My Little Jedi Knights! by Ruhaifa Samir Being a mom is like being on jihad 24/7! If we’re not struggling with the children's’ mealtimes and bedtimes, then we’re either fighting off grandparents who think ‘what’s the harm in a little TV’ or struggling with environmental elements which just don’t match our Islamic Ideology. There is only so much you can explain to the child before their little imaginations are carried away with the ideas of superhero such as superman and spider-man. They go to school and their friends tell them everything you don’t want them to know, you take them out for a trip to the mall and the paraphernalia is right in their faces. The recent wave of Star War toys in the market caught the fancy of my two little boys who became Jedi knights over night, fighting against an imaginary Darth Vader. Totting their light sabers, my five and three year old were little Star War fans even though they have never seen the movie. I had never thought peer culture would exhibit at such a tender age. Allah is Merciful though and realizes a mother’s plight and her need for His help. And one day, on receiving hooded thawbs from my mother who had come back from Umrah, I sat down the little ones for a Star War version of my own. I told them about the greatest Jedi knight the world had seen: Khalid bin Waleed. I related to them the tales of his bravery, his conquests and victories and how he had fought the greatest Darth Vader of all times : Shaytan ar-rajeem! Excited, the boys donned their outfits and off they were, fighting and reliving the escapades of one of the greatest commanders of all times. And that night as they got into bed, tired from a day of wild imaginative play, my older one sleepily muttered as he slipped away to never-land: “Mummy, when I grow up I want to be a Jedi knight: just like Khalid bin Waleed!” Alhamdulillah! Now let’s see what I can do about Ben10!!