Disclaimer: I'm talking about those weekend religious schools (dugsi/madrasada) where you only learn the Quran. Not every weekend school is like this. I'm also Muslim. I also view the Quran as the word of Allah and respect it as well. I'm not looking for pity.
Growing up, I was went to weekend school to learn about about the religion. Looking back, I can say with confidence, I did not learn ANYTHING about the religion as a whole. As a lot of you know, we were forced to memorize passages, line after line. I'm not a native Arabic speaker and didn't understand anything other than the occasional word once every 20 pages. This went on until I was 15 or so and stopped going to the weekend school.
So, what did I really learn? Nothing. I memorized passages of Arabic words I don't understand. How is this supposed to help me understand Islam? On top of that, the rampant verbal and physical abuse made the entire mosque a toxic place. Getting beat with a hanger and being called stupid by the teacher is one thing, but when your parents join in front of your friends while comparing you to your siblings? That's heartbreaking. I've been to about a dozen weekend schools and 10/12 have been this way.
After 16, my parents stopped forcing me to go. Since then, every time I look at a Quran, I remember all those bad experiences causing me to feel anxious and inadequate. I remember the mosque as a place where parents paid adults to beat their kids to memorize a language they don't understand. I haven't touched a Quran in years and been to a Mosque in a year or so. In all honesty, I'm surprised I still consider Muslim. I hope, one day, on MY own time and will, I'll learn the Quran for myself and join an amazing mosque.
I guess I wanted to write it to tell my experience and as a warning to future/current parents, don't make the same mistakes my parents made.
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