Overzealous teachers take fun out of Qur

ABHA: With the Kingdom home to hundreds of Qur’an memorization schools, parents are eager to send their young children, both boys and girls, to these schools to gain religious education, and learn how to recite the Qur’an properly and also memorize it.However, many parents claim that some women teachers are overzealous in their approach to Islam, Al-Riyadh newspaper reported.Huda Al-Manie, a teacher at a Qur’an school, said some teachers try to impose strict dress codes on girls who are very young. “They force girls, who are under eight or 10, to wear abayas and veil their faces,” she said, adding that the Ministry of Education has begun implementing a monitoring mechanism to curb this.Noura Al-Dayil, director of another Qur’an school, said the authorities are particular in only appointing teachers with moderate views. “We’re always keeping a vigil on teachers and checking whether they are exceeding the boundaries. There have been isolated cases of teachers trying to impart extreme views. In such cases, we intervene to ensure they are unsuccessful,” she added.Hanan Al-Wadie, another Qur’an teacher, said there are some teachers who believe they are carrying out their religious duties by imparting hard-line views to students. “There are also mothers who behave like this at home,” she added.Qur’an teacher Amal Masud said women teachers who are extremely fervent in their religiosity do not allow the children they teach to have fun. “Some of them even go to the extent of preventing children from reading stories and watching television. Instead, they always speak about death and life after death,” she said, adding that some parents have complained to her school about this.She added that religious education should be imparted in a loving and enjoyable way. “They should be educated on the fundamental principles of Islam, which is a religion of moderation and mercy and has nothing to do with extremism and violence,” she added.Abeer Al-Misfar, director of another Qur’an memorization school, said some teachers have been instrumental in turning children against their parents. “Parents were shocked when their young children accused them of being infidels. There have been reports about young girls smashing televisions at home,” she said.On the other hand, Fatima Laheq, deputy assistant director of girls’ education in Asir province, said there are no women teachers with extremist views in the region. “During my assignment in the province, I have not come across any such teacher,” she said, adding that these allegations are baseless.