:salam2:
InshaAllah, when I get married one day and have children, they will be home schooled for ISLAM.. I am not sure about anything else, certainly I do not intend to live in a non-Muslim country for any longer than is necessary. I wish to move away and be closer to the Muslim scholars and study with them.. so, even my own schooling is not finished. Every Muslim must study and learn, there is no date for that to finish.
Personally, I went to a school here in UK, but it was not a government school. It was a boys only grammar school, you have to do an exam (11+) to enter and I think it was just 3% of the kids who do it pass.
As long as you assert your authority as a child and not let anyone make fun of you for being Muslim
it is OK hehe... I was bit extreme as a kid and would speak back or get in big fight if someone said anything about Islam or about my family.
Also, it is very important NOT to sit back and let people dictate what they want. You have to speak out.. I am talking not just about us adults, but even as a child. If you have kids or little brothers or sisters, tell them never be afraid. Our Islam is first and always will be first. We as Muslims have rights. We must make sure nobody abuses us or makes it hard for us to practise our Islam.
I would campaign, write letters even find out the law and pressure my teachers into giving me a special prayer room, giving me time to leave lessons to go and pray, give me special priviledges on Friday to go and pray.. In primary school I had all friday afternoons off. I did not go to school on Friday afternoons.
Also, i would get the teachers to allow me to do assembly at Christmas or Easter time. To their dismay I would discredit everything they were doing as being pagan and tell them about Islam lol. Although, some of the teachers enjoyed it, with my English teacher getting up half way through and cheering like a mad man.
In high school I once took the whole of Ramadhan off school. Of course, they would be fuming and upset, but I didnt care what they thought. I really did not understand what the fuss was about, as long as I passed my exams.
Alhamdulillah, I am lucky in that my parents love Islam a lot and all I had to do was say that I did not feel like going to school and they would be absolutely fine with that. I guess they had confidence that I knew what I was doing. We all had common understanding that schools, university degrees etc are not as important as our Islam and it certainly is not a guarantee that we will have happy life.
If you see some Muslim parents, they even forbid their children from fasting in Ramadhan or even taking the day off school for Eid. They have more Iman in the Dunya then they have in Allah helping them.
I think homeschooling is good if the schools around you are very bad (if the education level is low, if the students there are bad-mannered and have bad habits, maybe if the schools are mixed boy / girl it is also a reason for kids not to go).. also, if your child is perhaps not so strong personality wise, they might get mislead or have their iman weakened by their peers.
Even if there are "Islamic schools" you must be careful, as often the students are just as bad mannered as in any other school, or infact worse.
The bottom line is, if the parents do not have a good Islamic family environment in the home, it will not matter if they are homeschooled or if they go to a normal school. A Child over the age of 9 or 10 is considered mature enough to make the right decisions. It becomes obligatory upon them to pray 5 times a day.
Western culture in particular makes people lazy and uncaring about their lives and about other people. THey not only disrespect teachers but their own parents! I still remember the first time i went to one particular non-Muslim English friend's house.. It was just so strange, how they call their parents by their first name, answer back and are rude.
Young people are not expected to think about their future, about their Religion or even about death and the afterlife. Instead, they are fed constant brainwashing about celebrities, movies, gaining lots of wealth, having girlfriends/boyfriends, wearing makeup and looking "sexy" etc etc
Whenever i go to Muslim countries, I am often suprised by the children in how mature and sensible they often are. mashaAllah. I call them "organic" children. Children who play and grow up around strong families and outside in the natural world of the trees and forests without any worries.
Here, in UK, the kids are all caged up in their homes with their parents scared of some weirdo kidnapping them.. The children just spend time with their Playstations and go to school in morning and come back in evening with just one goal in their mind... to make lots of money one day. This is what is termed successful.
What we must do is that our children are not just taught Islam but live Islam. We are the primary example for them. If we are not strong and good Muslims, they will have less of a chance to be as well. Its important they know and see the beauty of Islam and why it is such a crucial part of our lives and how it leads to the ultimate success, Jannatul Firdaus.
Allah help us all achieve that, Amin
Wasalam.
