Bless you for starting the journey to become a foster parent. It sounds like you are connected to a local group already that should be able to help you through the questions. My family and I just started down that road as well! We are hoping to adopt through foster care. Are you a first time parent?

mommato2lilmonkeys

I'm not sure where you are but when I attended our weekend course for adoption/foster/kincare/respite they had us fill out a questionnaire. It asked things like would we be willing to take on a child with severe physical disabilities? Would we take on a child who is HIV+? Would we take on a child of a different ethnicity? And if I remember correctly there were also questions about religion. I'm an Athiest but that never affected my chances. I didn't, however, say no to kids who were born in say Catholic or Jewish or even Muslim homes. So you will most likely be limiting yourself by specifying only Muslim children. But just being a Muslim won't. I'm in Canada btw so it may be different fepending on where you are located. Good luck and well wishes!

Out of curiosity, why would you only want to foster Muslims?

Thanks for the replies and the suggestions.
dancingsunflowers80 : yes i will be a first time parent if i get eligible to foster. I have infertility issues and i had lost my one and only child to stillbirth. After a long time thinking finally we decided that instead of spending money for infertility treatments it is better to foster a child who is already born and is in need of home and parents.
dryadteacher: answering your curiosity, one of the main reasons is that my home environment will be Islamic and if i foster a child who belongs to a different religious background when that child will be reunited with his/her family the child might face some changes for example the child will see us praying five times a day,, females covering the head , no free mixing between males and females etc.
If i get chance to foster to adopt and if i am given a child from a different ethnicity or religious background and if i am allowed to raise that child as a Muslim i have no objections to foster that child.

You can take a non Muslim child in to your home and not raise them strictly in the Muslim way.

My brother in law is Muslim. His wife is not. It was a long process full of a lot of hatred but he made the decision and as such a lot of his family will not speak to him. He still practices. My daughter is 5 and she goes and spends a week, sometimes 2 weeks, in the summer with her Auntie Sarah and Uncle Senol. While she is there Senol (he also goes by Benny) practices just as he would any other time. My daughter does not. She has been in a mosque and we bought him new tespe beads for Ramadan a few years back. We teach her to respect what her Uncle does and believes in. So while he is off to pray she colours quietly. She does not eat pork in front of him....none of us do actually, again, out of respect. She can actually say a few words in Turkish that are phrases that apply to the Muslim religion. I don't know the exact translation and I'm embarrassed to admit that I can't wrap my tongue around the words....if I could then I would also say them when appropriate.

You can request a boy so that head covering is not necessary. And you can set it up so the child is respectful of your religion but does not have to actively partake in it. Have him do some quiet chores while you pray, or do homework. Have him learn a bit about what it is all about.

But if you are set on a Muslim child then maybe offer respite care during non prayer hours while you are waiting for one. It will give you time with children and you will be able to help them and others.

check out littleorphanhannie.com This is a blog written by a former foster kid that gives perspective on what its like from their point of view.

@mysweetbaby1, so sorry to hear about your loss. Bless your heart. I think it's great that you are opening your heart to a child in need. :)

mommato2lilmonkeys

I like the idea of maybe only taking boys, so you don't have to address many of the stricter tenants of the Muslim religion. Also, remember that even many Muslims don't cover their heads, so you could still have issues with girls that weren't raised in that environment.

As for raising them in the religion, we are Christian, and while we don't go to church regularly, we still have a home church. Until kids are in high school, if we go, they go (unless we have a specific no church kid, which hasn't happened yet). Once they are in high school, though, we request that they go with us once, so they can meet our pastor and see what OUR church is like. After that, it is fully their choice.

I was raised outside of the church, since my dad was Christian and my mom was Jewish, so I know all about choosing your own path.

I should add that I also think that it is good for people to be exposed to different religions, as long as those religions aren't forced on them.

We just finished our classes and one of the topics discussed was that you don't enforce on the child something they are not accustomed to. You can request permission from the bio parents for example or get court orders. We were amazed at how much they don't want the rights of that child jeopardized (especially if this is a temporary situation). Here in California, you have to have a court order to have a foster child's hair cut! I know, I thought it was crazy at first but then looking at different religions, culture, etc. where hair is an important token, you don't want to mess with that. I think the key is to be very open with your social workers and let them know your choice of religion so that the placement is both ideal for you and most importantly for the child. Here our social workers are great at pegging you for your choice in age, sex, ethnicity, etc. Best of luck on this new phase!