My bro who's in grade 5 tells me his teacher asked why we don't celeberate christmas.. when he said we only celeberate what God has gifted us with (Eids) the teacher questioned "Why? Christmas is a national holiday, no longer religious, so why don't you celeberate it?" This is where my brother comes up to me and asks what should he tell the teacher. I got this weird feeling like wth, the teacher has no right in asking such questions..
this is one of many examples where this education system we look up to , is trying to 'brainwash' our kids. i know u already know this.. just be careful!!!
Crickey, my daughter's kindergarden teacher emailed me to ask me if it was OK for my daughter to participate in school christmas activities as she was aware of our religious background. She said she respected our differences and did not want my kid to be subjected to any confusion. I emailed her back and told her about Eid, etc., and also mentioned that it was OK for her to be part of the celebrations because they were harldy religious in nature but rather fun and exciting.
I think that as muslims, we should be willing to share where we come from but at the same time not be defensive about our religious beliefs. It's gives a wrong impression that we do not care to understand or respect others. I have seens muslim moms fight with the school on "how dare you make my kid decorate a pumpkin" and such. If a family is very strict in their religious beliefs, there is a polite and gentler way of reaching out, I feel. In fact, the other party gets even more interested and informed when the channel of communication is not just open but friendly.