I want to write about a topic very close to my heart and
maybe some of you could share your feelings and your approaches to parenting.
Being in a western country can be so full of freedom and opportunity but can
come with pitfalls as well. I want my children to be Muslims and to be proud of
their heritage and strong in their beliefs. I also want them to be well rounded
and to be a part of the wider community that they live in as well. I want them
to understand what is great about their religion but respect others with
different beliefs. I guess I want what most parents want. I want my kids to be
among the righteous creations of Allah. I want them to be
successful and to be happy and to be good, kind people who Allah will love.
It can be tricky to decide how to approach all of these things. If
you live in a place where few other people wear hijab how do you introduce it
to your daughters as something required of us as well as something that is for
our benefit and as something beautiful and normal? It feels like a tough
balancing act. I don't want to segregate my family from other people around us
so much. My approach has been to educate my kids about their religion and
heritage as much as I can at home and to be as much apart of their school life
as I can be as well. I try to volunteer at the school often as well as
attending as many school events as I can. I think it helps knowing some of the
other mothers as well as knowing many of the students. Plus, it helps because
if I know some of the parents and children I have more opportunity to explain
some of the things my kids don't do or take part in. It leaves less chance
for people thinking you are rude or strange just because they don't understand
your religion ;). I like to think that it helps for other students
to get used to seeing us and seeing a woman in hijab or muslims as something
normal and hopefully as nice people. Other people have been so amazingly nice .
. . I guess that is the way it should be but I know it isn't always the way it
is unfortunately. The scariest thing in the world is those teenage years that I
know can be unpredictable. InshaAllah we will be able to instill a love of the
beauty and truth in Islam in our children and it will be something they can run
to rather than rebel from. I like to stress choice over duty. I understand that
we have obligations in Islam. What I mean is that I like to put emphasis on how
my obligations benefit me. I choose Islam because it is the best life. It is a
blessing in my life and not a burden.
How do you approach these issues? Do any of you think it is
difficult raising a Muslim family in the west? Do any of you think it offers a
unique opportunity to flower in your beliefs? I guess like anywhere else we
have fears and dangers as well as beautiful opportunities and promise
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