Youth

Many Muslims groups wonder whats happened to our youth. They have left the deen and have busied themselves with earning a living.

They see the religion as something that they don't find anything in. Why have we reached this state? The answer is simple, really simple. The way we practice our religion isn't appealing to them.

It's that simple, they see us pray and fast but they just think that we are just physically wearing ourselves out and that's all.

They reject their background and reject part of this culture and then absorb themselves into such things as following their desires because they cannot see what we know about the religion. Also this is the age of following lowly desires.

Most of them absorb themselves into oppressed cultures who find themselves alienated in the modern world.

Our masjids are battle grounds where power struggles are fought and rivalry is battled out. Groups are presented and pushed forward, join my group, everyone has a group, this group mentality, almost tribal mentality is forced upon many.

This is wrong.

Were are those people who are interested in re-establishing the religion? Instead of establishing themselves, they want people to see that have some place in the masjid. Where did this come from?

On the flip side Wahhabi's on the whole don't have this problem, they are not plagued by corruption like the sunnis are, why is this? Why are the Sunnis making things hard for themselves, why don't they realise that we are chasing people out of our masjids and we don't care.

Generally there are exceptions but many Masjid committees are places were family loyalty is prevalent. They have made the masjid just a place where people pray and go home, the masjid was a place of learning.

Why don't we have the learning in the masjids like we used to do? The Committees are almost ineffective because they don't know what this country needs and they still think that they are living in a village somewhere in their homeland.

We have Imams whose mouths are sealed from speaking the truth about social problems, maybe due to fact that they are from Pakistan and don't see the need to look at our children and find out what their problems are.

Maybe they know but are forced to push all these problems under the carpet without thinking that this may have a longer, deeper effect that it did before. Or are their mouth sealed by the committee members, their silence buys them their jobs?


To solve the problem of the youth is to solve all the problems in our community.

This is not going to be easy but I do feel that things are slowly changing and they will change because if we continue in this manner they we will see that more problems.

I really hope that this can changed because if it cannot the future is bleak and this corrupt system will be removed so be part of the solution not part of the problem.

We have deep routed social problems which are steadily getting worse because of our failure to respond correctly and fix the problem.

We need to learn and we need to practice there no good in your love if you still disobey, you can slip up everyone does but you have to come back.

There are breakaway groups who are forming their own schools and calling English speaking scholars in, to teach. If the centre cannot be changed then it has to be changed from the outside this may lead to the death of these old-style movements and the birth of new Muslim organisations who can look after the needs of others.

Of course there are exceptions there are a few masjids who are working well with their communities but they are the minority.

So we should not be surprised when people leave the Sunnis because of this and the tragic events of last year. We have no knowledge that being parted in our masjids, so when people come and present ideas they see the people practice Islam better than the ones who they saw growing up. This must be the truth then! Unfortunately in terms of soundness of beliefs and jurist schools the four Sunni schools are unparallelled.

So the problem is our behaviour and our reaction to the people, our egos have tinged our religion for too long and now we are seeing bitter fruits ripen.

Now we cry because of our failures and our inability in reaching out to the people who need us the most, the youth, the weak and the needy.


We need to sit and listen then apply old solutions to new problems. If we cannot do it ourselves we get volunteers in who can help us in a certain field, women need to be catered for, because if we don't cater for women then others will.


We need scholars who understand this community and are willing to start at grass roots level and work to get the youth connected to the deen and the only this will happen is if we leave behind all our debris and go practice this deen and leave behind that which will eventually destroy us.