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Syria's Ministry of Education has made sweeping changes to the country's renewed school curriculum, altering how the Ottoman period, the 1916 Arab revolt and national identity are presented to students.

New textbooks remove longstanding labels such as "Ottoman occupation" and "Turkish oppression" and replace nationalist language with religious framing, while trimming territorial claims from maps and lesson lists.

Ottoman and revolt narratives rewritten

The account of the Ottoman era has been overhauled from start to finish in the new textbooks. Headings that previously described "Ottoman occupation," "the oppression of the Turks" and the "Great Arab Revolution" have been dropped from the curriculum.

The movement Sharif Hussein launched against the Ottoman state in 1916, previously called the "Great Arab Revolution," is now described as "the revolt movement of Hussein bin Ali." In the section on its aims, the phrase "liberating Arab lands from Ottoman occupation" has been replaced with "separating Arab lands from the Ottoman state."

In the passage covering the Anglo-French declaration, the wording "liberating peoples from the oppression of the Turks" has been changed to "removing the Ottomans from the region." The new curriculum also states that Britain cooperated with Sharif Hussein against the Ottomans while planning to partition Ottoman territories with France, and that the promises of independence made to Sharif Hussein were not kept.

Wartime accounts and figures

The epithet "the Butcher of the Arabs," previously used in the old books for Cemal Paşa, has been removed from the new text. The books now note that people executed during Cemal Paşa's rule had been accused of collaborating with Britain and France.

New material on the struggle of Izzeddin al-Qassam has been added to the textbooks, while local Baath figures have been replaced by major figures from Islamic history such as Omar al-Mukhtar and Nur ad-Din Zengi.

Shift in identity and concepts

During the Baath era, students were told they should be prepared "to serve the homeland"; the new text uses the phrase "to serve the religion and the ummah." The expression "Arab nationalism and pride in Arab identity" has been removed and replaced with "pride in Islamic civilization."

The goal of raising children who are "respectful of the law" has been rewritten as raising "individuals respectful of Islamic sharia." In the account of the era of the Four Caliphs, the concept of "democracy" has been replaced with "shura."

Territorial references changed

Under the ousted Assad regime, ninth-grade textbooks listed Alexandretta, Palestine and Ahvaz among "seized territories." In the revised curriculum, Alexandretta and Ahvaz have been dropped and only Palestine remains on the list. Alexandretta, which appeared on Syrian maps under the former regime, is no longer shown on the map in the new material.

Older phrasing that referred to "occupied Palestine and the Golan" has been changed to "lands under Muslim occupation," and "support for the Palestinian resistance" has been rewritten as "support for the jihad fighters in Islamic lands."

A photograph showing former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser alongside Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli, which appeared in the old books, has been removed from the image.

Key takeaways

• Syria's Education Ministry has overhauled textbook accounts of the Ottoman period and the 1916 Arab revolt, dropping the terms "Ottoman occupation" and "Great Arab Revolution."
• The revolt is now called "the revolt movement of Hussein bin Ali," and the label "the Butcher of the Arabs" for Cemal Paşa has been removed.
• Nationalist language has been replaced with religious framing, including "serve the religion and the ummah" and "pride in Islamic civilization."
• Alexandretta and Ahvaz have been dropped from lists of seized territories, leaving only Palestine, and Alexandretta no longer appears on the Syrian map.