Madrassas 'should teach how to deal with jibes'

Published on Monday 1 December 2008 21:38

MUSLIM teenagers in Scotland want their Islamic lessons to include tips on how to deal with jibes about 9/11, jihad and terrorists.

They say the current madrassa system, in which the majority of male teenagers spend two or three hours daily studying the Koran with a traditional imam, is outdated.

The Scottish-Islamic Foundation (SIF) has launched a campaign for madrassas at Scotland's 36 mosques to include classes on subjects such as citizenship leading to qualifications.

Noman Tahir, director of media and marketing at the SIF, said: "Racism these days is less about skin colour and more about creed.

"At the moment we are seeing thousands of kids going through the system and coming out no better than when they went in. We want to educate young people and make them fit to face society."

But some members of the Muslim community warned that the call for change could face resistance from imams from the subcontinent.

Suhail Ashfaque, an imam who already incorporates a number of innovative ideas in the religious schools where he teaches, said it could take up to a decade for mosques to change.

"Change depends on the ethos of the mosque itself but the majority find it hard to change. It's not that everything they are teaching is outdated it's more that the world is moving so fast and they don't have the skill levels the young people need," Imam Suhail said.