There is an alarming rise of child molestation cases by Arabic teachers in India. From Delhi to Hyderabad, almost all major cities in India are witnessing child molestation by Arabic tutors and yet the Muslim Community of India has not come to terms to even agree that this problem exists. The cases that have been brought to media’s attention could just be tip of iceberg, whereas the problem can potentially be as scandalous as Child Abuse by Catholic Priests.

The victims are mostly girls aged less than 10 years, although there are cases where teenage boys have also been subjected to sexual abuse. In one case occurred at Mumbai, the accused Arabic tutor took advantage of the learning difficulties faced by 9 year old girl. The accused called the girl alone to the class and touched her inappropriately. The victim went into a shocked state and only after couple of days revealed to the parents. In another case occurred at Gurgaon, the Arabic tutor performed oral sex and forced the 8 year old girl to drink his urine. There are also cases where Arabic tutors have had forced anal sex with the teenage boys. Majority of these cases remain unreported as children aren’t aware of what’s happening to them. Even in cases where the kids reveal the abuse to the parents, parents don’t report the cases to law enforcement authorities fear social repercussions.

Arabic language is not taught in the schools in India, so Muslim parents engage a private Arabic tutor for the same.  Majority of the Arabic tutors come from rural parts of India and of extremely poor background. Often employed at the local mosque for less than $50 per month salary, in order make ends meet, they engage in private tutoring, where they can earn an additional $50. At $100 per month and with rising cost of living in Indian Metros, the Arabic tutors cannot afford to have a family. Most of them either are single or have families in their hometowns. Psychologically, they go through two main issues (1) the frustration of being away from the family and their inability to afford a good life (2) anger towards Muslims who feel unconcerned towards low wages being paid to them.  And often this frustration and anger is taken out on the little children. While, there is absolutely no justification for committing these sort of heinous crimes but in a society, the causes of the social evils needs to be addressed. There is also a strong need for Muslim parents to be vigilant and not blindly trust the tutor, just because he is teaching a religious text to their child.

The actions of few Arabic tutors doesn’t represent the entire community of thousands of pious and hardworking Arabic tutors in India. Statistically, the crimes committed by the Arabic teachers might be equal to that of teachers of any other language. However, the key difference here is that, Arabic tutors in India are also responsible for teaching Holy Quran to children. So, it comes with higher responsibility on part of Arabic tutors to hold themselves to a higher character.

Few Stories on Child Molestation by Arabic Tutor Published by Indian Media:

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