JEDDAH: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal called for a review of the history curriculums regarding Saudi Arabia, especially those taught at schools, and asked for extra attention to be paid to the intellectual aspects of the Kingdom’s history.
“I have read all of the history books that are in use today and none of them really capture the spirit of this nation — ‘the miracle on the desert’ — and that’s why I hope a review would help us get the real history of the Kingdom,” he said. The governor’s statement came at the inauguration of Al-Faisal Chair for Deepening Saudi Moderation at King Abdulaziz University.
The academic chair, which has been a year in the making, held its first meeting on Tuesday. In a brief speech Prince Khaled highlighted his vision and the plans for the future of this academic achievement.
He asked everyone to be proud of their Islamic heritage and of their nation, and reminded everyone that the Kingdom is one of the world’s most important countries because of its Islamic significance.
Mahmoud bin Mohammad Safar, who will head the chair, said it will focus on the historical, social, political, economic and cultural aspects of the Kingdom, and would also aim at arriving at possible solutions to counter extremism while concentrating on the uplifting of Saudi society.
The chair’s logo was picked from 27 submitted designs and was released on Tuesday.
The chair’s first meeting was headed by Prince Khaled and was attended by the full board members: Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Osama bin Sadiq Tayeb, Ahmed bin Mohammed Ali, Abdullah bin Omar Naseef, Mohammed bin Abdo Yamani, Ahmed bin Abdullah Bandar bin Mohammed Hajjar, Sulaiman Abal Khail, Hamoud bin Abdul Aziz Al-Bader, Mahmoud bin Mohammad Safar, Saad bin Mohammed Marriq, Adnan bin Hamza Zahid, Ahmed bin Hamid, and Saeed bin Misfer Al-Maliki.
