The Upbringing of Children

THE UPBRINGING OF CHILDREN Parents must train their children and help them develop positive personalities in their formative years. CPS literature and videos serve as an introductory program for this. I n a Western country, a Muslim family expressed their desire for their children to stay with us for a few days and receive an Islamic upbringing. I declined this suggestion. From my perspective, such an approach is artificial. Any meaningful task can only be accomplished naturally, as unnatural methods never yield true benefits. This brings to mind an incident from April 1981 when I attended an international conference in Barbados. As part of the program organized by the local Muslim community, a gentleman brought his 12-year-old child along with him. The child positioned himself outside the gathering with his back to me. When someone questioned his way of sitting and advised him to join the people inside, the boy nonchalantly responded, “Me not,” meaning: “I don’t care.” This incident holds symbolic significance for all Muslim