Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not want my kid to go to a mosque ...again!

425 replies

moaningminnie2 · 01/10/2014 14:46

We live in North Yorkshire and every year the village Cof E school run a whole-school trip to Bradford.First they went to a mosque, then the following year a Gurdwara and then a Hindu temple, and now this year back to a mosque again.They do that in the morning, then have lunch and a run around in a park, and then in the afternoon a quick visit to 'Bombay Stores' and then back home for school pick up. DD and her friends don't want to go ( they went in Y2) and I resent having to pay £13 for each of my 2 kids at the school.Whaty is the point of going to the same place again, and do the school get 'Brownie Points' for doing this sort of RE trip.

OP posts:
nicename · 02/10/2014 15:26

Its like Communism - there's theory and then there's the real world. Sadly like religon, it can only exist in its purist form in a vacuum. Its people who bollocks up the theory.

Some countries have 'gone back in time' when the hardliners take over. I have relatives in the ME who refer to them as having 'medieval mindset', wanting to go back to the dark ages.

One thing I saw today - a little boy trailing after a fully veiled mum pushing a pram through a petrol station (there's a big shop attached to it). She stops, turns around and says loudly in arabic (I was with someone who translated it) 'who are you? I'm not your mum! Go find your mum or dad' and shoos him back to the shop (through the cars). The poor kid had followed the wrong woman out of the shop. I did wonder if that ever happened.

MerryMarigold · 02/10/2014 15:36

scatteroflight. As far as countries following atheism go, I wouldn't be too keen on their human rights record either (thinking Stalin, China).

Pangurban · 02/10/2014 15:44

Forgot about the ecclesiastical appointees in the House of Lords. Bit of a vestigial hangover, isn't it? There was me thinking I was not unduly dictated to by churchmen of any sort.

Pangurban · 02/10/2014 15:49

MerryMarigold, preserve us from countries following and enforcing religions or belief systems of any sort. Belief is a private matter insofar as it infringes on no one else. And those countries were/are dictatorships.

Disregarding size, their human right records are up there alongside many countries with state enforced religion.

lem73 · 02/10/2014 15:52

Sorry who is trying to deny you 'bodily autonomy'??

elportodelgato · 02/10/2014 15:56

I went with DD1 when her class visited the mosque last year (yr1). I don't know if it was representative of mosques in general but the misogyny was appalling. All adult women in the group were questioned on whether they were menstruating before we could go through the door. All adult women were told to cover their heads before entering, whether Muslim or not. There were huge beautifully decorated rooms (3 of them) for men to pray and study, but only one shabby annexe for women to study in and NO rooms for women to pray in (when asked we were told that women can watch prayers from the pavement outside if they happen to be passing at the right time of day! Blush)

I made my excuses and left after about half an hour, it was a genuine eye-opener and NOT in the way I had expected. I had hoped for a more enlightened experience, but it was far worse than I could have imagined.

BarbarianMum · 02/10/2014 15:58

Ever heard a debate about abortion, or euthanasia? Religious belief tends to feature very heavily. Whilst I don't deny the Church (or other religions) the right to dictate to their followers I can't quite see why they have a right to dictate to me.

alemci · 02/10/2014 16:03

that menstruating question is intrusive what if all the helpers and staff were? doesn't that create safety issues for supervision of dc. are some more liberal than others like synagogues

I'd be quite interested to visit a mosque.

elportodelgato · 02/10/2014 16:07

Yes alemci, it was very intrusive. I replied 'it's not a problem' and went right in, even though I was actually on my period. It's simply no ones business and I was damned if I was going to stand outside due to being 'unclean' or some such nonsense, for fear ruining the purity of the men's only praying area ffs.

On speaking to female Muslim friends afterward, apparently lots of them do sneakily go in to pray when on their period, particularly if it's a special day of celebration which they don't want to miss

lem73 · 02/10/2014 16:08

I think you'll find it's the Catholic church that's most vocal in that debate, yet this thread has been quite preoccupied with the oppression of women in Islam. As I said we are fortunate to live in a secular society where everyone is allowed to air their views and decisions are taken democratically.

Pangurban · 02/10/2014 16:25

The Catholic church don't have reserved places for appointees to the House of Lords in the UK, so don't have the same protected influence wrt legislation. It's just CofE isn't it? Most European Catholics don't appear to follow their church teachings on any area of sexuality anyway. World wide, I think those US southern states and their picketing and worse of family planning clinics come to mind. They are evangelical, aren't they?

Everybody has a right to discuss issues. Everybody else has an equal right to criticise them.

Pangurban · 02/10/2014 16:31

Northern Irish politicians (equally, if not more so the presbyterian/protestant ones) pretty vehemently against abortion too. Part of UK. Wasn't there an issue there about a Marie Stopes clinic? Have to dash so can't look up.

theonlygothinthevillage · 02/10/2014 16:33

Absolutely agree with motherinferior. Good on the CofE school.

I doubt the kids care where they go - having a day out instead of sitting in a classroom will itself be a treat. When I was a nipper we went on a trip to a power station, and we weren't even allowed off the coach. It was still a good laugh.

EmilyGilmore · 02/10/2014 16:42

I didn't say they all do stepdoor. My comma was misplaced. Remove the comma and my comment is simply a fact, not an ignorant misconception.

Camenbare · 02/10/2014 16:48

scatteroflight sigh

neiljames77 · 02/10/2014 16:59

With regard to being free to question religious beliefs ;
I was raised as a Catholic. A priest was telling us that there's no such thing as ghosts, only the holy ghost.
I asked him if that was the case, when a priest performs an exorcism, what exactly is he banishing? Something that doesn't even exist?
Is he being fraudulent?
He slapped me across the face and walked away. I thought that was pretty bloody intolerant of him.

Kewcumber · 02/10/2014 17:02

If you lived anywhere near Kew Gardens you'd be chomping at the bit to get a trip to a Mosque twice in primary school.

We go to Kew every sodding year, as well as the good old "river walk".

DS is year 4 and he and his friends would be happy with a trip to Aldi if it gets them out of school for the day.

mrsruffallo · 02/10/2014 17:13

School trips are generally dull and school trips to places of worship are the dullest. They don't make anyone more tolerant and all the children worry about is what's for lunch.

Gileswithachainsaw · 02/10/2014 17:19

Did anyone else have those drama groups come into their school. You'd be taken into the hall and watch the performance and it would be really good and then you would be invited to see the second half at a cost at a local venue. So you'd go all excited to see the end of the play only for it to suddenly become all linked to the bible.

Kewcumber · 02/10/2014 17:20

School trips are generally dull and school trips to places of worship are the dullest

Ain't that the truth but making a particular point about visiting a Mosque rahter than any other dull and expensive school trip is probably not the biggest encouragement for you children to be open minded and tolerant.

mrsruffallo · 02/10/2014 17:22

''you won't see Asians complaining about having to visit churches''

Wtf? Err, yes you might well. A minority, of course, but you would get some complaints. 'Asians (or do you mean Muslims) are just like us, you know, some more open minded than others. Please do not speak for everyone, it's silly.

neiljames77 · 02/10/2014 17:23

Yeah, we had that Giles. I wanted to see how it ended but there are limits.

Gileswithachainsaw · 02/10/2014 17:26

It was always such a disappointment wasn't it. As I child in went to a c of e school. We had to pray daily and sing his in assembly but generally things weren't to in your face other than that. And helped by the local priest who came in once a week. Although I wasn't and still aren't a believer, he was kind and enthusiastic and interesting (and still at the local church neatly 30 yes later) so it was bearable be case of him and the fact he was just a nice person and kept us interested.

But those damn plays....

Gileswithachainsaw · 02/10/2014 17:26

Sing hymes

Kewcumber · 02/10/2014 17:29

scatteroflight I know you seem to struggle with the difference between religion and culture but there have been many communist countries run on devoutly atheistic principles which have shockingly poor human rights records. And there are muslim countries which have no beheadings/stonings, no enshrined misogyny and the law is essentially secular.