Haram: This is another term that I learned from my students. Haram in Arabic simply means “Forbidden.” The boys were quick to point out if another student was acting in a haram way. “Teacher, haram, teacher, haram,” they would announce and point to whatever boy was committing the forbidden action.
Investigating these accusations would usually lead me to seeing an Instagram picture on their iPad of a girl. Of course, pornography is blocked from computers in the UAE, so the girl would be fully clothed, but the fact that a boy was looking at a girl was haram. Ah, if only my American students had been so innocent.
One day, Faisal was called out by the Principal and the whole class started laughing. When I asked, what was going on, they all exclaimed, “Teacher, haram, haram.” Turns out Faisal had over 20 pictures of girls (again, fully clothed) on his Ipad that he had saved from Instagram. His father was called in, he was dismissed for the day (parents take care of the discipline at home), and when he returned, I never saw haram on his computer again!
This photo is considered haram.
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