Character development is a fundamental part of Islamic education and a primary interest in Muslim family's agenda for educating their children. Character building should be the ultimate goal of education followed by professional skills and knowledge. A perfect Islamic School should be a platform where children can learn to be the good citizens.The role of parents is pivotal in nurturing the development of a child's aptitude toward learning at the most early stages of its growth. That’s why Muslim parents are focused to give the their children teaching of Qur’an. What is it that we actually want our children to learn? Obviously, we would like our children to eventually become professionals in a particular field. But during the early stages, what do we want our children to develop most? It is of course a child's character.
A child's character is a key-indicator and provides distinctive qualities which may indicate their level of development. These qualities may also be used to distinguish between strong or weak progressions. Likewise, in adulthood we use character to identify and distinguish an individual or groups from one another.
It is observed that in Quran Recitation schools, teachers are more concerned about the moral character of the children than scientific and modern education.
"Allah!
None has the right to be worshipped but He, the Ever Living, the One Who
sustains and protecs all the exists. It is Who has sent down the Book (Al
Quran) to you with the truth, confirming what came before it, and He sent
down the Taurat (Torah) & the Injil (Gospel)."
(Surah Al
Imran: 2-3)
1 comments:
The demand for Muslim schools comes from parents who want their children a safe environment with an Islamic ethos.Parents see Muslim schools where children can develop their Islamic Identity where they won't feel stigmatised for being Muslims and they can feel confident about their faith. Muslim schools are working to try to create a bridge between communities.
There is a belief among ethnic minority parens that the British schooling does not adequatly address their cultural needs. Failing to meet this need could result in feeling resentment among a group who already feel excluded. Setting up Muslim school is a defensive response.
State schools with monolingual teachers are not capable to teach English to bilingual Muslim children. Bilingual teachers are needed to teach English to such children along with their mother tongue. According to a number of studies, a child will not learn a second language if his first language is ignored.
Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods. Muslims
have the right to educate their children in an environment that suits their culture. This notion of "integration", actually means "assimilation", by which people generally really mean "be more like me". That is not multiculturalism. In Sydney, Muslims were refused to build a Muslim school, because of a protest by the residents. Yet a year later, permission was given for the building of a Catholic school and no protests from the residents. This clrearly shows the blatant hypocrisy, double standards and racism. Christians oppose Muslim schools in western countries yet build their own religious schools.
British schooling and the British society is the home of institutional racism. The result is that Muslim children are unable to develop self-confidence and self-esteem, therefore, majority of them leave schools with low grades. Racism is deeply rooted in British society. Every native child is born with a gene or virus of racism, therefore, no law could change the attitudes of racism towards those who are different. It is not only the common man, even member of the royal family is involved in racism. The father of a Pakistani officer cadet who was called a "Paki" by Prince Harry has profoundly condemned his actions. He had felt proud when he met the Queen and the Prince of Wales at his son's passing out parade at Sandhurst in 2006 but now felt upset after learning about the Prince's comments. Queen Victoria invited an Imam from India to teach her Urdu language. He was highly respected by the Queen but other members of the royal family had no respect for him. He was forced to go back to India. His portrait is still in one of the royal place.
There are hundreds of state schools where Muslim pupils are in majority. In my opinion, all such schools may be designated as Muslim community schools with bilingual Muslim teachers. There is no place for a non-Muslim child or a teacher in a Muslim school.
Iftikhar Ahmad
www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
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