Hobbies And Interests
Sports Games
Although basketball, soccer, volleyball and table tennis may not seem to be particularly Islamic, they do have worthwhile health and social benefits for Muslim girls. Girls can play them with teams and associations that help protect their modesty and values by allowing them to wear headscarves and loose clothing while playing, separating girls teams from boys teams or locating girls games indoors so that boys cannot watch. Girls teams can participate in the Islamic Games, which is the largest community sporting event for Muslims in North America, held periodically and in various locations throughout the United States since 1987. The purposes of the games are to foster better relationships between Muslim and non-Muslim Americans and to promote heath and fitness among Muslims through sports.
Board Games
Girls can enjoy playing Islamic board games with their friends or their family members. Many different kinds of Islamic board games are sold at Islamic bookstores and online, most of which can be enjoyed by either girls or boys. Through playing these games, girls can learn about topics like the Hajj, the five daily prayers, mosques and general Islamic principals. Trivia games in English or Arabic can be purchased based on the Quran and Hadith, but some of them are so complicated that they need teacher or parent supervision.
Puzzles
Younger girls might enjoy doing Islamic puzzles, either alone or with their friends. These can also be purchased at Islamic bookstores. Islamic puzzles may contain Arabic words or letters, scenes from stories in the Quran, images of animals that were made by Allah or images of Mecca. Puzzles such as Islamic word searches, crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles and Arabic alphabet puzzles can also be found online.
Additional Online Games
Many other kinds of Islamic games can be found online, in addition to puzzles. These include quizzes about Islam and video and role playing games that incorporate Islamic characters or ideas. Although online games can be educational, not all games are to the same extent. For example, there is an online game called Halal and Haram in which the player, represented by an icon, must rapidly click on a number of images of foods that are acceptable for Muslims to eat, specifically ice cream soda, cupcakes and french fries, as they fall from the top to the bottom of the screen. The player must avoid clicking on any hamburgers because hamburgers are unacceptable to eat when improperly prepared or containing pork. If the player accidental clicks on a hamburger, her icon gets squirted in the face with ketchup. While games like this may be entertaining and related to Islam, they are not comparable to a good trivia game in their educational content.