Dugsi With a Reformed Vision

Dugis is the Somali word for Islamic/Quranic school or education.  Dugsi is also a word that means warmth and protection in Somali.  I invite you to ponder over how the dugsis we are familiar with are cultivating a culture of warmth and protection around Islamic education?  The Somali community throughout the world is known of the love of Quran and the love of memorizing Quran. Children are enrolled in a dugsi from the time they are 4 or 5 years old and families take pride in their children’s accomplishments in memorizing Quran.  When you talk to anyone who has lived and grown up in Somalia, dugsi is one major part of their memories. Appreciation to their dugsi teacher, their funny and at times painful memories of getting lashed to memorize is often highlighted. For what it was worth; dugsi was where their Islamic identity was built and solidified. Having lived in a completely Muslim environment came with the blessings of not questioning the status quo and accepting your faith as you see it portrayed around you.  This of course has not prepared most immigrant parents for the challenges we face today with our children and youth who are living in environments of multiple faiths and secularism that aims to separate or reject religion in its entirety.

I, as a Muslim woman who is passionate about Islamic education, saw this need in the community and saw it in the most painful way.  I’ve seen parents who strive and pay so much money for dugsi since the time their children were in pre-school and kindergarten yet they speak of their children not being able to read the Quran with fluency or them not having a love for the Quran.  They speak of their children not modeling Islamic mannerism and character; or worse, their children being of those that memorized the Quran but they live a life that is not reflective of this great honor of memorizing the Quran.  We all know parents who have lost their children despite of their continuous attending of dugsi to criminal and gang related activities or sadly not having the tools to decipher between the call of Islam and the call of extremist hijackers of the religion.  There are many more that perhaps are not in trouble as it appears to the world; but they carry a spiritual anguish when it comes to their Islam.  I was included in this group up until I started to learn and practice Islam.  We all desire children and youth that are positive contributors to society not a burden and a harm.  How do we equip them with faith and religion that acts as a protective factor?

The youth themselves are pained by the fact that they spend so much time at a dugsi but feel like their time there is being wasted for lack of structure, lack of well-developed content and lack of qualified educators.  Another reality is that the youth and Muslims in general are hungry for Islamic education.  I personally see this in my students’ eyes as I teach them.  I will never forget the most powerful reflection I heard from one of my students the day we completed the explanation of Surat AlFatiha. I asked them to share their reflections and Aicha Kann said “If I wasn’t a Muslim, this is the moment I would have accepted Islam.”  Another student, Najma Ali, expressed with tears and struggle to speak her sadness over having the whole Quran memorized but for the first time in her 14 years of Islamic education she finally learned who Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala was.  I remember becoming completely speechless at both reflections.  I wasn’t prepared or even aware of the depth of the impact learning the meaning of the Quran had on the girls.  Their faith was being solidified with this knowledge!

Faith is born out of knowledge.  Knowledge is what we all need and in Islam this is actually a requirement.  The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ says: “Seeking knowledge is a requirement on every Muslim.” Alhamdulilah, the Muslim community and specifically Somali community that I personally come from values this and they are seriously committed to it.  I believe the next step is to work on the quality of those educational places and equip our students with the knowledge of Islamic foundations they need for a spiritually fulfilling life and the ability to hang on to the rope of Allah with confidence and certainty.  If we desire for our youth to flourish with their Deen, we must raise the standards of the weekend Islamic education.  They have the right to effective Islamic education.  It must be delivered in a way that is appropriate to their development and relevant to their lives.

For this reason -and many other reasons that I hope to continue writing about- I embarked on this journey of starting Hikma Academy. I ask Allah to increase me in knowledge that is beneficial and in sincerity to serve Him by passing this knowledge in the most effective way to my students.  I ask Allah to keep me firm and committed to this mission and guide me along the way.