Quranic Schools and it's Teachers

Before I begin this post I just want to make it clear this is not an attack on anyone or any Religious institutions . these are my observations and thoughts , you are free to agree or disagree. 

About 3 years ago , I enrolled in a Quranic school in my neighbourhood .I explained to the Teacher how I had classes early in the morning , and I just needed someone to correct my recitations . He agreed to let me go as soon as I was done with my recitations.  2 weeks later I dropped out and vowed to never return to a Quranic school . My reasons were simple . One morning I arrived about 5 mins late and as soon as I walked in and sat down . I was asked to stand once more . When I stood I was asked why I was late infront of a class of about 30 students. I simply said I had some things to deal with at home and it was personal. The teacher then asked me to extend my hand forward as he pulled out a rather long tree branch. I refused and he went on to hit me wherever he could. I was outraged . Here I was being whooped by some Sheikh who claimed to know the religion. 

Sadly that is nothing compared to what others have to deal with on a daily basis . I have witnessed little boys being spanked with a piece of tire , others are locked up in a room with chains attached to their legs . they are left in there for a day or two with no food or toilet breaks. Some even go as far as to leave you out in the sun around noon, barefoot.

Like I stated earlier , this is not a campaign to shame and ridicule all Quranic teacher and Dugsiis . However  this is to raise awareness as to what really happens in many Quranic schools. 
I think Parents should pay more attention to where they send their kids to study , the circumstances of the institution, have a sit down with the teacher , and most importantly talk to your children, find out if anything has happened to them in class and so forth. Alot of the times, Religious figures are exempt from all public criticism and questioning . Parents don’t believe their children when they tell them about what the Sheikh did and often punish them for speaking in such a manner about a Man of faith . And with the lack of a regulatory committee in most cities and countries ,Becoming a Quranic teacher has attracted pedophiles and extremists equally to freely abuse little girls and boys physically , mentally and sexually .

I think it’s about time people stopped placing certain individuals on a podium with full immunity . Every action has a consequence , and for those people who do not have the heart or the mind to know what they are doing is wrong . the legal consequence is the only thing that keeps them straight.

In my opinion Quranic teachers should be forced to take a course on teaching methodology , get a diploma , and get a license to teach. there should be some form of Regulatory committee for Quranic Schools , a curriculum , a set of rules and regulations to follow and regular visits from this committee to see how things are being run . It’s about time the same amount of importance is placed on Quranic schools just like Academic Schools and Institutions. 

Sexual Abuse and Homosexuality - Common misconceptions

Before I begin I’d like to make it clear this post is not Intended to criticize, shame or in anyway ridicule Homosexuals. I personally do not care how people express their sexuality, that is their private bussiness and should be treated according.

Recently I ran into this blog called “An Arab Survivor of childhood Abuse” [ a great blog that creates awareness and highlights the memories of a Childood Sexual Abuse victim ] and one of his posts was titled “Am I Gay” . As I read it I remembered some videos I watched on youtube a few years back which was basically an Interview with young arabs who explained how they turned gay. A lot of the times when asked what made you Turn this way ? - Aside from the regular ” I’ve always felt different than other boys” and so on they would usually state their first sexual encounter as being raped or forced into Sex.

I have always heard people state “Once a boy is raped , he sometimes ends up going back to the same act willingly and eventually becomes homosexual”. This might at first sound a little exaggerated but looking into the science of it. It just might be logical:

 Every male has a gland, where doctors refer to as a prostate. The function of the prostate is to store and secrete a slightly alkaline fluid, milky or white in appearance, that usually constitutes 20-30% of the volume of the semen along with spermatozoa and seminal vesicle fluid. (source: Wikipedia) One of the ways to get an erection is by stimulating or massaging the prostate. The prostate gland is just below the bladder, behind the pubic bone and just in front of the rectum. When being raped, the abuser directly stimulates the prostate which results in an erection and sometimes even an ejaculation..  

Most Victims of Sexual Abuse might not know that although you are being forced into it, your body will not realize the difference .Which Leaves them feeling guilty for enjoying such an act of violation, Or considering themselves gay because according to them “no straight male would enjoy such an act”, when in the contrary if any male was put in the same situation , their body would have  reacted in the same exact way. 

One of the things lacking in great parts of Asia and Africa in general is Counselling for victims of rape, Domestic violence and so on. Alot of it owing back to how these things are considered Inappropriate to speak of and usually kept behind closed doors , Leaving the victim stuck in that state of feeling used, responsible for the act and forever a cast from society. Over the past few years the number of kidnappings and abuse of little boys has increased greatly alongside the number of individuals who come out as being homosexual. Maybe and this is just a hypothesis : This could be due to a misunderstanding or lack of knowledge that just because your body responds in a particular way during rape or sexual Abuse, it does not mean you are automatically considered Gay/Homosexual. 

PS: This does not mean everyone who is gay has been raped or Sexually abused, or everyone who is victimized is gay. It is simply a different perspective on things and should be viewed objectively. The correlation between rape and homosexuality that I stated is relevant to the middle east and the Arab world in general . I do not know if it is applicable elsewhere.

Deportation and the Inhumane process - Stories from those who experienced it

 -He was a resident in the country for 60 years , taking refuge in a place he believed would bring him closer to the house of God. Today he spends his days behind prison in the uttmost humiliation and embarassment. He is heart broken and too depressed to express how he feels . his words - 7asbi Allah wa Ni3m Al wakiil. 7asbi Allah wa Ni3m Al wakil and so he repeats . His wife and children share a similar faith , with thoughts of famine and poverty and a return to a place they have not seen , They have lost hope in those they once called their brothers and Sisters in faith.

- She was unconscious and in need of medical help , an old woman too sick to understand what was going on around her. After being refused admission from at least 4 hospitals , simply because she is a citizen of a failed state . She is treated at home with an NG tube down her nose being her only feeding method . Her son , sheds tears of blood . you can see the anger in his eyes. He asks rather shocked: How do you people live ? Animals are treated better than this . Ina lillah Wa Ina Ilayhi Raji3oon , Ina Lillah Wa Ina Ilayhi Raji3oon !!! are all he can utter before he breaks into a sob . 

- It’s 3:am in the morning and their door is forcefully broken down , it is only a second before they are being dragged out of their bedroom in their night gowns . the 2 month old baby cries at all the noise, the mother has no chance at grabbing a head scarf or guarding her modesty. The husband in a moment of rage asks : Why are you treating as like this, are we not muslims like you ?. His reply is a beating that will leave him bruised for weeks . the next few weeks are spent in jail , followed by a forceful deportation without a chance for goodbyes or the likes of it. 

- She went out with the intention of getting groceries from the local market but she did not know it would be the last time she walked those streets again. With her two infants at her sides, she is stopped in the middle of the street and jailed. I wonder why it was her that was stopped and not the woman or man right beside her . It must’ve been because she looked african or was it because she was not flashing the latest abaya or handbag ? Was her rather modest look what gave her away ??. It’s been only 2 years since she made that dreadful journey in a fishing boat and through the arabian desert. She regrets choosing this country as her destination. But I guess it’s only a lesson learned and a mistake not to be repeated. 

- He was stabbed by a national in broad daylight.After 3 weeks in a hospital in critical condition. He recovers and gives his statement to the police and with witnesses present , he is sure to get justice. a week later and he hears his offender is released and free to run the streets. In a moment of rage he takes justice into his own hands . An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth . But he is no national , and justice is only served when seemed appropriate . He is deported with a criminal record and content in his heart. Justice he has truly served . 

They all fled a country that was burning in flames , only to be returned to it with heavy hearts and their remaining dignity burned to ashes.They hoped for a better future and now those simple dreams have been beaten down and shattered. They laughed at those who ran elsewhere , thinking their brothers would be more merciful of their circumstance but today they regret the choices they made and vow to only return to such a place when their passports puts authorities at unease.

- Is it not funny how respect is given based on a document and not because of your right to one….