Who Is a Muslim Child?

It was recently reported that a right-wing supporter of President Trump had advocated handcuffing Muslim children even as young as 5-years-old. This savage statement received a sharp repost from liberal people who were horrified at the thought of young children being so harshly treated. People of goodwill naturally assign innocence to infants irrespective of the characteristics of their parents. There is no such entity as a 5-year-old Muslim child; there is only a child of Muslim parentage.

A religious affiliation is not genetically inherited. It is the result of environmental conditioning with an element of personal choice. Muslims, like Christians and Hindus, are not born but made, and the makers mostly act to deny any freedom of choice to the young person. Muslim parents expect their children to grow up as Muslims and they go to great lengths in pursuit of that end. So it might seem inevitable that the child of Muslim parents would become a Muslim adult, but in every community a few do survive to change their mind.

In an ideal world, children might be taught basic science, reason and logic before they were faced with making a choice of religion or no religion. Then the result would depend on philosophical arguments, the spiritual qualities of adherents and ethical teachings rather than on the irrational trappings of diet, dress and hairstyle which so often are the cause of discord between communities. The choice arrived at in mature contemplation would be likely to provide calm assurance and a peaceful acceptance of the world at large.

In the Bhagavad Gita, the ancient book of the Hindus, are found these words: 'In any way that men love Me, in that same way they find My love, for many are the paths of men, but all in the end come to Me.' If children, after attaining the age of reason, were exposed to all the world's great religions, at least in outline, they would come to realise this great truth: that all people are on a journey to the same destination but by different routes and different modes of transport. This is surely more likely to promote peace than indoctrination that imprints the infant mind with the idea that their father's way is the only path of truth.

Fanaticism is the product of ignorance and breeds in minds that are fearful of doubt. It can only be dispelled by knowledge but an early exposure to dogma can impede further education. There is no call for handcuffs, no 5-year-old child should be placed in restraints, either those that are metal or those that are mental.

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 By John Powell


Article Source: Who Is a Muslim Child?