I think the most important point is that schooling alone is not enough to create an Islamic environment for kids. At the time that I went to high school (and some of the problems I mentioned) most of the parents really didn’t do anything to create an Islamic awareness in the kids besides send them to an Islamic school. I think they felt they had done their duty if they sent their kids there.

Hopefully insha’Allah if we can create an Islamic lifestyle in our homes then the problems at an Islamic school or any other school won’t be as significant.

One of the other issues is a lot of the hypocrisy the students see in the teachers. This is mentioned quite a lot by students that I know from Islamic schools. Teachers preach one thing at school (because it is required by the school) but you know they don’t practise it themselves. So as soon as they are out the door the hijabs are off etc. At one school a teacher became Muslim then apostated. That didn’t particularly set a good example in an Islamic school. I remember having one teacher (non-Muslim) who used to subtly try to debate with us regarding religion. We were teenagers so our Islamic knowledge wasn’t particularly strong so it would have been easy for us to get off track with it.

One of the other areas to consider is academic and whether the Islamic schools are up to a good level academically.

Baybers: I get your point about not wanting to expose your children to the ills of society early and I’m not saying to deliberately expose them to haram for the sake of it but there has to be a balance with them being taught how to handle things in the real world because when they are suddenly out of their safe environment and dealing with the world it can be an issue. I had one girl at uni crying to me because she was having doubts in her faith because of talks with her non-Muslim classmates. This was her first time having to deal with the queries of non-Muslims because she had never been exposed to them really before.

wassalamu alaikum

another matter, I think we should discuss if there is any merit in Muslims actually living in the west (I don’t think there is) and that we should leave as quickly as possible

Easier said than done. It’s fine for highly educated Muslims or Muslims whose skills are in high demand somewhere else but what about the vast majority of them who don’t have education, skills or vast sums of money? For a lot of them, Australia is the best they can hope for.

In the end the reason that this type of schooling works is because it aligns one with a cohort of like minded religiously motivated Muslim students. So it is ones compatriots rather than ones teachers or school policies that makes the experience worthwhile.

There will always be things that are less than ideal e.g.
1, an insufficiently Islamic curriculum
2, teachers who are insufficiently religious or who are anti-religious

But these are outweighed by the advantages, which are numerous.

The point that has been made that Islamic schooling prevents exposure to the ills of wider society, or delays ones exposure until university is a curious one. I do not see this is a minus point. I would prefer my children to be insulated as much as is possible form this.

I realise that relying on an Islamic school to protect ones children in a time of fitnah is naive, and that is why this type of schooling is only part of raising ones children in the west.

another matter, I think we should discuss if there is any merit in Muslims actually living in the west (I don’t think there is) and that we should leave as quickly as possible

At the end of year 9 my parents decided to send me to a private Islamic school. I understand their thinking behind it but I don’t think it did me much good except to probably make me go backwards at the time. At my non-Muslim school, being one of the few Muslims I felt an obligation to present a good image of Muslims etc and I was really careful in what I did. At the Islamic school, everyone around me was Muslim and everyone did ‘bad’ stuff so I became accustomed to not seeing things as being that ‘wrong’ (as long as the parents didn’t find out). For example going out with a Muslim was okay because they are Muslim but very wrong if it was done with a non-Muslim.

Another thing that I noticed was that those who had grown up in the Islamic school their whole life found it a much bigger adjustment when going to university and quite a few of them fell into some haram actions that they hadn’t had the ability to do at school but now could do it because they had a freedom they had not had before. They couldn’t handle the sudden freedom they had after 14 years of being carefully supervised.

For me personally, both academically and Islamically, I would have been better off at my non-Muslim school (wallahu ‘alam) but then again everything you go through shapes who you are so I can’t say for sure.

Quite a few parents fall into the trap of thinking their kids are being taught Islam at school and don’t bother at home. They’ve done their duty if they have sent their kids to an Islamic school and that is hardly true. The school I went to I was given basically no religious instruction except for a 1 period a week Quran and Islamic Studies class. This didn’t exist in Year 11 or Year 12. So the only real difference for me at the school was that there was lots and lots of Muslims around me.

On the other hand you do have to weigh up the cons of having your kid at a non-Muslim school and the potential influence of peers in a lot of things. I’ve seen that as well and I think it would take quite a strong kid to avoid the temptations that are there. Sure they also exist at a Muslim school but probably on a much smaller level than outside.

The only schools I would consider that are not Muslim are good private schools with good academic records. Most public schools nowadays should be avoided unless you are in a very good area where the standard is high.

And that’s just all based on my own personal experiences.

I have to confess I never considered an Islamic school until a word of mouth recommendation for a kindergarten at an Islamic school. My beautiful daughter clicked there immediately alhamdulillah, and I really like that she is learning some Arabic and Qur’an and even better, the kids come from a range of ethnic backgrounds and that if you’re name is “Muhammad” or “Aishah” it’s not seen as abnormal or scary.

I think before they can learn about how to deal with the “outside” world (including the prejudice and racism that exists out there) they do need a safe place. It’s no guarantee that an Islamic school will provide that, but if I had to choose btwn a good Islamic school and a good non-Muslim school, I have changed my mind and I would definitely now send her to the Islamic school in preference.

That’s my 2p and I have changed my mind, since my daughter started at an Islamic kindy.

Parents send girl to a Muslim School. Girl develops feelings for classmate. Classmate reciprocates. The pair secretly carries on this relationship for a couple of months until news finally reaches parents’. Parents: none too happy. But the kids are serious – or so they say. Well, at least he’s Muslim, right? A nikah and a mahr later, they’re married, so it’s all halal now. This relationship lasts for about a year until they graduate and girl realises that non-Muslim uni classmate fulfills her in ways that hubby she married in yr 11, never could. And now of course they’re 18 and divorced (Islamically).

I know some nutter is going to read this and think “home-schooling it is then!” – but seriously – no. If your kid is hell bent on getting some – whether that’s sex, or drugs, or xyz – by God they’re going to get it – regardless of where they go to school. They’re smarter than you. They’ll find ways around whichever restriction you impose.

All you can do is create from early on the kind of relationship where they trust and respect you and hopefully, take your good advice seriously. Rules imposed that don’t make sense will only lead to resentment against you – and rules imposed that don’t make sense justified in the name of religion will only lead to resentment against religion. Personally I’ve seen far too many instances where over-protective parents face a backlash and their kids abandon religion altogether as soon as they’re out of the family home. Not surprising, considering religion was only ever presented as a nonsensical list of (fun) things they were never allowed to do.

So if you’re sending your kid to a Muslim School when they don’t want to be there, hoping for a miraculous “transformation”– please don’t. They’ll hate it and probably find tragic ways to rebel. If you’re sending them there because you genuinely feel it is the happiest/safest/most conductive environment for *them* to be, then by all means, go ahead.