Qatar funds printing of textbooks reflecting Houthi ideology‏

Yemen’s government has condemned Qatari funding of school textbooks with a modified curriculum reflecting the ideology of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The Ministry of Education said that by paying for the printing of these textbooks for distribution in Houthi-held areas, the Qatar Charity had become complicit in poisoning the minds of Yemeni students.

“It is no secret that since their coup, the Houthi militias have manipulated and altered the school curricula in Yemen to serve their malicious political and sectarian agenda,” the ministry said in a statement released on the state Saba news agency.

“In this regard, the ministry condemns Qatar Charity for funding the printing of these poisonous curricula which target destroying the Yemeni students' ideology and spoil their beliefs and future.

“By funding the printing of the books, Qatar Charity has become a partner with the Houthis in poisoning the minds of the Yemeni students.”

The Qatar Charity, which describes itself as a non-government organisation, began operating in Yemen in 1992 through small local charities and opened its own office in Haddah city in Sanaa in 2012.

The rebels have also been importing Iranian books promoting the Shiite doctrine followed in Iran. Security forces in Marib and Jawf provinces have repeatedly intercepted shipments of such books, which are mainly distributed to students at summer camps organised by Houthi authorities during the school holidays.