I, like many other Muslims living in the West, fight the daily battle, shielding my children from unsuitable materials, on television, in movies,etc. I scour the net for reviews on children’s books to weed out inappropriate relationships, discourteous behavior, lying, cheating, stealing and the ever-popular occult materials and “paranormal romance”. It is difficult to find things to read nowadays! Difficult but not impossible.

I read an article on Muslim Matters a few weeks ago and I’ve been so deeply disturbed and discouraged by it that I am at a loss as to how I can properly articulate my feelings about it. The article tells is entitled “5 Important Lessons From Harry Potter”.

Perhaps the comments were even more disappointing than the actual written piece. People were saying, “AlhamduLillah! MashaAllah!” and on and on. Can you imagine if this were a khutbah at the masjid? Astaghfirullah.

Just reading the title of the article was enough to make me wonder. Are we in such desperate need for entertainment? Have we given up our hatred of that which is despised by Allah because we are weak and feel the need to conform to modern distractions? Have we as Muslims become confused about what magic is? Is there a hadith that distinguishes between “white” and “black” magic that I missed? Are we so intent upon following our desires that we must insult one another by calling names, (extremists, prudes, uptight), or is it that some of us do not believe in magic at all?

For those who say that Harry Potter is just a harmless make-believe story, let me ask you this: would it feel good to see your child pretending to be a witch or a wizard, making up spells while utilizing a magic wand? Is that okay? I have to say, I would be wary of letting my children play with yours, especially unsupervised. There are some boundaries that I cannot cross.

Some parents think that it is all harmless fantasy and that as children grow, their maturity will guide them. However, this is not the case! My husband taught high school science at an Islamic school a few years ago, and the students would often ask questions like, “Is Harry Potter okay to read? Are vampires and werewolves real? Can we cast spells?” These were high school students – some nearly old enough to graduate and be considered adults in Western society! SubhanALLAH. In Islam, they are already adults. And if they aren’t sure whether Dracula is lurking outside the halal meat shop at night, then the Ummah really needs to step it up, Ya ALLAH!

Harry Potter is a story that condones what ALLAH has forbidden. Seemingly harmless magic, be it optical illusions, movies or books are a slippery road to darkness and that’s a deal breaker for me.

Again, forgive me for not being eloquent, I only want for other Muslims what I want for myself and that is to be closer to ALLAH سبحانه و تعالى.