Ofcourse now that I am an adult, I have realized that none of these stories are true. I know now that religion is somewhat subjective, that it is sometimes manipulated to suit some people’s needs (political or otherwise.) I know that these teachers are not to blame, because this is what they were taught by their teachers, and so on.

But the thing is; I’m not quite sure what is to be gained from scaring 10 year olds to the point of insomnia. Perhaps this was someone’s idea of a joke? Or maybe a hundred years ago some sheikhs were sitting around thinking of ways to poison Islam with violent ideologies and pure lies, just because they are crazy evil-doers.
I have been told that children are scared into praying because nothing else will work, and because this is a sure-fire way to get them used to doing it.

At the age of 13, I started praying 5 times a day, everyday, regularly. Sometimes my heart wasn’t in it, but I did follow through with my prayers for five years.
At 18, the jig was up. I did a little bit of research and found that most of what I had been taught was complete bull shit.
At first I was shocked. And then I was agry and confused, and I was also convinced that when it came to my faith, I had been lied to about everything. Everything was a lie, and when it came to my faith, no-one deserved my trust anymore, as far as I was concerned.
A little dramatic, I admit, but still, I think how I felt and what I thought was not out of line. It is a miracle that I am not one of those depressed atheists who will end up killing herself. (Note, I do not in any way mean all atheists are depressed. On the contrary, some of them are delightful. Anyway.)
My point is, scaring me into Islam almost made me quit it.

There are many ways to make children want to pray (other than terrorizing or forcing them.) They can be told about the rewards that await those who pray in the afterlife, or how much of an accomplishment it is to even be a believer in anything in this day and age..
Faith is a beautiful thing. It is a shame to poison it with craziness and evil fanatacism. Afterall, Islam is a religion of peace.

People will still try and keep everything personal a secret, even from their loved ones. And when whatever it is they are trying to hide; whether it be a broken marriage, a high school drop-out, or any other thing that I feel is not as big a tragedy as most people might think, is so painstakingly obvious to their aforementioned loved one, their loved one will ignore it, and let who ever it is that is hiding a secret (that should be talked about) go on pretending everything is just fine and dandy.

It’s so frustrating. We, as a people, need to be open about everything! Nothing should be considered “dirty laundry”, or even taboo.
Like when we were kids. Everything was popsicles and running through the sprinklers in our underwear.

Those were the days.

What about where you’re from? Are people more open and trusting?

Now this must sound ridiculous, even to my fellow Saudis, but I cannot say it is not true. This is the case in most house-holds in Saudi Arabia.
I have met many girls whom I (at the time) thought were ignorant or dumb, girls that only tell you what they really think of anything after endless prompting.
But the more I think of girl1′s theory, the more I realize how much truth there is to it.

The most popular word in everyday conversation among the youth of Saudi Arabia, I have noticed, is the word “3adi” (A’adi.)
Basically, when someone says “3adi”, they are telling you they are indifferent.
This blasé, ‘to the devil with it’ attitude is what happens when children are told that speaking up is rude or inappropriate.

It is human nature to know exactly what it is you want. It is human nature to say what you think and to act upon it.
Anything otherwise is the result of following the teachings of uneducated old women who were at the time, probably just desperate for some peace and quiet.

That’s…

About it.

I will be coming back and making a complete fool of myself here regularly.
You really shouldn’t miss it.