To be angry that parents won't allow their children to go on school visit to local mosque?

speedymama, aren't you in London?

My kids love going to the swaminarayan one in neasden and there is a exhibition there too.

how do you get to visit a mosque?
I'd lvoe to take the kids.

I've been to a mosque and sikh temple but not hindu temple or synagogue. One day hopefully.

Bozza, yes I too assume that the lure of a good education is of higher importance than staying true to your faith.

I've been to a mosque, yes. It was very ornate and attractive. Great carpet, too.

I've been to lots of mosques .

But I've never, ever been to a synagogue... and my partner is Jewish ...

Ladymuck, it is a very good question. I have wanted to visit a mosque, I have stood outside the blue mosque in Amman keen to get in, but couldn't as I am not muslim.

my friend did not let her son go on a trip to a mosque. i never asked her if there were others kids who did not go i just assumed he would be in a minority.

dd is at nursery at the school she will start in september and i have wondered how religious it will be. it is a c of e school.

this is cos she came home the other day and told me the prayer they say to thank god for their lunch and i found it quite uncomfortable but not sure how to deal with it. i am moving more away from the christian faith, not that i was ever fervent anyway. i am finding myself being drawn to pagan but again would choose not to influence dd in that direction as i think it is her decision to make.

my mom and dad were the same with me, my mom is an athiest in all honesty.

gone a bit off topic sorry

Out of curiosity how many of you have been to a mosque? And if not do you feel that you would benefit?

starry - usually because said school has better results/ofsted rating.

Sorry, that was to the OP about the other parents.

How ignorant and narrow-minded...

I think it is something strikingly odd about going to a Christian school, not share the faith that holds the school community together but benefit from the education it brings, though not in Chrstian beliefs. And possibly take up a space for a child who is brought up in the Christian Faith and would love taking part in Assembly. Why would anybody want their child to go to a faith school but not share the faith?

I would not send my kids to a muslim school and insist he does not take part in the religious life of the school.

As to the OP, I think this is very sad. I think it is important that children learn about all major faiths and belief systems, and I think a visit to a Church, Mosque, Synagogue etc, is of high educational value.
But I suppose it also depends on the age?

We currently have friends visiting, and trying to explain to my son why our friend is wearing a turban, was a bemusing experience.

I am muslim and although i wouldnt want to send my kids to a church school or want them regularly attending church services with school as i feel it would confuse them, i strongly feel they should go on trips to visit churchs (or different types as well) in order for them to understand Christians and christianity better. This would go for all other faiths as well and equally. I remember a secondry school trip where we visited a church, synagogue, mandir, mosque, gudwara and finished the day at a buddhist retreat.

Cod- women are allowed in mosques, but in seperate areas to the men. Some mosques here are small and have been converted or are just not purpose built so do not always have adequate facilites for women 100% of the time (so men may have a time to go and women go at another time or just not at the busiest times). Women are working to ensure there is proper mosque access available here as elsewhere.

It's just not practical to make school trips compulsory, though, when you bump up against consent forms and insurance and all that.

That's only going to work though if the school trips were compulsory - otherwise you're still going to get an element who'll withdraw their children from such trips, whether from prejudice or fear (of the unknown?). I agree parents have the right to teach their children about other faiths at home (and being realistic, it'd be hard to stop them!) but those children should still have the opportunity to meet other religious leaders themselves if they are offered the chance.

I'm Muslim and wouldn't have a problem if DS went to visit a church or a synagouge - in fact, Islam encourages people to study and learn about the world around them - other religions included - nowt wrong with it!

No you are not unreasonable to be angry about it. It's so depressing that people have this kind of attitude. What chance have our children got of a peaceful, harmonious future when these kinds of attitudes prevail?

An integrated society is the way forward, not one where people are suspicious and unaccepting of eachother on the basis of religion.

I wish all schools were doing these visits to all places of worship, then children would be able to make informed opinions about different faiths.

You are right DC. One of the reasons for the English Civil war was the clash of ideals between moderate Protesants and the more extreme Protesants (the Puritans).

I have sometimes wondered whether these visits actually de-mystify things. Sometimes they seem to be presented more as a sort of 'safari' into strange places. I am dubious about them TBH.

Although not for the same reasons as stated in the OP...

bookwormmum, no, of course I'm not going to teach them that all religions are valid etc. That doesn't mean I cannot give them a fair and reasonable understanding of those religions. It's perfectly possible to believe something is true and still give a fair description of something else.

Although I think kids should visit Mosques, Synagogues, etc, I don't really think you're buying very much "tolerance" that way.
If we look at the most vicious inter-faith fights, like Northern Ireland and Iraq, you have faith groups that understand each other very well. Isaelis and the Palestinians aren't ignorant of each other, quite the reverse.

I suspect kids will simply apply whatever prejudice that they came with. The cleric will seem wise and smart if they approve of his position, or creepy if they don't.

In my view people hate the people they know about, most are too lazy to try and find someone to hate.

At the nursery DTS attend, all mainstream religious festivals are celebrated and the boys bring home momentos that they have made to mark the occasion. I think that that is wonderful, particularly as the nursery has no religious affiliation.

I don't think this is at all like the Schindler's list thread, it's a completely different issue. Firstly, that thread wasn't about the ideas per se, but about the suitablility of the presentation of the film itself, secondly, I doubt if the parents not wanting their kids to go to a mosque are thinking in terms of their children being exposed to "ideas", wrong or otherwise, I doubt if they have any thought of ideas in their heads at all. It just sounds like a case of either fuckwitted racism or slightly kneejerk panic - maybe they think their kids will either be converted into suicide bombers or be blown up by one on the way out or something.

But yes I think you are probably being a bit unreasonable to be angry about it tbh. Sad, incredulous, jeering, uncomprehending - all reasonable responses. Anger? I'm not sure that helps.