E/CN.4/2003/66/Add.1 page 22 V. PREVENTION OF INTOLERANCE AND DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RELIGION OR BELIEF 1. Inter- and intra-religious dialogue 121. The point was repeatedly made that, with a view to better protection, at governmental level and elsewhere, of human rights in general and freedom of religion or belief in particular in the future, Algeria would have to rethink Islam through determined interpretation of Shariah law. 122. Many informants spoke highly of the modernity of Islamic thought between the seventh and twelfth centuries, but many also lamented the way it was now hemmed in by restrictive interpretations. President Bouteflika himself has raised this matter in numerous speeches, deploring the stifling of critical thought and calling for a rethink of Islam. 123. As things stood, non-governmental informants pointed out that an inadequate level of religious instruction hampered dialogue between and within religions and, more generally, acceptance of differences, despite the efforts made by the High Islamic Council and the representatives of Algeria’s religious minorities. 124. The Minister of the Family and the Status of Women, who believed that the question of rethinking Islam needed to be moved out of its current framework of discussion, i.e. confrontation with the West, argued that there was a case for serious social analysis and firm self-criticism on the subject of the status of women in Algerian society and the Arab world generally. 125. The symbolic value of President Bouteflika’s speeches in praise of St. Augustine in Rimini, Italy, at a meeting organized by an Italian Catholic association, and in Algiers in April 2001 at the convention on the subject of “Saint Augustine: African and universal”, must be emphasized. President Bouteflika expressed Algerians’ pride to be related to St. Augustine, Algeria’s son, who had previously been regarded as a traitor, and said that St. Augustine’s work might now serve as a bridge towards concord among human societies in all their diversity, a vantage-point for joint reflection, thus signposting the way towards an ethos of relations between civilizations based on respect, mutual understanding and solidarity. 2. The state of the schools 126. The state of the schools is mentioned here only insofar as it contributes (or does not) to tolerance and non-discrimination in matters of religion and belief. Many informants drew attention to the state of Algeria’s schools and, more specifically, their ability to inculcate in children a sense of respect for others, tolerance and non-discrimination. 127. The Algerian educational system has long been cited as an example owing to the considerable efforts made at independence to ensure education for all when, at the time, only 10 per cent of children attended school and the country lacked everything - institutions and qualified staff. School has been free and compulsory for 6- to 16-year-olds since 1962, and the number of schoolchildren in 1995 was put at 8 million, with over 450,000 teachers. The policy