Koreshi along with her daughters

WASHINGTON, November 3 (IslamOnline.net) - Worried that their children could feel isolated or left out in public schools, Muslim families in the United States have opted for home-schooling to teach their children religion along with other subjects like math and science. 

The option has appealed to Muslims, particularly in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the United States, as they are concerned that their children, especially girls wearing hijabs, might be subject to harassment or bad influences, reported The Washington Post Sunday, November 2. 

Some Muslims wanted to teach their children at home rather than sending them to public school which did not give due attention to Muslim children as they did with Christians and Jews, the paper added. Although Islamic schools offer an alternative, some parents find that the schools are too far away or have too few classes.

"It was always hard when Ramadan came around and people didn't know about it," said Mona Salah, who grew up in Falls Church and attended J.E.B. Stuart High School.

"They would ask, 'Why aren't you eating?' . . . I don't want that for my kids. I want them to be happy with who they are," added Mrs. Salah, who has three small children.

Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute in Salem, Ore., agreed.

"What's taught in our [public] schools isn't Islamic-friendly any more than it is Christian-friendly," Ray said. "They give the view that religion is not important to history."

Mrs. Salah Salah, who is a leader of a Northern Virginia Muslim home-school group of about 30 families, said the group comes together to take museum trips, share books and have potluck dinners, the Post said.

A 1999 study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education estimated that 850,000 children in the United States are home-schooled, but home-school organizations say the number could be as high as 1.7 million students, the Post added.

The Muslim Home Educators Network, started in 1999 in San Antonio with 25 families and has grown to 2,000 families nationwide, with subgroups in Maryland and Virginia.

Home Curricula

As the number of Muslim home-schooling families increases, more curriculum and resources are becoming available to parents, the paper added.

Cilia Ndiaye of Baltimore started a home-school curriculum program, which includes secular subjects as well as Islamic studies.

The parents give the lessons to their children and then mail the work to Ndiaye's Ad-duha Institute to be graded.

"I wanted to do for Muslim children what I didn't have as a kid," Ndiaye, who has three children, told the daily.

In Loudoun County, the All Dulles Area Muslim Society offers Arabic and Qur'an  classes during the day to fit the home-schoolers' schedules. Children in public schools attend in the evenings, the Post added.

Iffat Koreshi, who emigrated from Pakistan, said that home-schooling has allowed her girls to have the best of U.S., Pakistani and Islamic cultures.

With Qur'anic  verses, "I can't keep up with Falak," Koreshi said of her studious daughter. "I'm learning a lot of things that I've never learned before."

Cherrie Webb, director of the national Muslim Home Educators Network, said that Muslims who are not immigrants also tend to shy away from Islamic schools, which often are started by and cater to foreign-born students.

Webb, who lives in a suburb of Oklahoma City, said that, as with any other type of private school, Islamic schools can emphasize different teachings on politics and religion.

She said once volunteered at an Islamic school where she saw tensions between the Indian and Pakistani students and teachers.

"They were taking the problems in their [countries] and taking them into the classroom," said Webb, who converted to Islam at age 21. "I was just like, 'Teach them math.' "

Universal Values

Martinez, of Sterling, talked to Christian families for advice on home-schooling methods and lesson ideas.

"That's something that's drawn us together, as people of all faiths, to stand together and preserve our right to educate our children," Martinez told the U.S. daily.

"For the past two decades, home schooling has largely been a trend among evangelical Christians who have felt marginalized by the public schools and wanted to have a more active role in their children's education," the paper added.

But increasingly, the option has become attractive to Muslims, particularly with the scrutiny they have experienced since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, it added.

"A lot of what you see in terms of the values - charity, generosity and stewardship - you can take what they've got and tailor it to your situation. The values that God has given us are all universal," she added.