The word ‘sex’ in the Common concept of Muslim society is a word that denotes sin. This is what made it a taboo and one of the prohibitions that should not be expressed freely and clearly, which led to the lack of proper knowledge of children about sexual matters and their discovery in a proper manner.
Correct knowledge helps prepare an individual for life. Thus, his need for sexual concepts becomes essential, such as his need to learn, care and guide his physical, mental, moral and social development. No matter how caution it is to keep sexual matters away from individuals of any age, they resort to other sources to find out the knowledge that has been withheld from them and it is inevitable that knowledge of sex is in this way. A cause for deviation and congenital degeneration; On this basis, we raised the issue of sexual education within the Muslim family, trying to learn about some aspects of this education and the principles and foundations that families adopt through the process of indoctrination of their children.
Where the family plays an important role in transmitting the social model to its children through the multiple functions it exercises in the process of socialization; It is the embrace in which the individual is raised from childhood to adulthood, deriving from it his social experience. As the family represents the constant element in the formation of the personality of the individual, unlike other factors represented in friends or school, which are embodied in the “duty of physical, emotional, moral, religious and sexual education in all the stages the individual goes through “, his personality is dependent on the formation of the parents and the nature of the social milieu culturally. In addition, social upbringing in building the family is considered an important process and a necessary pillar in the normalization of children with known and socially acceptable traits.
The Arab family is generally characterized as an extended family, meaning that close relationships exist not only between parents and children, but also extend to the grandfather, grandmother, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts … etc. The literal meaning of the so-called extended family is that three generations live under one roof, and their relationships overlap, and their interests and properties overlap.
However, this literal meaning has evolved and has become also referring to close relationships and interdependence of interests between relatives, and the loyalties and expectations that accompany them, in which failure to comply would constitute a departure from the family.
And the general movement of modernization following a meeting between East and West, and the development that accompanied this in the fields of education, industrialization, the expansion of cities, and the spread of a number of values that are built on the rights of individuals, including the values of equality, movement, independence, justice and openness of society, and in addition to this, the system of services, employment and migration from the countryside to the city expanded.
In its turn, the Muslim family has witnessed profound transformations in terms of social, political and economic aspects, public behavior and the pattern of cultural practice that has become a mixture of cultural heritage and liberation thought. This means that this development and transformation “is a double social control with respect to traditions, aspiration for modernization and a libertarian spirit.”
Accordingly, the multiple visions of the Muslim family have become part of the traditions. This is what prompted us to address some of its characteristics, features and stages of development, for the father is the authority in it, and if the grandfather is found, he is the spiritual leader, he is consulted in all aspects and matters, and who has the final word.
But this concept has evolved and the matter in decision-making has become democratically taken, and sometimes the opinion of the father is not taken into consideration, but only consulted in terms of respect and appreciation of the father’s standing. Here the concept of ‘kinship’s authority’ comes. It means that the family decision after the father is for the son, then the grandson -and the woman is always linked to the male. However, this concept did not remain the same, as social mobility gave women greater freedom and began to impose their status within the family.
The family is also considered a social cell based on a division and distribution of roles that reflects social, cultural and economic concepts and values in light of the transformations that the Algerian family is going through today. Family roles have undergone several changes in the composition and relationships.
Women’s work outside home and its role in changing the parenting pattern
The work of women and their intrusion into the field of work represented one of the important factors that led to the development of the role of women inside home, which in turn led to the change in the roles of husbands and children as a result of the interaction of this phenomenon with social, cultural and other factors. This is in addition to the technological factor, through which the daily uses of these technological means lead this category to derive many types of behavior, representations and values. By this factor, these means compete with the family, school and community institutions as a whole in the process of socialization.
This is what led the Muslim to adopt a set of extraneous values, in most cases inconsistent with the cultural heritage and the value system, changing the personality of the human being, disrupting family relations, changing the value system, and marginalizing the local and national culture is a product of this incoming cultural momentum, accepting the culture of the other and scrambling towards it. It represents now spatial symbols that are rooted in the action of the force flowing in the absence of the immune system inside.
Young people and expatriate cultures
Young people are exposed to pressures and challenges as a result of the original culture and its clash with the new culture, and the cultural gap between the old and the new and its effects on the social structure. These data represent challenges and stakes facing the family in order to preserve the elements of its identity and its roots in the hearts of young people.
To achieve this, it must adopt a conscious intellectual policy with goals based on the foundations of the Algerian culture, in line with the current situation variables without dissolution and decay in the other. True awareness is critical awareness that is able to reveal reality, expose it and reveal its civilizational base. Reality cannot be changed except by unveiling its truth, and this disclosure process is nothing but a critical knowledge process aimed at changing it. In other words, the Muslim family must realize the true reality and livelihood of its members and stand up for what is positive for the individual and society.
We must also stand up and penetrate deep into the phenomena and behaviors that have negative or inconsistent repercussions with the Algerian value and ethical system that threaten the stability of the social structure and its interference in a conflict between authenticity and modernity, and the feeling of alienation and the loss of Algerian identity and privacy. While trying to change it for the better and taking into account the aspiration of this group to develop and modernize in line with the global level, but this equation is difficult to obtain; Because this duality (originality and modernity), the first means self-preservation, which means withdrawal from the world and civilization, while the second means engaging in civilization that calls for self-rejection.
This is what summarizes the ABCs of this nation and what it is, and it is a clear expression of the civilizational backwardness that these societies are experiencing. It is one of the characteristics of societies that have lost their civilization and that live in a civilized backwardness, that the culture varies with civilization, and where the demand for identity or self-conflicts with the demand for modernity.
Sex Education
This narration is about the Muslim family and its privacy in general, as for what concerns us is the effect of this specificity on sex education and its orientations The authority within the Algerian family is patriarchal power and the consolidation of male domination in the hearts of the younger generations, meaning that relations between family members in this pattern are characterized by the clear control of the male not only as a living symbol of power, but as a dominant idea over individuals’ perceptions and practices, thus constituting every attempt to break out of the patriarchal sphere of domination. A direct threat not only to the prevailing pattern of power relations, but also to embody a threat to a fundamental symbol, which is the “knowing self” that claims to possess the truth or pure knowledge of every distortion or error.
In such a situation, sexual education within the Muslim family is excluded from dialogue and persuasion of the argument, to be replaced by the command and the prohibition, and the necessity of obedience and submission. This is in order to preserve this pattern of power and power relations based on the legitimacy of claiming to monopolize the truth.
Education in general is a process that the individual acquires through the social and cultural values and standards directed to his behavior within the society to which he belongs, and through it the social roles and behavioral patterns determined by the society according to the gender of the individual are learned with the aim of preserving the survival of this society and the continuation of its cultural features along with its customs, traditions and beliefs.
That is why education is considered the most complex social process, as it includes all aspects of life because it greatly contributes to the formation of a balanced and complete individual in his physical, mental, psychological, social, health and sexual aspects. Therefore, each aspect of these was singled out for special education, and it is clear that all of these aspects are present in the Muslim community with the exception of sex education, and the reason is within this society to consider that this topic is a taboo subject that individuals do not have the right to address, so how can it be embodied in the framework of education and teach it to children in Arab societies that suffer greatly from a lack of knowledge and interest in the issue of sexual education for children.
Therefore, we see very dangerous behaviors by mothers and fathers when dealing with their children, because some believe that such matters are not suitable for early childhood. But be confident that this technological and cognitive openness made children vulnerable to delinquency more than at any other time. If the parents did not initiate talking about such matters and make the child feel safe when talking about them and that they are natural matters and provide him with a safe space to ask about everything he hears, sees and comes to his mind, then there will be an alternative and we do not know what it is and who this alternative would be. It could be a porn movie, a perverted friend, or false information!
While sex education is the process of acquiring information and forming attitudes and beliefs about sexuality, sexual identity and emotional relationships, it is concerned with developing the skills of individuals in order to obtain correct information. It also gives facts about sex, and helps individuals protect themselves against exploitation, rape, illegal relationships and sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS, and improving the quality of relationships, developing the capabilities of individuals to make decisions in everything related to their lives.
Therefore, sex education seeks to achieve a number of goals, including:
- Providing the individual with the correct necessary information about what sexual activity is, and teaching him the scientific connotations related to the genital organs, in order to form sound attitudes towards sexual matters, in line with human and natural relations and the principles of personality development.
- Ensuring the establishment of healthy relations between the sexes based on accurate understanding and correct directions, with full appreciation of personal and social responsibility for sexual behavior, and the protection of the individual from the dangers of irresponsible and illegal sexual experiences, whether health, psychological, or social.
- The development of a good conscience regarding any sexual behavior carried out by an individual; So that it is in line with religious teachings and ethical standards, and in a way that achieves self-respect and does not harm the other.
- Correcting false information, ideas and trends towards some patterns of sexual behavior.
From this standpoint, our goal is to know the reality of this education in light of the peculiarities of the Muslim community, its customs and traditions. We focus on the family because it is the first environment in which the individual lives, interacts with it, and derives from it his values, standards and primary trend. So, it is considered the main pillar in the education process, especially the sexual education.
