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Parents face court for refusing son on a trip to a mosque

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Original post by z33
isn't that what we do in R.S. anyway
and as a Muslim I have been to a Church before, and a Temple, and did some Buddhist spirituality course where they try and get you to connect to your inner soul
I find other religions very interesting and fascinating and love learning about them :smile:

Asalam aliakum
I must remind you it is considered haraam to visit places where they worship false idols.
Original post by zezno
Well I'm a Muslim, and in my younger years we had to go to a Church as a school trip.


Yes, but had your parents not wanted you to go, they could have refused. School trips are not compulsory. If I didn't want my children to go on a school trip, they didn't go - end of.
Reply 22
Original post by BigTraderBoi
Asalam aliakum
I must remind you it is considered haraam to visit places where they worship false idols.


Nope it's not, Christians worship the same God as us. You can even pray in the Church if you want. Even Islamqa believes so.
Reply 23
Original post by Seamus123
Yes, but had your parents not wanted you to go, they could have refused. School trips are not compulsory. If I didn't want my children to go on a school trip, they didn't go - end of.


What? I wanted to go, they didn't really care. Infact they signed the sheet for me to go. LMAO
Reply 24
Original post by biglad2k16
So you'd be fine with going to a church on a school trip and reading the Bible?


Yes but ofc I wouldn't be reading out loud 'Jesus is God' etc.

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Original post by z33
Nope it's not, Christians worship the same God as us. You can even pray in the Church if you want. Even Islamqa believes so.


We don't worship the same God as the Muslims. I'm pretty sure that worshipping in a church is considered haram in Islam.
I think their logic behind it is stupid and completely backwards, but they shouldn't be fined. They're entitled to think whatever they want really and if they don't want their son to go a, lets face it, useless (exam wise) school trip then so be it.
Reply 27
Original post by Trapz99
We don't worship the same God as the Muslims. I'm pretty sure that worshipping in a church is considered haram in Islam.


Nope - successor to the prophet prayed in a Church once
Christians in Iraq refer to God as "Allah" - which is what we refer to our God as
Only difference is we believe Jesus is a prophet like any other and y'all believe he's the son of God? Though I think some branches of Christianity don't believe he's the literal son of God? Not sure about that.

You believe your God sent down Noah and Moses and Adam and Eve right? Well that's what our God did too... so how are they not the same lol
Original post by z33
Nope - successor to the prophet prayed in a Church once
Christians in Iraq refer to God as "Allah" - which is what we refer to our God as
Only difference is we believe Jesus is a prophet like any other and y'all believe he's the son of God? Though I think some branches of Christianity don't believe he's the literal son of God? Not sure about that.

You believe your God sent down Noah and Moses and Adam and Eve right? Well that's what our God did too... so how are they not the same lol


there are so many religions that call their god 'God'- that doesn't mean they are the same God. Christians believe that God came to Earth as Jesus Christ- therefore he is God in human form. Muslims don't believe that. We believe in different Gods. I definitely don't believe in the same God as you and the vast majority of Christians and Muslims acknowledge that they believe in different Gods.
I disagree with the fine and the subsequent court involvement. They should be allowed to refuse their kids going without punishment.

I doubt the fine will change their views of Islam anyway. Probably just reinforce the views they already hold.
I had to go to church on a school trip when I was a child. I also went to a Catholic school and had to take part in various religious practices that weren't my own, and that wasn't an issue. That's why I don't see the big deal in a child going to a mosque once. The reasoning that he might be "indoctrinated" after one supervised visit to a mosque is absurd.

The decision should be up to the child, as I am against parents imposing their religious worldview or lack thereof on their children. It's unrealistic to expect complete autonomy for the child but encouraging it as much as possible is preferable.
Original post by HAnwar
Their reasoning for refusing is pretty stupid.
The majority of mosques just provide a place to pray and read Quran, nothing 'extreme' about that.
Maybe they should have a visit themselves to clear their ignorance.

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I agree. Its good to learn about other religions.
I do think it was slightly heavy handed of the school to take it to court though,
Reply 32
Original post by Trapz99
there are so many religions that call their god 'God'- that doesn't mean they are the same God. Christians believe that God came to Earth as Jesus Christ- therefore he is God in human form. Muslims don't believe that. We believe in different Gods. I definitely don't believe in the same God as you and the vast majority of Christians and Muslims acknowledge that they believe in different Gods.


No but not all religions believe in the exact same prophets being sent down with the same backstories and then say they were all sent down by different Gods.
But I thought Christians believe in the Trinity which is - Father, Son and Holy Spirit
So God, Jesus and Holy Spirit right
We don't believe in Jesus being God but we believe in the other two sooooo
I'm assuming you believe the Jewish God isn't the same as the Christian God either?
but ok sure agree to disagree :smile:
Original post by Rock Fan
This was in Germany, should the son be alllowed to opt out or should he be made to have gone on the school trip?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/parents-face-court-after-refusing-let-son-go-school-trip-mosque-a7385451.html


His parents say "You cannot force someone against his free will to enter a religious building". I agree with this sentiment, society is already far too deferential to religion. Religion is a form of non-psychotic mental illness, it is absolutely valid for parents to say that they refuse to allow their children to be subjected to a belief system that is completely poisonous.

Children are particularly vulnerable to forms of brainwashing, and there is a small but appreciable possibility that entering the mosque could result in an interest in Islam that turns into a conversion that results in radicalisation (that is not completely out of the question; there was that 17 year old Australian boy who became a Muslim and ended up becoming a suicide bomber in Syria). Adults are free to follow any religion they choose, but children are vulnerable and need to be protected from this madness, and particularly from Islamic madness which is the most virulent and dangerous form of religious mental illness today.
Original post by WBZ144
I had to go to church on a school trip when I was a child. I also went to a Catholic school and had to take part in various religious practices that weren't my own, and that wasn't an issue. That's why I don't see the big deal in a child going to a mosque once. The reasoning that he might be "indoctrinated" after one supervised visit to a mosque is absurd.

The decision should be up to the child, as I am against parents imposing their religious worldview or lack thereof on their children. It's unrealistic to expect complete autonomy for the child but encouraging it as much as possible is preferable.


It is undermining the autonomy of parents to decide what is best for their children and it smacks of social control at its worst.
The parents obviously did see the trip as a big deal and did not want their child to attend. All this will do is turn them into martyrs for a cause.
Original post by z33
Though I think some branches of Christianity don't believe he's the literal son of God? Not sure about that.


The majority are Trinitarian, but there are some like Jehovah Witnesses who are Unitarian. I guess Unitarianism would somewhat similar to the Islamic concept of Tawheed.
I remember when i was 13 or so when my parents did not allow me to go on a trip to a gurdwara or mosque.

Nothing happened to me as it was not obligatory, nor was i asked any questions about not going.
This seems very conniving, not what you'd thinking a truency law would be used for. Why not just have the kid in school doing work whilst his class mates went on the trip? That's what my school did with kids who didn't get permission for something.
Not enough information to know for sure, but it seems like just a nakedly anti-Muslim thing. While I'm very much against religious schools or kids being religiously instructed, I'm not at all against kids learning about religion, in fact I think it's pretty interesting. Going to a mosque, or indeed any religious building, is fine by me as long as they're there to learn about it rather than to participate. Though I can see an argument in favour of making it an optional subject, maybe through leaving it to GCSE.

Though to be fair, we're talking about a 13-year old kid here, not a toddler. He'd only be a year shy of choosing his GCSEs if he was British - to act as if he's completely lacking in agency is ridiculous.

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Original post by Seamus123
It is undermining the autonomy of parents to decide what is best for their children and it smacks of social control at its worst.
The parents obviously did see the trip as a big deal and did not want their child to attend. All this will do is turn them into martyrs for a cause.


I get what you're saying but my parents didn't have a choice either and they didn't turn into drama queens over it. It's not like these compulsory trips to religious temples are a new concept, parents just rarely make a fuss of it.

I am against too much social control but I'm also against parental indoctrination. However, this fine and then trial will likely do more harm than good.

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