Halaloween is what happens when Muslims don't have the backbone to teach their children to have a sense of self confidence in their Islamic identity, and instead try to weakly overcompensate by doing a fake Halloween at the masjid.
There is literally no need to send your kids to "Halaloween" because you feel bad that they're missing out on actual Halloween.
What you SHOULD feel bad about is that you clearly haven't taught them what it means to be a person of principle and to be okay with not participating in *everything* that nonMuslims do.
Don't tell me "oh but Muslim kids never have fun!"
If your kids don't have fun on a regular basis, that's your fault. Why aren't you doing fun things with them? Family fun nights? Random fun outings and activities with friends?
Teach your kids some basic Islamic identity. Educate your kids about the difference between our Eids, & nonMuslim celebrations that are literally based on shirk and kufr.
Teach your kids to have a spine - to be confident in their identity, to be okay with not fitting in always.
You shouldn't be doing "Halaloween" as a reactionary option to Halloween.
You should be engaged with your kids on a regular basis, having conversations with them daily about these topics and themes, and giving them positive experiences related to Islam and being Muslim. Your kids should associate Islam and being Muslim with happy memories - whether it is making Jumu'ah a daily Eid in practise, or the fun of going to the masjid for Maghrib and Isha and meeting good friends, or playing pingpong and foozball at madrasah.
If your kids think they need Halaloween (or worse: if you think they need Halaloween!) bc there's nothing fun for them... that's your fault.
Here's the thing. Loads of us Muslims grew up in the West, not celebrating such things, and we came out totally untraumatized.
Here's another thing: kids are resilient. They're also not stupid. Talk to them at their level, don't patronize or lecture, but explain WHY we do not celebrate Halloween or Christmas or any other unIslamic holiday.
They actually do get it.
It's parents who are insecure.
They actually do get it.
It's parents who are insecure.
Halloween is on a school night this year anyway. There's literally no need to send them to Halaloween bc "oh otherwise they'd be out there with everyone else!"
No, they'd only be out there if you as a parent are incapable of your job in keeping them busy at home.
Better yet, teach your kids what the only meaningful part of Halloween is... the 50% off candy sales the next day.
Priorities, yo.
Look, I grew up in Canada, never celebrated a single nonMuslim holiday in my life despite being surrounded by all the trappings. My siblings and I emerged unscathed and untraumatized. We have great memories of growing up Muslim that had nothing to do with Halaloween.
Tl;dr: Don't be an insecure parent who tries to make up for lack of Islamic conversations with your kids by setting up Halaloween. Just wait for Nov 1st candy sales.
2 comments:
Assalamu Alaikum.
Lol! Halaloween? Never even knew that existed!
As kids we were taught that you could only celebrate Eid. Everything else(birthdays, national days, mother's days, etc.) was not allowed, even if other Muslims were doing it. Sadly, it's when other Muslims are doing bid'ah and celebrating non-Muslim occasions that their kids get confused.
Alhamdulillah, our parents always explained things to us and made sure that we understood why we weren't participating. And honestly it never really bothered us. We understood, and I think most children would. There is really no need for Halaloween - I still cannot take the name seriously, lol!
There's alot of people out there who celebrated Halloween as kids growing up in Canada and they turned out pretty alright. Maybe the Muslims you're referring to aren't as knowledgeable as you or don't know, how can you be encouraging them to not tell their kids to attend a masjid, regardless of the reason. If it's takes a halaloween to lure kids to the mosque these days (as long as the planned activities are permissable) then why do you have a problem with that? Don't judge.
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