Recommend a Muslim church?

[Anonymous]

I adopted my children from a predominantly Muslim country and would like to expose them to it.
Is there a "liberal" or "progressive" Muslim church around Montgomery Co. that anyone can recommend we try?
I know of the one on Mass. Ave., but it's a bit further than I'd like to travel.
Also, if we go to one, do I need to cover my head? What would I need to know ahead of time to attend?
Do they have "Sunday school" for children or do the kids stay with parents?
I personally come from a liberal protestant denomination, and am having trouble finding
a church with much diversity (i.e. UCC, episcopal, unitarian, etc.), though we're comfortable with their approaches.
Would we be better off just sticking to unitarian, which teaches a bit about all the major religions, or just reading about it?
Would I be accepted as an outsider?

[Anonymous]

Mosque, OP. Not church.

[Anonymous]

I would research more about the faith and veiws on groups like women and gays. For example, if your kids were adopted from a primarily Catholic country, would you try to raise them in the Catholic faith, or would you weigh the traditionally Catholic views on women, gays, etc something that was not right for your family and your children?

Attending a church, particularly one with strong views or views contrary to your own belief system is more than just a cultural exploration.

You mentioned attending UU in the past so I am guessing (perhaps incorrectly) that your family's belief system is such that it might not be compatible with what your kids will be taught attending such a conservative religion's training and services.

[Anonymous]

I think this is lovely. I don't have any great suggestions for specific mosques, but there are absolutely liberal Muslim traditions that you could explore. If you'd like, I could ask some Muslim friends and report back.

I will say, though, that the Islamic world is so big and diverse that you might have better luck helping him connect with his specific cultural heritage (like, Somali or Sudanese) rather than focusing on the religious piece unless you know for a fact that his family of origin was religious.

[Anonymous]

Islamic Community Center in Potomac is welcoming. But I don't think you'll find any "liberal" version of a mosque. And this one is Shia. If that matters to you.

There are many cultural groups around if you prefer that route. Islam is huge and not practiced identically by everyone. You will find some significant differences by country. If you give a region or country I might be able to help.

Also, adoption is not common in Islamic countries. Islam views adoption very differently than we do. The kids don't give up their father's name, for example. So I think you will get a lot of questions about that. Was the child Muslim? Christian? Something else? And so on.

Reach out to a mosque. Ask them about attending services. Men and women sit separately. I don't know at what age children must joint their gender group. But you can ask that too. Yes you should take a scarf to wear and ask if they'd like you to wear it. Most mosques do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I adopted my children from a predominantly Muslim country and would like to expose them to it.
Is there a "liberal" or "progressive" Muslim church around Montgomery Co. that anyone can recommend we try?
I know of the one on Mass. Ave., but it's a bit further than I'd like to travel.
Also, if we go to one, do I need to cover my head? What would I need to know ahead of time to attend?
Do they have "Sunday school" for children or do the kids stay with parents?
I personally come from a liberal protestant denomination, and am having trouble finding
a church with much diversity (i.e. UCC, episcopal, unitarian, etc.), though we're comfortable with their approaches.
Would we be better off just sticking to unitarian, which teaches a bit about all the major religions, or just reading about it?
Would I be accepted as an outsider?

Why? Being born in a predominantly X country doesn't automatically make you X. Do you know definitively that they were born to muslim parents? How old were they when you adopted them? You're their mother, you should rear them in your religion. I don't think this makes any sense. It's a religion, not a cultural tour.

You can expose them to the language and culture of their country, but dabbling in a religion that has no meaning to you, a faith that isn't yours or theirs isn't quite right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I adopted my children from a predominantly Muslim country and would like to expose them to it.
Is there a "liberal" or "progressive" Muslim church around Montgomery Co. that anyone can recommend we try?
I know of the one on Mass. Ave., but it's a bit further than I'd like to travel.
Also, if we go to one, do I need to cover my head? What would I need to know ahead of time to attend?
Do they have "Sunday school" for children or do the kids stay with parents?
I personally come from a liberal protestant denomination, and am having trouble finding
a church with much diversity (i.e. UCC, episcopal, unitarian, etc.), though we're comfortable with their approaches.
Would we be better off just sticking to unitarian, which teaches a bit about all the major religions, or just reading about it?
Would I be accepted as an outsider?

Why? Being born in a predominantly X country doesn't automatically make you X. Do you know definitively that they were born to muslim parents? How old were they when you adopted them? You're their mother, you should rear them in your religion. I don't think this makes any sense. It's a religion, not a cultural tour.

You can expose them to the language and culture of their country, but dabbling in a religion that has no meaning to you, a faith that isn't yours or theirs isn't quite right.

+1

[Anonymous]

OP is going to have alot to navigate if she refers to mosques as muslim churches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I adopted my children from a predominantly Muslim country and would like to expose them to it.
Is there a "liberal" or "progressive" Muslim church around Montgomery Co. that anyone can recommend we try?
I know of the one on Mass. Ave., but it's a bit further than I'd like to travel.
Also, if we go to one, do I need to cover my head? What would I need to know ahead of time to attend?
Do they have "Sunday school" for children or do the kids stay with parents?
I personally come from a liberal protestant denomination, and am having trouble finding
a church with much diversity (i.e. UCC, episcopal, unitarian, etc.), though we're comfortable with their approaches.
Would we be better off just sticking to unitarian, which teaches a bit about all the major religions, or just reading about it?
Would I be accepted as an outsider?

Why? Being born in a predominantly X country doesn't automatically make you X. Do you know definitively that they were born to muslim parents? How old were they when you adopted them? You're their mother, you should rear them in your religion. I don't think this makes any sense. It's a religion, not a cultural tour.

You can expose them to the language and culture of their country, but dabbling in a religion that has no meaning to you, a faith that isn't yours or theirs isn't quite right.

+1

+2 Strong possibility the children are NOT Muslim as countries with Muslim majorities almost never allow adoption by a nonMuslim unless they go through a conversion process. Even then you are really just a guardian as technically there is no adoption in Islam

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP is going to have alot to navigate if she refers to mosques as muslim churches.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I adopted my children from a predominantly Muslim country and would like to expose them to it.
Is there a "liberal" or "progressive" Muslim church around Montgomery Co. that anyone can recommend we try?
I know of the one on Mass. Ave., but it's a bit further than I'd like to travel.
Also, if we go to one, do I need to cover my head? What would I need to know ahead of time to attend?
Do they have "Sunday school" for children or do the kids stay with parents?
I personally come from a liberal protestant denomination, and am having trouble finding
a church with much diversity (i.e. UCC, episcopal, unitarian, etc.), though we're comfortable with their approaches.
Would we be better off just sticking to unitarian, which teaches a bit about all the major religions, or just reading about it?
Would I be accepted as an outsider?

Why? Being born in a predominantly X country doesn't automatically make you X. Do you know definitively that they were born to muslim parents? How old were they when you adopted them? You're their mother, you should rear them in your religion. I don't think this makes any sense. It's a religion, not a cultural tour.

You can expose them to the language and culture of their country, but dabbling in a religion that has no meaning to you, a faith that isn't yours or theirs isn't quite right.

+1

+2 Strong possibility the children are NOT Muslim as countries with Muslim majorities almost never allow adoption by a nonMuslim unless they go through a conversion process. Even then you are really just a guardian as technically there is no adoption in Islam

What would be a shamenis if those children ended up internationally adopted because their family was killed or persecuted for being Christian or some other non muslim sect or religion, and their non muslim adopted mother (who is well intended but knows so little about that faith as to refer to mosques as churches) decides she is doing a good thing by raising these non muslim kids in the faith that is not partof their heritage and actually resulted in them being eligible for international adoption in the first place.

OP, you never said their birth parents were muslim, just that their country of origin is primarily muslim. May I ask if it is a country known for persecuting non muslims or ethnic cleansing of those they see as non believers?

[Anonymous]

OP, you can't do islam "lite". Your children will be taught practices like they can't eat pork. They can't drink alcohol. They should eat halal. They should pray 6 times a day. Its a way of life.

You need to consider how it will fit into your lifestyle and your values now you're the mother of the children. Learning about a culture is very different than immersing in a religion. You need to separate teaching your children about their culture of origin vs teaching them about a religion.

[Anonymous]

Op, you might want to investigate where the people from your child's birth country actually go. Mosques vary like churches do. I think it is great you want to enrich the life of your family this way. I recommend you start with some reading rather than mosque attendance.

[Anonymous]

Also bear in mind that "Muslim country" is a vague term from Turkey to Saudi Arabia, so there are counties in which Muslims who barely observe and those which function like theocracies.

Ultimately, it's about what you want out of life and how welcome you feel. You're the parent now. You sound pretty secular. Maybe you should do some research about their country of origin's culture but focus on your own. Keep it light.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you can't do islam "lite". Your children will be taught practices like they can't eat pork. They can't drink alcohol. They should eat halal. They should pray 6 times a day. Its a way of life.

You need to consider how it will fit into your lifestyle and your values now you're the mother of the children. Learning about a culture is very different than immersing in a religion. You need to separate teaching your children about their culture of origin vs teaching them about a religion.

You totally can do Islam "lite". I am Muslim but do none of the things you say we have to do. I am from a predominately Muslim country where most people are pretty laid-back about religion. I do still identify as Muslim and celebrate all the holidays and raise my kids with the values and traditions that I was raised with.

Just as some people are Christian but not very religious and do not adhere to all the things that they are supposed to do as Christians, a Muslim can still be a Muslim and not pray five times a day.

OP, I appreciate that you want to connect your children to their roots. My suggestion would be to connect them to people and organizations connected to the specific country they were adopted from and get guidance there. I think incorporating some traditions from their home country would be valuable.