Sport Against Development and Peace: Examining the Physical Education Curriculum Under ISIS

This chapter explores lessons learned from the physical education (PE) curriculum that was developed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). It focuses on an unprecedented analysis of the ISIS primary school PE curriculum and introduces the lessons learned that to some extent could be suitable for the field of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP). It also proposes potential recommendations for further investigation on the topic of violence and radicalization through SDP, as well as secularization and the reconstruction of post-ISIS education systems. The research analysed the conceptualization, philosophy, and contents of the documents (e.g., calligraphy, illustrations, and educational content among others). Findings revealed an incomplete and rapidly developed textbook underlying the logic of military preparation under the guise of improving the child’s physical condition. The ISIS PE curriculum appears to be committed to an absolutist/theocratic ideological or propaganda programme that, among other things, promotes the preparation of future soldiers of the ISIS army.