Scholars criticise one-sided favourable portrayal of Islam in Austrian schoolbooks

Within the framework of the “Islam Studies”, scholars from different fields have now analysed Austrian schoolbooks with regard to their portrayal of different religious groups. Their conclusion: While Islam and its history are portrayed through rose-coloured glasses, Christianity and its heritage are described rather disparagingly, in some cases with negative remarks.

“Originally, we wanted to know how Islam is presented in our textbooks. But we quickly expanded the topics to include Christianity, gender, family and others,” Eleonore Witt-Dörring from CSPI Austria tells eXXpress. According to the analysis, there are striking differences in presentation between individual religious groups, according to which Islam tends to be presented positively, while Christianity tends to be presented negatively in common textbooks.

These views can be found in all subjects, such as German language, geography and history. In this context, the development of textbook content over the past decades is very interesting: Whereas 30 years ago a lot of continuous text and factual, objective history were common, “today we find books with many illustrations, mnemonics, and objectivity is increasingly being replaced by opinion-forming propaganda”, says the Islam expert.

Specifically, the experts criticise the portrayal of historical events. For example, the Crusades are portrayed very negatively in the books, and the reconquest of Mecca by the Prophet Mohammed as a purely peaceful act. “In addition, the teachings of Islam are sometimes misrepresented,” the expert emphasises. She is also critical of the portrayal of the headscarf. For example, one textbook says that many Muslim girls and women wear a headscarf for religious reasons, which is why they are “mobbed by some people”. This is not wrong in principle, but it is one-sided: “The reality is that girls without headscarves are also bullied in Austrian schools.

The description of the Ottoman siege of Vienna in a school textbook, for example, is also problematic. There it says, among other things, “2500 colourful tents (…) Oxen, people with turbans……. strange smells they perceive. The Orient with its splendour camped before them as in a shop window.”

https://exxpress.at/experten-kritisieren-einseitige-darstellung-des-islams-in-schulbuechern/