moonlight Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Hello, I'm going to apologize in advance cause I think this is going to get long and winded, but I want to give a little bit of our history so you all can better help me out. I have lived in the States for most of my life, since I was 10 months old. My parents moved from Pakistan and I was brought up like most American kids with a few exceptions like I was not allowed to date or mingle with boys. Other than that, I was told we were Muslim. It didn't mean much to me other than knowing that was my religion because my parents were not religious. They are good people though, but don't pray and are basically "non practicing" Muslims!! I've never had a problem and have, in my opinion, a very broad view about people and different religious views. Fast forward quite a few years...Married a great (Muslim) guy..had a son..When my son was 3, he was asked by our then 4 year old neighbor if he believed in Jesus Christ as his Savior. My boy said "no way!" Mind you, at 3 he didn't know Jesus from Muhammad from Elmo or the Wiggles. He was then told he was going to Hell by said 4 year old and was given a very biblical description of hell and all that it would entail for my 3 year old. This sort of behavior continued in our neighbors who were young boys themselves to the point that God became a bad word in our household. My ds came up to me one day and told on his dad who had said the "G" word!! We eventually talked to our neighbors and they were able to talk their children into not talking to my son about God or Jesus AT ALL!! because the 4 year old only wanted to help his very dear friend find Jesus. It was a very sweet sentiment, but not right for our family. We continue to be great friends with this family who is Christian and they are great people. We have just agreed to disagree on the whole relgious debate. Fast forward a year later, we went to Pakistan to visit family. My dh's sister is very religous and her child asked my son if I pray. He said no and then was told that God will punish me if I don't pray and if he doesn't pray. He very quickly wanted to learn to pray out of fear. A few other similar incidents happen and my dh fought with his sister and the religous talk stopped! God, once again, a bad word in our house! With all this going on, we took a step back from religion and have focused on raising our children as good people. Now, I am ready to tackle relgion again. We have now moved form Portland, Oregon to Abu Dhabi, UAE. This is a Muslim country and our exposure to Islam here has been very positive. I would like to start with some curriclum and/or some books on relgion, God, Islam that are very loving and GENTLE. Any advice on non denominational books on God would be great even if they are not about Islam. We own Muhammad by Demi and Saladin, noble prince of Islam. I would love to add to our collection. I love the Sufi practice and would love to say that in my ideal world, that it is the Sufi tradition of living and life that I would follow....but I am much too caught up with the comforts and the daily-ness of this life! Also, I am at a loss about how to start? I like the idea of memory work focusing on certain themes such as love and forgiveness in Islam. Anyone have any ideas where to look? Anything? Muslim/Islamic history? Thank you so much if you have read this far! Seema Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 oh, i should add that i have a 4 year old boy and an almost 8 year old boy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 anyone?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I'm not Muslim, but the two books you mentioned are both books I've read with my kids and liked...I suspect many others here have as well, during the Ancients year in the WTM rotation. Here are some threads I found that might be helpful: One on doing Muslim religious studies during the homeschooling day, one on an Arabic language curriculum, though perhaps your sons already read Arabic, Kinza Academy, A thread critiquing Kinza Academy materials. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 (edited) I am sure you will get answers in this thread if you wait a bit, for people to find this. Ayat Jamilah by Sarah Conover & Freda Crane is a resource on cultural and religious matters that is very non-aggressive. I like this oldie: Islam for Children by von Denffer, written for European Muslims living as religious minorities. (It's still in print.) Discusses beliefs and practices (charity, fasting, prayer, Hajj), Allah, angels, the Quran, and the main prophets, and some useful crafts like a sundial. I've seen a few books from Tughra aimed at children. You might find this useful for copywork: In the Prophet's Garden: A Selection of Ahadith for the Young by Fatima D'Oyen and Abdelkader Chachi pub by Islamic Foundation (UK based). They have other materials. Re Kinza -- I don't think they're doing much on the religious front, as they are planning to publish resources but haven't yet, so I wouldn't rush to sign up with them. Hamza Yusuf has a copywork book, but it's pretty $ and is consumable, so I'd investigate the one I listed first. They are very similar to WTM in the secular arena. Edited January 14, 2011 by stripe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 i did read the first link earlier and it overwhelmed me! :lol: we're wanting to learn arabic in a fun way here and have found like minded homeschoolers here and will be trying to figure that out. this will be non religious... have never heard of kinza...will check it out... thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Salam! I was raised similar to you, I think, in that we weren't practicing much. I decided to practice when I was about 28 yrs old (amd 35 now). The core of Islam is believing in the shahada: there is One God and Muhammad is His Messenger. I would focus on this, the Oneness of Allah, first. With youngsters just pondering what His Creation is spurs their comprehension to such a big idea. There are a few sites I absolutely LOVE for Islamic printables, games, and ideas: http://www.ummannuman.com/freebies.html http://talibiddeenjr.blogspot.com/ And here is a forum for Mom in case you would like some Islamic support from women. It's a general board : http://sisters.islamway.com/forum/index.php?act=idx My kids have used books from http://www.noorart.com/ such as: http://www.noorart.com/school_section/i_love_islam_series_islamic_curriculum Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 (edited) I haven't done any work on islam with my kids yet (my oldest is almost 5), but I do plan to study all of the major religions. For now, it might be best to have the kids memorize some passages from the Koran. You can pick out some that you love or that speak to you. If you find some books that you like using, please share them here. I might want to use them with my kids as well. God bless! http://www.amazon.com/Saladin-Noble-Prince-Diane-Stanley/dp/0688171354/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1295042613&sr=8-3 Edited January 14, 2011 by kristinannie I added the link to this book that I own and that is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 With the exception of the neighbors and the move to UAE I could have written your story. My parents are from Pakistan too! Also, my father became much more religious after he was diagnosed with a severe illness, but that happened when I was in college. Before that I was not raised religiously. When I was young we even had a Christmas tree! I don't have time to respond more right now but I will in the next couple of days when I get a chance. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amirah Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I am Muslim but not sufi there is http://www.noorart.com/ they sell islamic studies curriculum and tons of books on islam. my little one is too little for homeschooling but i intend to purchase stuff from them and they sell books, toys, games etc. i dont know if they sell Sufi stuff though. Alot of the mainstream stores i notices sell either sunni stuff or ****e info check anything associated Hamza Yusuf because he's sufi. inshallah you will find what your looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmmiSays Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 As Salaam Alaikum, The www.talibedeenjr.blogspot.com site is great. This sister has done wonderful job here. Also check out http://www.ad-duha.org/ . This is a full islamic studies curriculum or you can just purchase thing separatley. Kinda pricey, but it looks nice. Peace, Candace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 idnib--we love christmas!! it is such a fun time of year...christmas, halloween and eid are our favorite holidays...oh, and birthdays too!! :lol: thanks everyone for your advice. i'm off to bed as it is late here, but will look into all of them in the morning. seema Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Iqra also sells quite a bit of curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 There's also this CD A is for Allah by Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens): http://www.amazon.com/Allah-Yusuf-Islam/dp/B00004TTFY/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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