades......must be a slow news day? (Not!)
"Mould children to be useful in society", hmm, I'm not so convinced about that one. In fact the whole approach smells of a control fantasy by people at the top. Rather than trying to make it the best place possible for all, putting all that oil wealth to good use, it seems to be going down a dark path.
Any country that forces a particular religion on people is evil.
It's all about control and politicians who have little substance use religion to gain credibility. One only need look to tRump to see this at work. Too bad it is not so easy here.
@jorj Unfortunately, politics today are mainly about choosing the lesser of evils.I liked Obama and he has been rated one of our best presidents. The reality is that in our uber expanding numbers job creation is the no. 1 priority for politicians. No one will vote for anyone who is out of work. Also, with our super "diversity" we have other cultures and languages thrown in the mix. A recent Atlantic article [theatlantic.com] shows just how difficult this job is.
My comment was not about a single leader or culture (The Middle East and Asia are also guilty of pushing religion) because many places push religion as a way to keep people docile. Saudi Arabia is changing albeit slowly. Also, I did not take the long comment personaly but it only reflects your feelings. I worked a poling station for years and time and time again people felt they had to vote even if they had little knowledge of the issue/person. We would tell them if unsure don't vote. Too often we are victims of what I call the coin toss vote mentality.