Learning To Hate In An Islamic School
SPEAKING out is good:
GROWING up in Vancouver, I attended an Islamic school every Saturday. There, I learned that Jews can’t be trusted because they worship “moolah, not Allah”, meaning money, not God. According to my teacher, every last Jew is consumed with business.
But looking around my neighbourhood, I noticed that most of the new business signs featured Asian languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Punjabi and plenty of Urdu. Not Hebrew, Urdu, which is spoken throughout Pakistan.
That reality check made me ask: What if my religious school isn’t educating me? What if it’s indoctrinating me?
I’m reminded of this question thanks to the news that Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses and 10 other works of fiction, will be knighted by the Queen.
On Monday, Pakistan’s religious affairs minister said that because Rushdie had blasphemed Islam with provocative literature, it was understandable that angry Muslims would commit suicide bombings over his knighthood…
I’m offended that every year, there are more women killed in Pakistan for allegedly violating their family’s honour than there are detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
Posted: 21st, June 2007 | In: Twitterings Comments (2) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
- Steve on Why The Royal Mail Rejected Benny Hill
- Hippo on James Arthur Ray Cancels Event As Sweat Lodge Deaths Bite
- Hippo on Detective James Arthur Ray Investigates Sedona
- Hippo on James Arthur Ray And The Cult Of Death Makes Martyrs Of The Sedona Three
- Hippo on Interview With Survior Of James Arthur Ray’s Sedona Sweat Lodge
March 13th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Iftikhar,
Your comments regarding bilingual children having better understanding of mathematical concepts and boosted cognitive development are well grounded.
However, “Among all the migrant children, Muslim children suffer more than others. Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models.” is just plain wrong.
The last thing any child needs is the indoctrination into religion provided by religious schools. Children need to be taught about what is in the world, what can be observed and how to derive fact from their observations. They should be taught how to ask questions, not how not to ask questions.
Religious education of children is child abuse.
rel:dr:14.03:05.50
June 23rd, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Established 1981
London School of Islamics
An Educational Trust
63 Margery Park Road Forest Gate London E7 9LD
Email: info@londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
Tel/Fax: 0208 555 2733 / 07817 112 667
English Only Vs English Plus
There is an increase of those children in state schools who do not come from English speaking back ground. One in seven children at primary school in England and one in ten at secondary school speak a language other than English at home. A research team from Goldsmiths concludes that using two or more languages deepens an understanding of mathematical concepts and results in a better overall performance in school. Bilingual children are able to access key concepts through both languages, giving them an advantage over monolinguals. Children who speak at least two languages actually strengthen their identities as learners and boost their cognitive development. Researchers say this finding is of particular importance for second and third generation immigrant children. It is important to “embed” mother tongues into daily activities through games, songs and incidental use, such as answering the register and giving praise and simple instructions, familiar stories can be told or acted out in their languages.
In the 60s and 70s, the British education system has destroyed the home languages and the new research proved that the policy was wrong and the British education system is guilty of crime against humanity. It is very important that immigrant parents keep talking to their children in their home tongues as this will give children a valuable tool to access lessons, deepen understanding of key ideas, and enhance overall school performance. Children who led bilingual lives could access their lessons through both languages. The children in the project expressed a strong desire to use their community languages in school. Teachers were able to tap into their pupils’ full range of cultural knowledge.
Children who attended mother tongues classes did better in their National Curriculum tests. Research suggests that bilingual pupils do better than those with just one language. The researcher warns that many second and third generation children are in danger of losing their bilingual skills if they do not have the chance to develop their mother tongue through their school work. Multilingual children may be allowed to use their mother tongue in mainstream classes. Rather than thinking in terms of an “English only” culture we should be promoting “English plus”.
Among all the migrant children, Muslim children suffer more than others. Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models. They need to be well versed in Standard English to follow the National Curriculum and go for higher studies and research to serve humanity. They need to be well versed in Arabic, Urdu and other community languages to keep in touch with their cultural roots and enjoy the beauty of their literature and poetry.
Iftikhar Ahmad