Download the .mp3 version of this show here.

Links to things we discussed:

Austin Peace Academy, Austin, TX

New Horizon School, Pasadena, CA

Islamia Primary School, London, UK

Islamic Foundation School, Villa Park, IL

Muslim homeschooling resources

Q-News, our print magazine colleagues, based out of the UK

OK, I have to say that your picture of American Islamic schools is way, way too rosy. You blew it.

My experience is admittedly based on the local Islamic school scene in Chicago only - so I can't speak to other areas. However, with only one exception that I can think of, these schools are not havens of diversity - Islamic Foundation school, for example, is still largely South Asian. Its next largest counterpart, Universal school, is largely Palestinian.

More concerning than the superficiality of ethnic diversity, however, is the mindset of those running the school. I recall attending Friday prayers at Islamic Foundation in 2003 during which time the imams would stump at every prayer to donate to the school's expansion. These entreaties inevitably did not focus on the excellence of the school's Islamic or secular education, but on the need to "protect" our children from the public school environment, and those assembled were told kids are exposed to drugs, sex, and were taught atheism. Most concerning was the imam who related that he told his own son that being a Muslim in America was like an American being "on assignment" in China - ie, this is not your true home, so don't attempt to integrate.

By and large this mindset is only now being challenged, and certainly not being disassembled. This I hear not from disaffected patrons or Muslims, but from staff members themselves. (When a Muslim teacher at an Islamic school tells you herself not to send your child there, how can you cover your eyes?) Only now are Muslim schools here realizing that they actually need social workers like other schools, for example - prior to now, the leadership of these schools thought that being Islamic would in and of itself prevent social problems from arising.

Finally, to me, there is an inherently elitist mindset invoked by those who run these schools with the idea of protecting our children from the evils of society. There are perhaps 10 Islamic schools in Chicago, yet there are 400,000 Muslims here. There is no way that we can 'protect' all our children, yet no thought is offered to the majority who will inevitably attend a public school. By this mindset, they are simply immersed in sin.

I would write more, but I have one child sleeping on my shoulder, and another calling my name this morning - so I'll have to continue venting later...

Maybe it's because we're too new at this Muslim schools thing... I'm definitely willing to learn more from those who have other experiences. So far, mine has been pretty good, though...

I do not mean to berate you for bringing up a great topic, bro - indeed I am greatly heartened that you are finding a positive experience in Austin.

Likewise, I know people who are on the boards of these schools (including Islamic Foundation) and they make great strides in serving the community. I have seen many of these kids emerge from not just Muslim grade schools, but Muslim high schools (I still wonder why you think that's a problem - after all, if you're going to have religious schooling, why not go all they way through?) - overall, they seem more well-adjusted than the kids who went to public schools but whose parents pushed on them that American society was immoral. However, it seems that even these Islamic school grads have some difficulty in adjusting from the Islamic school environment to the general American society.

My problem is not with the concept of Islamic schools. It is that even today, the people who run the majority of these schools are primarily motivated by a desire to wall off American society rather than integrate into it as American Muslims.

My problem is not with the concept of Islamic schools. It is that even today, the people who run the majority of these schools are primarily motivated by a desire to wall off American society rather than integrate into it as American Muslims.

I think that is a valid concern and complaint. It's one of the reasons why Hina and I have no intention of letting our kids stay in an Islamic school when they are in their high school years. The purpose of Islamic schooling is to give Muslim kids a secure sense of their identity when they are in their formative years, so that when they interact with other Americans, they don't have any identity crises. Keeping the kids in through high school, I think, defeats that purpose by not allowing them the chance to "test" their identity in a normal American setting and develop as normal American kids. Plus, it robs non-Muslims of the chance to "grow up" with Muslim friends, thereby defusing many of the tensions we have today.

Let me put it this way: a good barometer of the intention of an Islamic school is whether or not they have (or wish to have) high school education. I've found that the main reason people want Muslim high schools is to "protect" their children (this isn't the case for the lower grades, which are absent of many of the ills of the teenage years), when in reality I think it makes them weaker in many ways and unable to deal with the reality of life outside the Muslim bubble.

Whilst I agree that some of the concerns regarding a religious or exclusive school should be addressed by the community and school, the notion that Islamic schools 'isolate' and 'shelter' kids and don't teach kids to 'deal with modern life' is like a broken record - repeatedly aimed at Muslim schools - we never hear these criticisms aimed at Posh Private schools or Jewish schools - and their kids get on just fine, and so do Muslim school students. Have we ever stopped to ask that the problem may not lie with us?

I went to an underperforming comprehensive that was 95% Muslim, of which 80% were Bangladeshi - and no one said that we don't integrate or get on with other communities. No posh kids came to see us or interact with us - why don't they try and 'integrate'? At University I found most Muslim students aware of other religions and lifestyles and certainly more 'streetwise' than their White counterparts who didn't seem to know much about Islam or foreign affairs - 19 years of age and still asking questions like 'Who is Mohammed?' and 'why do you fast?'.

Islamia school is indeed a great example of what can be achieved when schools are run and governed well, setting the standard really. The King Fahad school however needs some work.

If there is a demand from Muslims then that demand should be served, simple as that, like it is being served for other communities through State funding - fair is fair. State funding should guarantee effective regulation allying some fears.