"Are you limited to what your children can listen to? Can you not take your children to a local Christian Church during the week? The gentler messages of Christianity may counteract the more violent messages of Islam."
I have considered doing exactly that for those exact reasons, but haven't been able to bring myself to do it. I don't know if it would do more harm than good. I don't want them to feel even more confused. It doesn't seem to effect them too much yet. They repeat what their dad says every once in a while. Luckily, their dad is EXTREMELY lazy and doesn't take them to the mosque and does very little with them. The only thing he does is give them little "lessons" every once in a while. When they bring it back to me, I ask them "why?" and "how does your dad know that?" questions, then I tell them that when they are older, they can read all the books they want and decide for themselves what they believe. I teach them that religion is a very personal choice, and no one can tell them what to believe, and that no one really knows the truth about everything.
Welcome BrightStar <3 Out of curiosity, do your children identify with Islam (assuming that your ex continues to preach it)?
I don't believe they really identify with it yet. They have a full, busy life in the "normal" world. They go to a really nice public school and we live in a nice exurb. They have several people in their lives that are much more influential than their dad. Their dad is lazy and seems them only a couple days at a time every other weekend. He's not an influential person, and he lacks charisma. He just spews information to them every once in a while about islam and muslims and how they are muslim, and tells them things about Jinns etc. He doesn't make a good case for Islam at all. I have, so far, taken the approach of listening to what my kids say and telling them what I believe, and that they can make that decision for themselves when they're older. I'm afraid to push too hard the other way; I don't want religion to be a "thing" in their lives. I want them to think for themselves and live in the present. I'm more concerned about what will happen as they get older. Their dad is very extreme in his thinking and his whole life revolves around Islam. He lacks an identity without it. As they get older, I think they will see that and maybe become influenced if they stay close to him.
Topic: Hi Everyone