Law in Pakistan Bans Publication of Islamic Material in Textbooks without Scholars’ Approval
The Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (Amendment) Bill 2020 that was unanimously passed was tabled by MPA Khadija Umar of the ruling party’s ally, PML-Q.
Islamic content of history, Urdu literature and other subjects will not be published in textbooks until the Muttahida Ulema Board Punjab approves, according to the bill, and the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board will be bound to present any such content to the ulema (scholars) board for approval.
Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi congratulated the House on the passage of the bill, saying the law shut the doors to evil being spread with reference to Islam through books.
“We want to protect future generations from the evil. This country has been built in the name of Islam and shall never allow desecration of the religion.”
Education Minister Murad Raas said the issue of banned books had cropped up with the textbook board twice earlier and cases were registered against those responsible for publishing blasphemous material. He claimed that 30 committees in his department were working to scrutinize all the textbooks.
The public, he said, could lodge complaints through WhatsApp, website and landline numbers.
He said his department did not encompass reference books, which was under the purview of the law and home departments.
The chair responded that a complete study had been undertaken before going for the lawmaking, as there were daily conspiracies against sacred personalities of Islam and the law would curb these incidents in future.
Source: The Dawn
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