In the name of Allah, the Compassionate Source of All Mercy
The double cassette package comes with three short stories, a quiz, a code breaker and a bonus song.
From the opening drum beats and catchy theme you know you're in for some sort of ride. Khaleel Muhammad is clearly trying to address a certain audience in mind. The slang-like twist of his voice and stripped down musical background lets us know that he has a message to give all of the teenagers out there.
The first two tapes deal with drugs and peer pressure. Now, this may seem common place for some of you. "We already know drugs are bad!" However, this disease is now becoming a strong problem in our Ummah.
While it could once be said that America and its children are lost souls, we now see that this unthinkable behavior is slowly creeping into the lives of Muslim children.
The main antagonist, Sharky, is at the center of a drug ring that is hitting too close to home for our hero, Hakim. The message is straight forward and not "sugar coated." Hakim learns, as do we, that just being a Muslim does not protect you from such temptations. Acting like a Muslim and trusting in Allah's guidance does.
The last story deals with a Muslim brother who had gone astray. Sound familiar? See how Hakim deals with such a situation. Last but not least there is "the song." The introductory "ditty" is cute and rather catchy, but brothers...sisters.... the song.
While Br. Muhammad's voice is very strong, clear and animated for the stories, his singing voice....is good, but....brothers...sisters...the song! It's been my experience that good Muslim songs are hard to come by, for kids, that is.
It's tough not to sound too preachy. "Drugs are bad...alcohol is too...shoo-bee...do-be...do." No, those are NOT the lyrics to "the song," but you get the idea. Let's be realistic. No teenager is going to hum such a song in his or her head, but they will remember the heroics of Hakim. And isn't that what it's all about? "uh."
Without an accompanying book it might be difficult to get kids into this tape, but I've thought of some ways.
1. play it in the car: as opposed to listening to mindless
chatter, pop in the tape and have an impromptu discussion about the choices
Hakim makes
2. have kids make their own comic book that matches the tape
3. for school, practice listening development: have the kids listen
to the story and then answer questions based on what they heard
4. Because each story has two parts, have the children discuss what Hakim
should do and compare it to what he does do
5. Look up the ayats that Hakim mentions in the stories and have the
children question why these particular ayats were chosen. Are there
other ayats that mention something similar?
