What is Mufti Day?

tomorrow is ‘mufti day’ in khaleef’s school.

what’s a ‘mufti day’? something religious happening in school? a mufti coming over to give a talk? a birthday of a famous mufti? what is it?

in a letter to parents from the school, it’s said that on this ‘mufti day’,

• it’s a non-uniform day
• khaleef can wear any other ‘colorful’ clothes
• and bring a minimum of 10 dirham for charity

ha?

i was reading the letter and was clueless with the connection between a day called ‘mufti day’ with non-uniform day, and with bringing 10 dirham.

 

 

 

i googled of course.

 

mufti, or civies/civvies (slang for "civilian attire"), refers to ordinary clothes, especially when worn by one who normally wears, or has long worn, a military or other uniform.

mufti day (also known as casual clothes day, casual friday, own clothes day, home clothes day, plain clothes day, non-uniform day, free dress day) is a day where schools allow the students and staff to come to school in normal clothing (instead of uniform). in return, students are usually required to pay a small fee. the proceeds go to fund raising efforts in which the school is currently involved.

~wikipedia

 

so it’s actually simply a day where kids wear their everyday clothes, but have to bring some money for charity. in uk, australia, canada – the schools are doing it, so it;s not JUST a dubai thing as i first thought. this is really a new thing for me, because it’s the first time that i heard of ‘mufti day’!

however, as much as i’m all for charity and donations, i was taken aback by the letter from khaleef’s school.

from the letter i got, written by the principal it said, and i quote, “…children will wear colored clothes and bring a minimum amount of dhs10 for charity.” yeap. no ‘please’, no ‘if it’s possible,’ not even a ‘if you would be so kind’ flowery words!

i mean, make an effort to sound pleading, at least! ni macam ayat arahan je! i felt like khaleef is in a military school! hihi.

dah la ade jumlah minima, lepas tu ayat macam kena paksa je. hmm. jadi kalo aku nak bagi 5 dirham je, tak boleh la ye. ini kan derma. ikhlas dari hati, tak kira banyak ke sikit. kenapa nak kena ada had?

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kat malaysia takde macam ni kan?

i remember when i was in school, a ‘derma PIBG’ thing where we’re given a letter with slips that parents can fill in with name, amount and signature. some gave RM2, mostly probably about RM5, and a few gave more than RM10. there wasn’t any minimum amount, kan? bagi je la berape-berape nak bagi kan?

 

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these are some comments i collected all over the net – sites, moms forum, expats chats – i don’t agree with everything but it’s just interesting to note what some mothers have to say about ‘mufti day’ :

 

AGAINST

• Some mothers think this ‘charity’ thing is no charity at all when it’s made to seemed like it’s compulsory
• parents don’t know which charity the money goes to and that they should have the right to choose that charity (to me, no need to choose, but at least mention the name of charity or orphanage that benefits)
• the minimum amount is specified in the letter – charity should be in whichever amount and parents should decide the amount they wish to donate – little or a lot (AGREE)
• if the kiddos can wear anything they want after giving this so-called charity money, this will give the wrong impression on the kids. they would expect a reward whenever they give out charity
• this is a for of bribe (ha?!) it’s like, ‘hey kids, bring 10 dirham to school, and you can wear anything you want to school.’ (bribery? really?)
• in other words : ‘okay kids, you wanna wear your ben10 t-shirt to school tomorrow? okay, pay 10 dhs. oh, don’t worry, this money will go for a charity – but if you won’t pay you cannot wear your favorite clothes’!
• donation should be something you give without the expectation of anything in return. however, ‘mufti day’ is like the kiddos are ‘buying’ this ‘non-uniform day’.

 

FOR

• it would be more fun to allow a non-uniform day than a straightforward request from the school by saying for example "okay people, it's near ramadhan so we are collecting money for charity - please give generously". full stop. seronok la budak-budak kalo ade hari special macam ni hihi
• during PTA meeting, parents can express concerns and ask which charity benefits from this ‘mufti day’
• cammon – just ONE day of non-unifrom for small kiddos, along with this TINY contribution – not too much to ask!
• and the kids love not wearing uniforms! they can wear their cool spidey t-shirt, their favorite purple gown or that fancy yellow pants. why not give them this joy for ONE day, even if it comes with a price – that is, after all, for charity!
• the school is actually teaching the kiddos that they can do something nice for other unfortunate kiddos by raising a little bit of money for charity. and the kids can do this wearing their fancy shirts and dresses!
• this is just like when big organizations pay 10K for a table and that money goes to charity – don’t these adults get to wear strappy tuxedos and fancy evening gowns to a fundraiser dinner party? same logic! why can’t kids have the same fun?

 

what do you think?

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anyway, tomorrow khaleef IS wearing his favorite t-shirt, and yes, he IS bringing some money.

for charity.

and boy, he’s gonna have fun donating!