Towards an 'Interfaith Nationalism'? Christians and Their Relations to Muslims in the History Textbooks of the Syrian Arab Republic
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3454267 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Panos Kourgiotis (0000-0001-7770-5808, University of Macedonia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 11 |
| Pages | 1356 |
| Publication date | 2023-10-26 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel14111356 |
| OpenAlex | W4387958492 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 30 |
This study examines how Christian-Muslim relations are presented in Syrian history textbooks and deployed by the embattled regime of Bashar al-Asad in its quest for legitimacy both at home and abroad since the eruption of the war that displaced half the country's population. To that end, Critical Discourse Analysis is applied to selected texts from the school curricula stressing the harmonious coexistence between the country's only two officially recognized faiths (Islam and Christianity), in addition to the Syrian Christians' commitment to national unity from time immemorial, as nationalist discourses retrospectively assert. The historical narratives in question are juxtaposed with the ideological inconsistencies of the Arab nationalist Ba'th party that has ruled Syria since 1963 vis-à-vis religious sects and minorities, while being discussed against the backdrop of the recent geopolitical developments
Art · Christianity · Geopolitics · Ideology · Islam · Legitimacy · Literature · Narrative · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Theology · African history and culture analysis · Gender Studies · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Philosophy · Religious studies
Secular Nationalism and Citizenship in Muslim Countries
Religion and Nationalism in Global Perspective
Power, Sect and State in Syria
Syria from Reform to Revolt
The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque
Education for a Christian nation
The Emergence of Minorities in the Middle East
The Palgrave Handbook of Textbook Studies
Arab Nationalism
School History Textbooks across Cultures
The Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East
Religion, Ideology, and Nation-building in Jordanian Textbooks and Curricula for the Teaching of Arabic Language
Religion and national identity in Greek education
Authoritarian Claims to Legitimacy
Sa'id Hawwa
The Alawi capture of power in Syria
The Compact Minorities and the Syrian State, 1918-45
The making of sects
Meaning of a textbook
Identity and state formation in multi‐sectarian societies
The content of school textbooks in (nation) states and “stateless autonomies
Sectarian Framing in the Syrian Civil War
Curriculum and national identity
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |