Why would I like my child to be educated in an Islamic school?

For me, literacy, numeracy and science are not the ultimate reason I am sending my child to school. Yes, I want my child to be challenged academically, but more than that, I want her to grow and excel as a human being. I believe that to truly thrive, she needs teachers who are not just academic facilitators but true role models, friends who share her values and a learning environment where Islam is not just reduced to a module in RE but guides all learning, morality and relationships.

I don’t want school to be a juggling act between Islam and social acceptance, a tightrope of compromise, a daily battlefield of self-restraint. I don’t want her to struggle with the duality of a dichotomous personal and school life. Or the isolation that inevitably comes with believing differently, dressing differently and doing differently. Moreover, I am deeply concerned about the life-long damage incurred by a youth spent trying not to drown in a culture of sexuality, substance abuse, materialism and moral ambivalence.

It is my role as a mother to nurture her potential to be the best servant of God she can be. But even if I was the best mother in the world, which I am not, I believe that there is a massive danger that all will be undone if there are major conflicts between what I nurture and what she faces daily at the school where she spends most of her time and make most of her choices.

So I would rather entrust her to an Islamic school where she can be happy and grow as a Muslim. A school from which she can graduate not just with academic skills but a clear sense of purpose, strong values and love for God and humanity. It is this confident and spiritual young woman that will then be able to integrate and contribute to the wider, British society in the best way.