Our children in the west By: Mohamed Sherif Kamel

Our children in the west

By: Mohamed Sherif Kamel

Nov 11, 2001

(was written in Arabic and published here: https://forafreeegypt.blogspot.com/2001/11/blog-post_11.html)

We express many problems in addition to an internal and external dilemma that arose from the religion and culture differences, it is of course normal because of the misunderstanding between the two extremes. That is why it is a legitimate cause to open the dialogue between the all society, a dialogue that should result of mutual understanding and respect, this dialogue to succeed should aim to respectable coexistence.

All this came up to my mind while witnessing a case in a public secondary school in Québec Canada, where the relation between the administration and majority of the student –both are non Muslim- and our children passed through three phases.

Up to a very close period, the relation was unstable and unrespectable built on misunderstanding. Where the girls whom wear the Scarf (hijab) face humiliation from many of the student and some of the teachers while the administration never grant them any protection. These girls whom shoes not to participate in the swimming classes been denied any exemption and fail the courses, and their classmate laugh of them. The student whom care of the daily prayers, perform it in the school corridors.

Of course, we saw a big change in the second phase that we lived up to September 11^th, 2001. The patient of our daughters and sons make the right of wearing scarf is acceptable, the exemption from the swimming classes become part of the common sense to a big extend, and seeing a student pray in a corridor or somewhere become normal, even they could have a small room for prayer even while the schools' buildings become over crowded.

We did enjoy all this not smoothly of course but with patients and dialogues, but every thing change after September 11^th, 2001, when the Muslim been the suspect and even Islam consider a suspect, this brought again a discussion about the Scarf (hijab), prayers even the loyalty of the Muslims itself been questioned.

The case at this school is an example of what is going on allover the city, allover North America and allover the west, and it is a normal result of the misunderstanding that lay on both parties shoulders.

We did mentioned that it is very important to maintain the dialogue, a dialogue that depend on respect and mutual understanding, but we expect that they should understand us and we do nothing to understand the society and even to help them understanding us. We consider that we are perfect while we are not, we refuse to present any balance position. We have to discuss many things openly; we have to be honest with ourselves.

• It is great to have a crowded mosque, we hope it would be more crowded, but do we respect the neighbors of the mosques? Do we respect the parking regulations? How many of our mosques express problems with the cities?
• Did we try to present to our children real advices about the way of integration and cooperation and not to be separated from the society, without losing any of our religion and believe?
• Did we try to open our mosques for the non-Muslims to give them a window to see our real face? Did we try to speak to them with their language?
• Did we try to visit our neighbors, to know them? Did we try to congratulate them on there occasions? Is this not what our religion tell us?
• Did we try to tell our children how they could make friends of the non-Muslims and determine the fine line between friendship and following them in their way of life?
• Did we try to explore the dangerous of any provocations and what it could lead to? Example, calling the non-Muslims non-believers (kafer).

I remember all this while I am following the story of the school, where some of our children did loss the mutual understanding and start to abuse the tolerance and provoke the society with some of unreasonable acts. When the lunch hour not enough to perform the prayers and they arrive to class late, some even pray Friday noon prayer in the school in 40 forty minutes, and went too far to perform the call to the prayer loudly (Azzan) in the middle of the school…!

Who led those kids to all this? Did we loss control? Did we loss sight of what is wrong and what is right?

Why the silent, why we do not inform our children of the limits and the tolerance that we should represent? Why we do not explain to our children the difference between the essential and that what could provoke clashes that could be avoided religious, socially, and politically?

Some of the non-Muslims start to speak loudly about the scarf (hijab) and the accommodations of the Muslims' needs in the society, especially in the public school system. The scarfs is religious obligation and right according to the acts of the human rights and freedom, while the prayer's places are consider reasonable accommodation and privilege we have to keep it by tolerance and opening not by provocations.

I do not blame ourselves (Muslims), but of sure we are the main part of what is going on from misunderstanding and unrespectable relation. We are the main responsible because it is our issue and because our religion instruct us to be politically correct, reasonable, open minded to every thing around us, Islam forbid us from being provocative tough fro no reason.