Idea No 9: Write to your Child’s School about Ashura
A lot of school-age children will be attending mosque during the nights, and however quickly we try and leave the mosque to be home and have the kids in bed at a decent time, this is not always possible! The knock-on effect is seen the next morning, when they have to get up for school…
So why not write to your school and give them a heads up?
And here’s a thought – even if your children are tucked in bed by 8pm during the week and only attend mosque during the weekend, why not write to the school anyway and spread the word?!
Usually if Ashura fell on a school day, we would have to provide some sort of reason as to why the children aren’t attending, but since this year it falls on the weekend, let’s use any excuse to write to them! Then maybe we can use this letter next year and adjust it slightly to include a day off 😉
So here’s the letter – after debating what the best format to post it was, I have decided on just writing it out here. That way, you can just copy and paste it into your own document and amend the details in BOLD to personalise it (and italicise the quotes too please to make them stand out!).
And here’s another thought – why not e-mail it to them? That way, they will be more inclined to check out the website linked in (just a click away!).
Here it is:
Dear HEAD/TEACHER,
This is just to let you know that this month we are commemorating a man who, along with his family and close friends, was killed for upholding social justice and the rights of others. This man was called Hussain.
Although not much has been said about him in mainstream history or the media, he has gone on to inspire many a contemporary leader, including Gandhi’s famous struggle for independence.
“I learnt from Hussain how to achieve victory while being oppressed.” – Mahatma Ghandi
“In a distant age and climate, the tragic scene of the death of Hussain will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.” – Edward Gibbons, English Historian and Member of Parliament
I have included a link to a website: www.whoishussain.org which gives a bit more insight into the event which is usually commemorated by over 200 million Shiite Muslims around the world.
On that note, the memorial is usually attended over a period of 12 days and thus you may find my SON/DAUGHTER slightly tired over the next few days. The final day of remembrance (Ashura Day) is on DAY AND DATE and so my child(ren) will not be attending school on this day.
Thank you for your understanding in this matter and should you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Warm Regards,
NAME OF PARENT
P.S. This letter was inspired by SIM Madressa who had a letter available last year for this reason, and www.whoishussain.org‘s amazing work in getting the word of our Imam out there!
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Here is what someone said after they did this:
“Just wanted to share above. I emailed the buzz Ideazz letter into school for all my children. This is part of the response from my older son’s form tutor. It looks like he took time to go on to the whoishussain.com link to find more out! Imam Husayn awakens every soul!!”
