Teachers in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip are said to be up in arms over the inclusion of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” in the high school English syllabus drawn up by the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority.
According to Britain’s Independent website, the teachers are opposed to the themes of teenage suicide and rebellion against arranged marriage.
The report quotes a Gaza teacher as saying that she is against teaching the Bard’s tragedies due to their emphasis “on dysfunctional family life and often violent death.”
“There is a contradiction between Islam and our culture and the things Shakespeare is trying to convey,” says Jehan al-Okka from Gaza City. “’Romeo and Juliet’ encourages suicide and disobeying parents.”
As a result, Palestinian students in Gaza will mainly study “King Lear,” and their West Bank counterparts will study “Romeo and Juliet.”
An official in the PA Education Ministry rejects claims of any conflict with Islamic or Arab cultural values. “Romeo and Juliet” is part of an “international cultural experience,” he says.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 28, 2016
