An interesting conversation ensued between my 7 year old niece and her father this morning.

Father: Honey why do you have that scarf on ypur head...what are you now...a muslim?
Daughter: What's a muslim? (in all honesty)
Me: (grunting and shaking my head in disbelief that a 7 year odl doesn't know what (sic) a muslim is?) Do you know what a christian is?
Daughter: What? A christian...No. What's a christian then?
Father: (ignoring her, acting like she hadn't just said something of sacrilege)
Me: (almost choking on my own spit as I gasp in breath)

Meanwhile we go to church every other Sunday, she keeps still in church and acts all attentive like she is really listening, and she laughs when the Priest throws a joke our way, yet she doesn't know what a christian is.

The reason why this is such a big deal is that with the current situation we are dealing with now of persecution of religious beliefs it is very necessary that we teach our children what each religion represents. A friend of mine once mentioned to me not too long ago that americans are very ignorant people and I wanted to disbelieve that. I argued that they are not as ignorant of diverse cultures and peoples as they make out to be, they are more aware than some other countries who are opposed to it. But he refused to let my view hold sway. He had recently met someone who asked him, "Where is South Africa?" Now, that I think of it I don't know which one is more stupid, "I don't know what a muslim/christian is" or "Where is South Africa?" Alas, it holds forth...in our community, in our homes, in my home.

My niece's father didn't make any effort to teach his daughter what each of those religious beliefs were, and what they represented even though we are representatives of one of them. I didn't bother as well. I think some teachings are the sacred duties of the parents. I know my mother apart from insisting that we attend Sunday school when we were her age, she also insisted that we know what each religion represented, and that they are not our enemies even though they practice something different from us. Her mother went to Sunday school just when she was her age...but now, her daughter can't tell what she is...a muslim or a christian? But she can sing all the songs on the Barney Greatest hits tape, and can do so many other things but has carefully neglected what molds her as a person, an individual...her belief.

I'd like to believe somewhere along the line schools should inculcate some kind of religious teaching to students from a tender age. Yes! it is necessary. See what is happenieng now. People are being killed for their religous beleifs and we are just going to stand by and let a poor child sit on the fence of ignorance.

I know whatever a child learns from an early age that's what he lives with, grows with, and inculcates in his tender formative brain. Relgion should be one of them. It is so sad to think this problem we are having now started a long time before Sept. 11th. We shouldn't let it brew further.