No, Minoush, you are mistaken. Nearly all schools in Doha already have lessons in Arabic and Islamic Studies. The SEC want to dramatically increase the number of lessons that children have in these subjects. Many "western" children find Arabic to be a very difficult language to learn and it is often taught in a very tedious, dull and imaginative way. More Islamic Studies lessons does not mean learning "more about the different religions of the world". It means learning about only one religion, Islam, and the Islamic Studies teachers do not encourage their students to be open-minded, tolerant and to ask questions. Does learning verses of the Qu'ran by heart really help children to understand and appreciate Buddhism and Judaism? Somehow I do not think so.

It seems to me that you have made a distinction between "independent" schools and "private" schools. Are you suggesting that the private schools are not independent? Are you saying that the independent schools are not private? What are you suggesting? Will all expat teachers be able to understand your distinction, I wonder?