kids visting a mosque

[Blyss]

My kids school has no set reglion , and today all the kids aged 9 to 12 were to visit a mosque . I first the parents were okish about this idea , as we were told two weeks before hand , yesturday though My daughter came home and told us that she needed a head scarf and a covering for her face ..shes only 9!!!
We felt that , this practice was going a bit far and kept the kids of school today ...as did most of the parents .
I am all for the kids learning new reglions and vivsting places with the school , but I felt that making my daughter dress in that way was a bit over the top .

what would you have done??

[Pippa68]

I went to a mosque a few years back..I wasn't asked to cover my face or my hair, but I did take off my shoes.

I always thought the face covering was a cultural thing rather than a religious thing..as nox quite rightly says the Koran does not mention women having to cover their faces.

In answer to the Q, I would have asked the school if my child had to do this...then asked at the mosque. Quite a lot of the time the school does what it *thinks* is best, rather than find out the true facts ;o)

[Pippa68]

I see your point Zeb ~ I too would give my approval, and would also respect any requests to 'cover up' but ONLY if this is actually what the mosque requires..I can only relate to my one experience in which I wasn't asked to cover my face (actually there have been other times but I shall not divulge ;o)

Obviously I wouldn't expect to walk into a mosque with my cleavage showing ~ but I wouldn't enter a church with my boobs hanging out either...have you seen some of the designs for wedding dresses? I am surprised some clergymen don't have a coronary whilst performing marriages ~ it's disgraceful!

[Pippa68]

Clicked submit before I was ready...

What I was going to add was that the dress code is different with children ~ I can understand offence being taken at certain types of fashion, but children wearing their school uniforms should be ok..I would have thought?

[Octavius]

As I have already said, I have been to countless mosques all over the world both as a tourist and for diplomatic purposes, the women (inlcuding my wife) were ONLY ever required to cover their shoulders down to their ankles and in a very few places cover their hair as well. I am talking world famous and small local mosques here. Similarly I have been to countless cathedrals and churches and Synagogues and Temples of all sorts.

I really don't see any issue with children going to a mosque (or ay other place of worship, maybe dodgey cult ones being an exception!) and I would encourage it. I can see no long term issues with letting a child learn about other cultures - especially when they are invited to do so in that cultures place of worship. It can only broaden their minds. I still debate the whole face covering thing was required, but an element of 'dressing up' in the 'this is how we go to prayer' may even add to the ineterest of the children who participated. I am sorry your child missed out Blyss, but lets hope that she will not grow up being scared of what may or may not go on on the inside of the mosques she walks by, as she has never had the opportunity to see for herself.

I would even encourage children to visit my local place of worship, providing they respect the rules of the place. Which is that they should remain well behaved, should not stand near the bar, must not smoke in the no smoking section and should not play pool if they are under the age of 16 (or something). They should also respect my right to enjoy a pint of old peculiar in relative peace and satisfaction.

[Pippa68]

Octavius ~ :o)