Promote nationalism through education

In his speech to the people at the beginning of World War II, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, said: “The most important of institutions that is hard on Britain to wage war against in Germany is not military bases, but rather German schools.”
I was reminded of this statement while reading about the insertion of “Operation Decisive Storm” into the 10th grade Social Studies and National Education curriculum by the UAE. The subject material includes details about “Decisive Storm” — its launch date, number of participating states and reasons for the UAE’s involvement. The inclusion of Operation Decisive Storm in the curriculum is certainly a very important initiative by the UAE and a step toward linking students to their national issues and strengthening their ties to them. It is an important step toward rethinking the inclusion of politics in education and showing that the role of the educational institutions may not be restricted to students graduating and obtaining certificates; rather, it should play a positive role in protecting our sons and daughters and immunizing them against recruitment by terrorist and extremist groups through the following:
• Reinforcement of national identity and values in the hearts of the youth, especially in light of the political bickering and disorder that exists in the region. One of the most important issues of the nation state following the so-called Arab Spring is its failure to provide and guarantee the fundamental rights of its people: Education, health care, housing, jobs, security and stability. As a result, sub-state loyalties, including tribalism or sectarianism, emerged as the people sensed the failure of the state to provide security, so they resorted to either their tribes or sects. These loyalties to sub-state identities led to the weakness and disintegration of the state and consequently provided fertile grounds for terrorist and extremist groups. In his new book titled “World Order: Reflections on the character of Nations and the Course of History” in which he addresses the battle of survival among the nations, Henry Kissinger says: “The Middle East is going through a conflict similar to that of religious wars in Europe in the 19th century as a result of collapse of the state and transforming its territories to a base of terrorism and arms smuggling because of state disintegration, which will lead to disintegration of regional and international order.” Thus, it is essential to reinforce the strength and role of the state in the hearts of the youth to ensure that it is capable of standing up to external and internal threats, preserving its existence and protecting its borders by promoting the values of national identity and positive citizenship.
• Loyalty to the values of the state must not be devoid of political awareness. Allah, the Exalted, says: “Know, therefore, that there is no god but Allah”. So, He preceded knowledge over belief. Believing in national identity and instilling it in the hearts of the youth needs political awareness to be raised and necessitates contribution by the state to the political education of students, in a systematic manner in order that they should not be susceptible to political and ideological recruitment by extremist movements. Therefore, raising students’ political awareness, making them mindful of social issues, interacting with them accordingly, and increasing their level of responsibility would certainly increase their sense of belonging to the state and promote their national identity. Isolation of education from politics empties the educational process of its political content, which ultimately leads to superficiality and confusion among the youth making them an easy target for recruitment by different terrorist movements.
I, therefore, believe that the Gulf countries desperately need to reconsider the importance of inserting politics into the educational process to ensure that the younger generation has enough vision and awareness of different political issues. The education system has always been one of the most important tools in raising awareness and creating balanced and integrated personalities that only accept ideologies or beliefs that are well critiqued, scrutinized, screened and deeply studied. It is a tool that must be used appropriately and to its full extent.