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Nurul Fatimah, a fourth grade student at MIN Keunalo state Muslim elementary school in Seulimum district, Aceh Besar regency, Aceh, died on Saturday evening in a local hospital a week after being assaulted by her classmates.

Nurul had been rushed to the Zainoel Abidin General Hospital in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh after she was allegedly attacked by six male students from her school. The students are believed to have strangled Nurul with the scarf she was wearing and repeatedly kicked her in the stomach and chest. Prior to her death, Nurul was reportedly vomiting blood.

Seulimum Police chief First. Insp. Yulizar Lubis, confirmed the assault on Sunday. The police, however, had not yet received a report from the victim'€™s family about the incident, he added.

Your comments:

Another sad and tragic death of a child. Parents should be held accountable for the behavior of their children. These tragic cases are happening way too often and some serious actions should be taken to educate parents, teachers and students about the consequences of violent acts.

Religious figures also should be more involved in educating everyone on preventing violence, instead of endorsing it

Will

One of Islam'€™s teachings, among others, is that '€œ['€¦] the best provision is fear of Allah'€ (Al-Baqarah 2:197). And how can you communicate well with one you are taught to fear? You cannot.

If young Muslim children are essentially taught from a very early age to basically fear God, to faithfully perform Muslim rituals, to be able to read the Koran from start to finish, and if they choose to believe that if they are not devout Muslims, they will be eternally damned by an angry Allah, then these vicious actions of children against children are the result.

If children are taught from an early age that, if they don'€™t want to be cast into the depths of a burning hell, they must pray regularly to a deity who also has to be greatly feared, then cruel actions of children against their fellows are to be expected. The children who perform these malicious actions themselves feel unsafe and, besides having a chronic lack of love, they evidently also have not gained an understanding that Allah is also Divine Goodness, Divine Kindness, and Divine Understanding.

This is what most Muslim education of young children appears to lack. The stern discipline is there. The love and wisdom are not.

Firepooch

What will be the lesson the children learn from this? Most likely that if you pay the victim'€™s family a little cash, all the problems go away. It'€™s the Indonesian way.

Xsimaging