Comments on issues raised by BBC WHYS

Young Muslims in Europe and UK in particular are different from their parents. Their parents came to Europe in search for a living without seeking to engage in the politics of either their countries of origin or that of the host country. But in part they are responsible for what the young Muslims feel about themselves. The parents sticking to their traditions chose to live away from the mainstream society. Among the things they did was sending their children to Muslim schools which in majority teach values that are accepted in home country. Under tolerance and respect of difference, the government allowed them to practice their traditions like those about marriage in which girls in particular are forced to marry without their consent.

The young Muslims growing in an environment which apparently contrasts with their values have become more vocal about what they are concerned with. They seem to have identity crisis as they feel they live in an environment where they don’t fit or clashes with what they were inculcated. For them the means to have a sense of identity is to look to religious groups now spreading their messages in mosques and schools and also through media mainly Islamic channels and websites. The controversies that rise from time to time like the ban of the veil are likely to fuel their discontent as this can be seen as an interference with their inherent values.

The young are easy to influence especially when they seek an ideal. During the 60s, the youth in the West were revolted against the establishment using the slogan of peace and freedom. The Muslim youth are using the slogan of reverting to the past values in an attempt to confront the present. The danger that lurks behind such ideals is when these youth become potential suicide bombers considering such actions as a way of healing the ills in this life and martyrdom leading to paradise. But if they choose to live religion to the spirit, they are free to do so as Islam in essence doesn’t practically force anyone to embrace it.

Moderation is the best means to live in a world with different religious beliefs alongside those who have no religious belief at all. Trying to make the whole world according to one’s image is a call for an endless struggle that can lead nowhere as no one has the right to tell the others what to believe or not to believe.

Child education is one of the problems facing societies around the world. In poor countries, a large percentage of children can’t have access to school. For these societies, they have the problem of building and funding schools and then campaigning among parents to send their children to school, especially girls.

On the issue of school homework children should do, it is essential for them to do it. Children today are exposed to many facets of life since their early years. At home they have TV and the Internet which can take too much of their time. As they are still young, they mustn’t be exposed to too many activities which will just make them lose focus on any particular thing. Homework, which mustn’t be stressful or too much time taking is the best way for them to develop skills and strategies later in their higher studies and when entering the labour market. It helps them to remain focused on the curriculum and to make the most of their studies.

Children in their education need guidance at home and at school. But there are families who leave it all to school to take care of their children. In some Asian countries like Singapore, children are under too much stress because their parents want them to be achievers by forcing them to keep studying for more than ten hours a day leaving them little time to enjoy their childhood by playing like children and not keep under stress like adults.

There should be a balance between leisure, school hours and homework to ease the stress on children. Laxity and punishment are the major threat to a child school achievement. Children should be taught to be responsible for what they learn. Children by nature are competitive. They don’t like to be losers even in games. Studies should be based on creating competition among them and helping those lagging behind. It is usually uninterested children who are the source of trouble in a school, as they have no other means to impose themselves but to create trouble. Physical punishment is no deterrent because of the legal implications. There can be other methods like suspending a child from school at least for a normal atmosphere for the disciplined one.

In education, there are no successful methods to teach concerning the how and what. Education is carried within a social reality that continues changing. The dilemma that remains is how educational methods should be reflective of social needs and how school should remain a space for learning and exploring one’s potentials within a free and responsible atmosphere and not a ward where children are kept without understanding their basic needs.