Saudi Arabia’s Pursuit of Normalization with Israel: A Betrayal of Islamic Principles

The Saudi regime continues its push towards normalization with the Zionist enemy, taking further steps aimed at taming public awareness and preparing it to accept the Zionists, while obscuring the issues of the Arab-Israeli conflict, most importantly the central Palestinian cause.

In the latest development of this treacherous push, the Zionist newspaper “Jewish News” recently revealed that “the Saudi government has removed from the educational curricula in the kingdom all subjects and topics dealing with the conflict with the Jewish Zionists, including religious subjects and topics.”

The newspaper cited reports and research analyzing more than 301 textbooks in Saudi Arabia, stating that all “materials indicating that Jews are enemies of Islam, as well as interpretations of Quranic verses accusing Jews and Christians of conspiring against Islam” have been removed. The newspaper described this as a “positive change towards Israel.”

It added that topics stating that “the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem is a fabrication with political motives” have also been removed. The newspaper also said that Saudi Arabia had removed “accusations that Israel set fire to Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969, that Israel initiated the 1967 war to expand its borders, and described Israel as a ‘forged democracy.'”

These blatant steps come within the context of a continuous Saudi push for years towards normalization with the Zionist entity, directly sponsored by the United States, which seeks to change the shape and identity of the region to serve the interests and security of “Israel.”

The Saudi Crown Prince had publicly adopted this approach in interviews with Western media, promoting the propaganda of “coexistence” between Zionist Jews and Arabs and Muslims, and claiming that the “Jewish people” have a right to live on “private land” in Palestine.

In recent years, Saudi media has openly published materials promoting the “necessity of an alliance with Israel against Iran,” according to their claims, alongside the expansion of normalization deals between the Zionist entity and some regimes in the region, indicating an acceleration of Riyadh’s push towards public normalization.

This push has not been limited to this extent; Riyadh has allowed Zionist planes to fly over Saudi airspace and opened the door for Zionist journalists and rabbis to visit the kingdom, including the holy sites in Mecca and Medina, which are religiously forbidden for them to enter.

However, the removal of materials and topics related to the conflict with the Zionists from the educational curricula, especially religious subjects, goes beyond the issue of normalization, directly targeting Islamic beliefs in their essential and existential aspects that form the identity of the Muslim community and determine its collective responsibilities.

In order to advance this blatant approach, the Saudi regime has resorted to taming religious discourse through clerics and preachers who have now begun openly promoting rapprochement with the Zionist entity.