Sudan textbook picture sparks angry debate
KHARTOUM: As Sudan’s transitional government shifts the nation from the Islamist rule of ousted strongman Omar Al-Bashir, a new schoolbook has sparked controversy for reproducing Michelangelo’s iconic “Creation of Adam”. Khartoum’s government has embarked on deeply controversial reforms in bid to boost its international standing and rescue its ailing economy - but bringing it into confrontation with those who see changes as anti-Islamic.
The offending picture, in a history textbook for teenagers, has become a flashpoint in the argument. “It is an ugly offence,” said Sudan’s Academy of Islamic Fiqh, the body ruling on Islamic law, which issued an edict banning teaching from the book. Michelangelo’s fresco, depicting the Biblical story of God reaching out with his hand to give life to Adam, is a flagship piece of 16th century Renaissance art that forms part of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling in Rome.
But Adam (PBUH) is also revered as a prophet in the Quran, and Islamists say the painting goes against teachings prohibiting depictions of the human form in art. “The book glorifies Western culture in a way that makes it the culture of science and civilization - in contrast to its presentation of Islamic civilization,” the Fiqh academy added.
Furious Muslim clerics have railed against the book, and other changes to the school curriculum. In one video widely shared on social media, a preacher broke down as he waved the book during Friday prayers, accusing it of promoting “apostasy” and “heresy”. Another urged followers to “burn the book”.
But others defended the changes, saying they were part of necessary education reforms. “The picture is not in a religious book,” teacher Qamarya Omar told AFP. “It is in a history book for the sixth-grade under a section called European Renaissance, which makes it placed in context.” Omar is also a member of the Sudanese Professionals Association - an umbrella group which spearheaded months-long anti-Bashir protests. “A picture will not make people shun their religion or shake their belief,” said Omar. “School curricula should be determined by educational experts on a scientific basis,” she added.
However, the protests have shaken the authorities. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional civilian-majority government has been pushing for reforms aimed at dismantling decades of repression and hardline Islam. Then on Jan 6, Hamdok froze changes to the school curricula and ordered the formation of committee representing all sectors of the society to investigate. Adel Hamza, of the Academy of Islamic Fiqh, said Hamdok’s “decision resolved the issue”.