Okaz Following the withdrawal 80 provocative books, including those by Hassan Al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb and Muhammad Qutb from school libraries, the Ministry of Education has made a strange statement saying it was an old decision. The ministry's statement looks strange not because it is false but because of its attempt to shirk responsibility. It also indicates that there is no need to blame teachers or school authorities for keeping those books with extremist content in school libraries. The ministry still insists that it was an old decision hiding the fact that it issued a circular to education departments and school authorities a week ago to remove the books from shelves. It seems the ministry came up with this absurd statement after it faced criticism on the social media. The move also shows the ministry's lack of courage to face strong reactions from extremist groups who still support the ideology of Muslim Brotherhood and its founding leaders. Brotherhood's activities over the years have proved that it is a terrorist organization. Subsequently, Saudi Arabia called for enlisting it among terrorist groups. Former Interior Minister Prince Naif had called for withdrawing the books of Brotherhood's founders from school libraries seven years ago. The ministry's latest action reflects that it was not courageous enough, as claimed by social media networks, to take out those books from the shelves of school libraries fearing fierce response from extremist groups. At the same time, it is true that the ministry issued the new circular to remove such books based on a previous decision.
