Login to post comments | No account yet? Register here
Adverts
Please click on our sponsors to show your support
| The Madrassah in Our Midst |
|
|
| Thursday, 28 February 2008 | |
 I returned today after almost ten years to see how my local mosque was
getting on with its Islamic education programme. I left this particular
madrassah system at about 11, unable to even read the Qur’an fluently.
My experience had been of abusive teachers, teachers who could not
speak English and teachers who simply didn’t care. I hated going to
madrassah, and would try my level best to get out of it. I told my
father that I wanted to go to ballet lessons instead and he proceeded
to tell my teacher who laughed at me and called me a “gori”. I could
not understand why my siblings and I had to waste our Saturday mornings
having Qur’an shouted down our throats, or why I had to learn Urdu at
‘Islamic School’. I always thought the Prophet (pbuh) spoke Arabic? The madrassah system failed me. It could not even fulfil its narrow aim of teaching me to recite the Qur’an in Arabic, let alone providing me with an Islamic foundation to live my life and benefit my society. Luckily, I had the opportunity to study aboard and learn Qur’an, Arabic and Islam in a conducive and structured environment, in my gap year. But what about the others? What about the children attending madrassah today? I returned after ten years to find the same teachers still around and the very same books that I had been using were still in use. One teacher could not even speak English! The syllabus was still the same, teaching children how to read Qur’an in the hope that they may learn morals. I was astounded that the mosque had been allowed to get away with it. Students as young as five were paying their fees in cash and not even being given receipts. How far had the community come? This particular Pakistani community had been in Britain since the 1970s and still it couldn’t effectively operate a madrassah? Most parents were either completely ignorant of what was going on or simply sending their children to the mosque as a babysitting service. In 2008 this is unacceptable. I was unsure where to go next. Should we blame the mosque leaders, who had clung onto power in this particular mosque and who still go on about the great debt the Muslim community owes them for taking the initiative and starting up the mosque in the first place? The council lease the premises is as an education and cultural centre and yet what education was going on? Should the council get involved, force the mosque to adopt standards that every educational institute has to follow or turn a blind eye? Or should we blame the community? The Muslim community is more then capable - we have Muslims educated at university, we have Arabic-speaking Muslims, we have Muslims who know their deen to at least a level so that they can teach young children. Again I’m trapped in this vicious cycle, like we all are. Everyone wants to help, but the committees in many mosques think the minute you get involved you want to take over the mosque. Many mosque leaders think that simply teaching a child to read Arabic is their job done. But how does that help the Muslim child in Britain who is living with Islamophobia, drugs, alcoholism and all the other ills of society that every other community has to deal with? I say to you, all of you who know the condition of most mosques in this country, next time you go for Jumuah, don’t just walk away. See what you can do. Get involved, use your skills. Why do we let our least educated, least integrated and least open- minded people run the most important institution in our midst? Let the talented, bright men and women of this ummah open the doors of our mosques and make them a light for the ummah and a light for Britain today. MPACUK do not criticise mosques for criticism’s sake – it’s because we care so much about them and the people running and using them that we make such a fuss. Send us your stories about your local mosque. Let us follow your progress and give support to others trying to carry out this noble and uphill struggle. Email info@mpacuk.org
“In those houses, which Allah has ordered to be raised up and in them
His name is remembered, Allah is glorified therein in the mornings and
the evenings”
Surah Nur (Light) Readers have left 10 comments.
Tahira:
Quote
It's incredible that learning to make the sounds of the Qur'an without understanding any meaning has become an accepted as pretty much a complete Islamic education! It's no wonder so many young people have turned away from their religion, when they were never shown the beauty of Islam. We need a huge reformation of education in mosques - so the next generation understand their Deen and how they can live as Muslims in 21st century Britain.
(1)
2008-02-29 07:49:55
Sultan (Oxford):
Quote
Assalaam walaikum and Greetings
I attach a fantastic link which shows why Muslim Schools 'fail' to live up to expectations. Written by an 'insider'...a sort of Muslim "undercover". The School teacher is showing the true state of affairs within Muslim Schools from the people who run it, to those who send their children there. The criticism is designed to be 'constructive criticism' in the sense that as long as we allow these sort of things to happen, then the status quo will continue and Muslims Schools will be no more than Schools which are "Muslim" in name and which are failing are children, just like the state schools. In it, one of the comments hit the nail on the head about things in Muslim Schools just do not change and we see the same (uneducated) people running it, rather than professionals. It says... "How Many Muslim Schools Start Off So what about the schools themselves? A typical Muslim school is started by a group of concerned parents who quickly attract big-name players who are eager to soothe their consciences over their haram business dealings. These doctors, businessmen, engineers and other professionals develop a project outline and raise funds. Usually they have to go outside to Arabia or other foreign sources for the bulk of the money because local donors are a bit scarce. (Abu Bakr donated all he had when the cause of Allah needed it. I've seen millionaires give less than a thousand dollars at fundraising dinners. Then they intone that being wealthy is allowed in Islam. But not if you're not willing to part with the money when the cause needs it!) After the school is built, the original concerned parents are muscled out of the Board of Directors and the qualifying criteria for a seat on the board becomes tied to the size of a person's bank account. (Don't disagree with this statement because you know it's true.)" In other words, the ORIGINAL CONCERNED Muslims who setup the School are MUSCLED OUT by the ignorant who have the money and wish to run the school according to their terms and conditions (like having their name on the school, so that the community can say 'that school belongs to such and such person', etc). In other words, no contribute for the sake of Allah(SWT) or the deen, but so that people can say 'he built that Islamic School' This is one of the reasons why I, personnally, do not get involved. I consider myself (without pride) to be a highly educated, professional, and feel that I can offer alot to Muslim Schools. But the idea of dealing with some illiterate governer who belives he owns the place just because he made the most contribution to the school being setup (as he owns many houses obtained through suspect means) puts me off the idea. As for the teachers...the insider states "There are two types of people who work in a Muslim school: those who care and are willing to sacrifice for the cause and then those who can't find a job anywhere else. There are no exceptions to this rule. In my experience, the usual ratio between those who care and those who can't find a better job is about three to ten. For every ten teachers, three will care about Islam and the other seven just happen to be biding their time until a better job opens up. Many teachers are unqualified to teach according to local public school standards and most don't know how to relate to American-raised children. In all my years of teaching I have only seen perhaps twenty out of a hundred Muslim teachers who knew how to teach kids." HOW TRUE is that MODs, I hope you allow this link. http://www.jannah.org/articles/muslimschools.html Wasalaams and regards
(2)
2008-02-29 11:03:37
tahir:
Quote
aSa,
come on MPAC...why do you sound like HT....soundbites and campaigning on simplifications. The overlap in your styles is revealing. If you love your local madressa so much, then go and improve it. Introduce an arabic sylabus, introduce a culture of teaching Quran, its recitation and meaning etc. Are you incapable of bringing about this change? Then what hope can we have of your ability to save the Ummah, the grand claim you repeatedly make. When you've done something then do tell, we'll all turn up and assess the output. Untill then shut up. WS
(3)
2008-02-29 11:31:57
Khan:
Quote
I say this to your writer, it is not the Madrassah that failed you, it is your home that failed you. You are supposed to learn at home from your mother.
I attended a madrassah for 10 years and it did not fail it was enlightening and a learning experience. I still keep in touch with the teachers at that madrassah. Many madrassahs have reformed and many need to reform. I say to MPAC set up your own madrassa/tution centres to make the difference.
(4)
2008-02-29 11:57:04
Miss Cellophone:
Quote
Khan, why should mpac set up a madrassah?
its muslims who need to get up and do soemthing! stop expecting someone else to do it for you
(5)
2008-02-29 16:03:30
tahir:
Quote
@Miss Cellophone
What? Hey? Have I missed something here? I thought MPAC were Muslims! Walk the walk, don't just talk the talk. Fact is MPAC can't even organise a demo...it just turns up at other people's events. Ignorance breeds ignorance......
(6)
2008-02-29 17:02:26
From the Minaret:
Quote
er Khan ....
and learn from you father! Can't expect Mummy to slave over the cooker, hoover the house, do the shopping, AND teach the Quraan, whilst Daddy wanders the streets scratching his privates and leering at semi-naked women. The problem also is that the adults themselves don't know the Quraan, and therefore fob their kids off to some ill-trained village 'ulema' (only qualification: big beard, speak Urdu/Bengali etc, and look fierce). No wonder so many young people are beginning to associate 8th century Arab attire as 'Islamic' dress, and despite being UK born and bred, wander around with an outlook akin to that of agrarian societies of centuries ago. It is the same people you see screeching hysterically in the streets in flag-burning orgies in protest at this or that. I've always believed that anyone teaching in a Madrassah should be tested as follows: Give them a translated verse from the Quraan (in a language most familiar to them, e.g. English, Urdu, Bengali or whatever) and ask them to 'translate' it back to Arabic. That will show whether they actually know the verse well enough. You will find that most of them will struggle to identify the Arabic version (or its location in the Quraan). 20 lashes for such imposters!! Perhaps a remedial start would be a Muslim Parents' Association.
(7)
2008-02-29 17:27:29
Khadeja Khan:
Quote
I say this to your writer, it is not the Madrassah that failed you, it is your home that failed you. You are supposed to learn at home from your mother. — KhanI attended a madrassah for 10 years and it did not fail it was enlightening and a learning experience. I still keep in touch with the teachers at that madrassah. Many madrassahs have reformed and many need to reform. I say to MPAC set up your own madrassa/tution centres to make the difference. Khan says the family has failed the children and puts the blame especially on the mothers. How are the mothers who in many cases were only permitted to enter the mosque as young girls, to learn a few surahs of the Qur'an off by heart, "reading" Arabic WRITING WITHOUT THE MEANING, expected to learn about the Faith? The majority continue to be banned from the mosque as adults. They were not taught at the mosque as children, but the myth continues that it is in the mosque that Islam is learned. There are thousands of accurate and pleasant books about Islam now on the market, written by educated and dedicated Muslims. The families should not fear the disapproval of the mosques. They should get these books, read them and discuss them, bypassing the ignorance, mythmaking and bigotism that passes as " madrassa" at many but not all UK mosques. Moreover,in the recent earthquake in England, how much dust was shaken from the Qur'ans on top of the wardrobes? Now they are shaken clean, maybe more of them will be read, those with translation, so that our families know what it means. Qur'an teaches to fear no one but Allah Almighty. There is nothing in there about fearing ignorant madrassa teachers.
(8)
2008-03-01 22:43:51
zayba:
Quote
very emotove article from mpac i have to say i have had very similiar experiences its the shame it went completely over the head of a couple of the people that left comments i agree with Khadija and as for 'tahir' mpac have done a damn site more than you have they did organise protest outside Downing st during teddy bear issue did you bother to go or do just sit on your PC dissing them and think your so much better than them....its your incredible ignorance that it showing.
(9)
2008-03-03 14:16:50
thehook:
Quote
I say this to your writer, it is not the Madrassah that failed you, it is your home that failed you. You are supposed to learn at home from your mother. — KhanI attended a madrassah for 10 years and it did not fail it was enlightening and a learning experience. I still keep in touch with the teachers at that madrassah. Many madrassahs have reformed and many need to reform. I say to MPAC set up your own madrassa/tution centres to make the difference. I cannot agree with you. I do agree that parents have responsibility in rearing their children BUT...the mosque is there to do what? It is a mosque, an institution, in which it does what it said it would: "TEACH ISLAM! TEACH THE QURAN, TEACH IT IN ARABIC, TEACH IT'S MEANING and....TEACH MORALS!" The Mosque is like the heart of the community but today, and for sometime, and listen up everyone, you can scream till to drop...THE MOSQUES ARE FILLED WITH MAGGOTS! Filled with hypocrites. Filled with corrupt committees. Filled with people who got no right to be there and teach the children and have no adaab. I wouldn't send my kids to a mosque if you held a gun to my head because I know what they will learn..NOTHING! The mothers and fathers you are talking about..WHERE THE VERY CHILDREN YEARS AGO! And now those children grown up and had us. And they cannot teach JACK about Islam. They going to teach me, about Islam? When they cannot even read Arabic? Can't even understand the meaning of Islam? You must be joking mate. Hey, I love my parents, I give them all the respect in world but I AM NOT STUPID to learn Islam from them when they cannot even pray and understand what they are praying. No, the blind is not going to follow the blind. What that writer, author of the letter has highlighted the ripple effect of what has been ignored again. And people want to build more mosques. Give me a break. Use that money to pay for good teachers and throw those idoits out of the mosques! It's the same old story, year after year and MPAC keeps saying it, telling us, and we just shut up and do jack and EXPECT...yes, EXPECT MPAC to now set up a maddrassah, a MOSQUE! Oh, For God sake, let's grow up here. You can't expect MPAC to save the world and do EVERYTHING. They've done enough. Yes, they done enough to shame us all and show we DONE NOTHING! This is because of our own lack of particpation. We let them get away with this. We study, we get a degree and we bugger off and leave the mosque we prayed in everyday and not realise, it's time to give. If all of us, put some money, we can hire better teachers and fund a campaign to kick out every corrupt, and low down comittee out of the mosque but everyone worried of.. "What will the neighbours say." What we see people, is OUR OWN MIRROR! Our own FAULTS! Our own laziness! Our own lack of action. That's what we see. The parents are not at fault here. They grew up like those kids to know nothing about Islam or even SELF RESPONSIBILITY!
(10)
2008-03-03 19:01:49
          |
