There is a recent story of a boy dying in a madrasa in Pakistan, after being abused for not learning the Qur’an. It is pretty horrific stuff, but it didn’t really come as a new thing. I remember growing up in Leicester going to Qur’an classes and seeing children being beaten quite regularly. We got used to it pretty quickly and developed some coping strategies. Bear in mind, this was for boys broadly aged 7-16, and parents were often complicit in the treatments described, in the sense that they knew that physical discipline was used and did nothing to stop it.
I would also like to make it clear that this took place in the 1980′s and is not the practice now in the UK thanks to judicious self regulation on the part of mosques. If these practices still do go on, I recommend that the police be called straight away.
In brief, the main punishments in the mosques of Leicester in the 1980′s
- Being thwacked with the bamboo stick
- Prolonged Squats - holding your ears and standing up and sitting down repeatedly – this was referred to as ‘utt bhes’ – literally standup-sitdown
- Doing the chicken – crounching over and putting hour hands behind your legs and grabbing your ears – also known as ‘murgha’ or ‘khaan-pakar’.
- Leaning against the wall at angle with book on head – if it falls, one gets thwacked.
- Standing for hours on end
- Having a pen woven between two knuckles and hand squeezed to inflict pain.
- The psychotic teacher diligently and repeatedly slapping and kicking an unruly child around the mosque floor.
The most common was being whacked with a stick. The key issue was to issue a loud gujarati noise, best translitered as “Ayaaah” at the point of impact. If timed correctly and accompanied by dramatic rolling around on the floor, this distracted the teacher sufficiently. A comical ‘Ayaaah’ timed a half a second before actual impact resulted in the teacher/fellow students laughing, which may result in either a further beating, or being sent back to your place having lightened to mood. We had to judge accordingly.
Some people, my cousins included, think that the beatings were part of the adventures of growing up a Muslim. Others didn’t feel that way. As a result of what went on, many now associate the reading of the Qur’an directly with the events above – which is not an ideal situation. To put it another way, they associate the direct word of Allah with pain and suffering.
In my next post, we will look at one of these, the bamboo stick thwacking, in some detail, using physics. I like physics.
Having a pen woven between two knuckles and hand squeezed to inflict pain
I remember that one. Rather than squeeze the hand though, one molvi would place the hand on the bench and bring his own hand down hard.
I do recall one boy, much older than me (I must have 11 or 12) disappearing for a few days after a severe beating, only to reappear with his arm in plaster and a sling.
I think the beatings have prepared me for life in general – well for marriage anyway, now I know when my wife is in a bad mood that i need to put on as many jumpers as i can to soften the blows!! ;o)
i went to islamic school in the 90′s and the same abuse occured.
the humiliation, fear, pain didnt do me ormany of my classmates well at all… if it wasnt for the love of my Tajweed teacher who i met in my late teens, i would probably have never understood and felt the beauty of the Quran.
i would conclude the very same as you from my islamic school
I remember getting wooden ruler and a pen whacked across my knuckles when I was at Primary School. The perpetrators we not imams… but nuns….
it never really hurt (although some complained a little)
I hear many stories from the brothers about their experiences at “mosque school” or madrasa; some have even distanced themselves from Islam as a result which is obviously bad.
It is not right and I am glad things are beginning to change as people are taking a stance.
Assalam-alaikam,
Boy am I glad I got taught at home by my dad and bypassed all of that (although my younger siblings used to get whacked). My dad teaches in the mosque now and say it irritates him that the mum’s demand that no-one hits their child before they drop their children off. On the other hand our neighbours were gujerati and use to tell the imam before dropping his kids off: “make sure you beat them good if you hear a peep out of them”. Pakistani’s can get mean, but the Gujji’s I know defo got the worst beatings as kids learning Quran.
I think I’m gonna teach my kids at home too. I want them to love the Quran and learning about their faith and enjoy the process as much as possible.
Assalam-alaikum,
Alhumdullah I’m taught by my mum now, but good post, I think that this post is good for all teacher’s, my old teacher hit hard and I’d think a teacher who wouldn’t hit would be better for children who are soft and gentle though.Alhumdullah, I don’t have to be taught with strict teacher any more.