If you can’t fight them, at least make them better.
Behind the scene of our first children app, Alif.
My wife and I have always been a strict parents when it comes to screen time. Our eldest, Sumayyah, hardly knew what a television is in the first two years of her life. She didn’t play any games on the iDevices although we had plenty of those devices around the house. Some friends find my apprehension towards screens weird, given that I’m a software developer. But we are happy with our choice. Even after the age of two, Sumayyah only got to watch very short tv programmes; cartoons that are 5 minutes long and it will always be a co-watching session.
Now that Sumayyah is 6, we are more laxed with screen time. But she naturally chooses to do something physical like playing in the backyard or park or do crafts than reach for the iPad for games or YouTube. We have sat together as a family and watched two movies so far; Jungle Book and Finding Nemo. When her school played Frozen, her teachers said she just wasn’t interested and chose to play in the school yard.
So why the interest to create apps for Muslim children?
I’m a realist. I have to admit that times are changing. Smart devices are here to stay. And maybe instead of fighting, I should contribute to make our smart devices better tools for our children. But where should I start?
We currently live in a hyper-busy world. We spend more time working than anytime in history. And in many families, both parents need to work in order to make ends meet. Children are the first caualties in such arrangements. Parents spend less time with their kids.
As a Muslim parent, I want my children to grow up learning their religion. When I was growing up, even before formal schooling starts, we have to learn the Quran. Every night children will either learn from their parents or go to a house of an elderly lady who is knowledgeable about Quran recitation and learn from her. More often than not there will always be one of those ladies within walking distance from everybody’s house. Unfortunately that culture is slowly dying.
With the increase in demands for academic performance, children start schooling before the sun rises, and end just before they go to sleep. From schools to tuitions to homeworks to the hectic schedule of modern parents, there is hardly anytime left to go to the elderly lady’s house or spend time with the parents to learn Quran. And that is one of the most important part of growing up to be a good Muslim.
As Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said,
“The best among you are those who learn the Quran and teach it.”
How can we create a good Muslim generation without them knowing the Quran?
Islamic Sunday School
When I started a weekend Islamic class in Perth the demand was astounding. I had more students than I could handle. In fact I had to turn down some regsitrations. Parents really want their children to learn Islam. But I faced one major challenge; time. We only spent 1 hour a week with the kids learning Quran. What they learn this week, they forget half of it by the next class.
It dawned upon me that maybe an app could help. And app that is interesting enough that the children would love to use it, that feels like they are playing a game, but at the same time they learn the basics of Quran reading. There is of course no substitution to learning the Quran from a teacher, but I think an app could help reinforce what they have learned in that one hour a week.
Alif is best used as a reinforcement tool; not replacement. Where students at least go once a week to learn Quran from a teacher. In between classes Alif is used to help students retain whatever is learned.
And that is what our first app, Alif, is going to be about. A fun way to learn the Quran. Alif is best used as a reinforcement tool; not replacement. Where students at least go once a week to learn Quran from a teacher or their parents. In between classes Alif is used to help students retain whatever is learned. Eventhough less than ideal, Alif could also be used as the main learning tool. We are designing it to be smart enough for children to learn with the app on their own.
Alif willl start from the very basic; introducing the Arabic alphabets and how they sound and how to write the. We will slowly add more lessons and games in the near future. The objective is to teach children how to read Quran using modern tools.
Alif is just the beginning of our journey. We are working hard to release Alif before the end-of-year school holiday so that children can learn Quran while on vacation. Follow us here to be the first to know about the availability of Alif.
