|
Man is in Loss (
An American Muslim writer, Jeffrey
Lang, mentions the agony of a middle-aged Muslim father, Muhammad, in one of his
books, Even Angels Ask. Muhammad 'lost' his son by the time the young man turned
sixteen. "Muhammad was a truly devout Algerian Muslim who had done everything
to raise a good Algerian Muslim son. But his son was not an Algerian; he was as
American as apple pie, and whatever used to work back in Algeria had failed in
America, as it did for so many others". When the writer hears the terrible news
from the father, he was shocked like many others and contemplates why it happened.
Then his thought gradually settles in his mind and says to himself, "I was not
convinced that he had lost his son, because I was not sure that he had really
found him".
Like Muhammad in America, we come
across many people in the West who are joining the ever-increasing list of shattered
Muslims or 'Asian' parents of their 'lost' children. The number is multiplying
in an alarming rate, not because the parental care of their children has diminished
but because of the perilous metamorphosis the Muslim community is undergoing.
Often, parents in their old ages open their hearts to some one they trust and
express their pain and shock at the 'betrayal' of their grown up sons and daughters.
Incidents of bringing 'families into disrepute' by the teen-aged boys and girls
spread like wild fires in the community only to frighten the younger parents,
some of whom, with fear of losing their own 'sweeties' in future, begin to tighten
the 'grips' on the little ones. Does this work? Where does this lead to? Why should
Muslim parents worry so much about their children? Why does the Muslim community
feel so vulnerable about their future generation in the West, especially at a
time when they are the largest religious minority in some countries and Islam
is the 'fastest growing' religion? The causes are many some of which are mentioned
below.
A Question to think about
: Should we encourage our children to get married young to solve the problems
of teenage pregnancies and having a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship?
Western Society: Nature and Impact
The western society, especially
after the second world war, has undergone through a sexual revolution that has
given them uncontrolled freedom in sexual behaviour. The campaign for 'liberating'
women from the male domination and empowering them has been hijacked by the proponents
of extreme feminism. This has given rise to unparalleled permissive life style
and sexual promiscuity in the society. Most western parents have been compelled
to accommodate themselves with the reality of life. Marriage, as an institution,
is fast losing its significance. 'Living in sin' is no longer treated as sin.
The overt animosity towards divinely ordained values and the promotion of moral
relativism and permissiveness is having its toll. The proliferation of consumer
culture and entertainment industry is eating away the spirit of innocence from
the younger people. The display of erotic adverts in public places, the mass circulation
of pornographic tabloids and the 'censored' films in television industry are inviting
people towards promiscuity. Modelling, glorification of extra-marital sex and
homosexuality have become the tools of modernity. The effect is the erosion of
morality, the disintegration of family structure, paedophilia and other social
ills. Numerous help and chat lines are alluring young people for 'safe' but unlicensed
sex and contributing to further social disintegration. The society has changed
to such an extent that the sort of behaviour that dumbfounds Muslim parents and
devastates the community is treated as over-protectiveness.
In this climate, the first generation
of Muslim immigrants have undergone immense psychological complexities in adjusting
with the 'alien' environment. On the other hand, the later generation Muslims
are struggling hard to cope with the two 'opposing' worlds - the traditional inward-looking
Muslim life and the highly materialised, developed and complex western lifestyle.
The secularised education system and indulgent social pressure are having colossal
influence on the Muslim youth.
It is now widely acknowledged that
a significant percentage of children born to Muslim parents in the West are falling
into the disastrous pit of social, moral and sexual disorientation. Some of them
are even turning to atheism or heathenism. Couple of decades ago it would have
been astonishing to believe this. Now, the reality is haunting Muslim parents.
The social and religious anchors that kept the Muslim community in an enviable
advantage are now slackening. This has its unwanted but natural consequences in
Muslim underachievement in all walks of life. At the same time, the crime among
the Muslim youths is causing concern to many western countries. The recent "dramatic
rise in the number of Muslims in Britain's prisons" has created a shock wave within
the Muslim community and also the Prison service.
A Question to think about
: How is the separation of Muslims into different countries affecting unity?
Impact of Colonialism
Failing in their attempt to annihilate the spirit
of Islam during the colonial era, the colonial Europe left behind a tormented
nation, from the shore of Atlantic to the heart of Pacific. Arbitrary division
of Muslim lands and transplantation of hostile communities among the Muslim population
created insurmountable barrier to Muslim unity. On the other hand, the colonial
brain-children, created to carry out their job in the Muslim countries, have proved
fatal to Muslim regeneration for the last half a century.
As the entire Muslim world, except a few nominally
independent countries, was subjected to European colonialism 'the best community'
(al-Qur'an 3:110) has undergone a tremendous metamorphosis. Today, in the West,
most Muslims, apart from those in the Balkan hotspot, are 'immigrants' from the
ex-colonial lands of Asia and Africa. The effect of colonial hegemony, not only
in the form of material dependence and internal disharmony, but intellectual servility
and psychological despondency, is haunting the ummah everywhere. On the other
hand, many Muslims are leaving behind the trauma of war, violence, poverty, tribal
and sectarian intolerance in their own lands. Many in the community are disoriented
and uprooted from their anchored past.
A Question to think about
: Would our identity problems be solved if the Muslims united together and lived
in one state?
Failing to Understand the Objectives of Creation
Ever since the first man and woman stepped on the soil of the earth with an assignment
from Allah, their job, as the vicegerent, emissary or representative of Allah,
started with a monumental challenge. In order for man to be the best of the creation
Allah has given human being His spirit to begin with. Human being possesses divine
attributes. The more a man pursues good work, the more enlightened his heart becomes.
On the contrary, his heart becomes rusted and polluted if he is involved in unworthy
things in life. He has been given the free will, freedom to choose between right
and wrong. Two inherent but contrasting nature has been imbedded within him, the
inspiration and ability to do good or evil.
Man is assigned to manage the earth in the way
Allah has prescribed with the sprit He has bestowed upon. It is a great responsibility,
test and trial. Maintaining justice and balance in Allah's creation is a monumental
task that leads to accountability in the end. But Allah has not left man bewildered
and unattended. As man established himself on earth and started multiplying into
races, tribes and nations, the 'worldly' preoccupation kept fooling them and driving
their passion to something unworthy of their status. Prophets were sent to them,
to every people (al-Qur'an, 13:7), to remind them of their responsibility and
warn them of the consequences if they misuse their trust with Allah. According
to a tradition of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), 'every child
is born in Islam'. As such, human beings are 'groomed' by nature to behave as
Muslims. But the family, social pressure and environment lead him or her away
from Islam. As declared in the Qur'an, devil is lying in wait in every nook and
corner in man's journey on earth. (al-Qur'an 7:17). He is there to take revenge
against man for his down fall. As a result, many children of Adam lose out to
their whims and desires inspired by the devil.
A Question to think about
: What is the purpose of creation? Why was man put on this earth?
Detachment from Religious Values
Many million Muslims now live in the West in the
midst of a culture, often alien to Islamic values. For centuries the world view
of the two civilisations, Islamic and western, had difficulties in adjusting with
each other. With the decline of religious influence in the West and intellectual
stagnation in the Muslim world, the gap has widened. Many Muslims coming from
disadvantaged positions and settling in affluent western cities, are finding themselves
like 'fish out of water'. Revert Muslims have their specific disadvantages and
are finding their life not less difficult in their own homeland.
Materialistic Vision
But gradually the Muslims lost their spirit and
their attachment to Islam grew thinner. The luxury of worldly life overtook them.
(al-Qur'an 3:14) They gave up the practices that made them superior and adopted
the habits of those who were ruined in the past. When little good was left with
the Muslims, Allah's divine law on earth was enforced in earnest. The ummah suffered
a terrible humiliation in all fronts. The house of Islam was wrecked and they
were taken over by the superior European economic and military power. The continuous
political, military and intellectual onslaught on the Muslim world by the European
powers was overwhelming throughout the last centuries. The whole ummah was brought
to its knee by the end of 19th century.
A Question to think about
: How can Muslims living in the West maintain
their religious identity and values?
Racism, Islamophobia and Identity Crisis
The situation is gradually getting dire. With racism
and Islamophobia predominant in many of the western countries, young Muslims lack
confidence and suffer from identity crisis. I have come across many students of
Muslim origin in the campuses who feel nervous when they are greeted with the
basic Islamic greeting, assalmualaikum. Some even feel embarrassed to identify
themselves as Muslims. It is true that Muslims in the West are a significant minority.
Some Muslim bodies are trying hard to disseminate the message of Islam to the
non-adherent Muslims and non-Muslims. Many in the younger generation are re-discovering
their root in Islam and trying to assert their identity as Muslims. But, what
is their percentage? And with the downward social and religious trend how many
generations would it take for the Muslims to be assimilated into the melting pot
of the western civilisation?
Blind Love and Affection to Children
Children are a trust from Allah. With the joy of
parenthood come trial, temptation and test. Excessive and blind love for children
lead to unfairness, injustice and tyranny. It also brings ruination to the children
themselves. Failure in parental responsibility is the worst betrayal in the eyes
of Allah. (al-Qur'an 8:28, 63:9)
A Question to think about
: How can we bridge the gap between the Islamic and Western civilisation?
Ignorance and Apathy
With the amount of indifference, ignorance and
passivity shown by the Muslim community, in general, it would be surprising if
the fate of young Muslims is otherwise. In an environment of overwhelming indulgent
social and cultural domination how could they be different from those born to
non-Muslim parents? As the western society is equipped to deal with their social
ills, they have created security nets for their 'problem kids' to fall on. But,
where is the safety net for the Muslim youth? Ignorance about broader aspects
of Islam, their own history and the society they are living is widespread.
Disease of Nationalism Tribalism, Sectarianism,
etc
Tribalism, sometimes compared to that of pre-Islamic
Arab tribalism, is rampant in many parts of the Muslim world. Sectarianism, Madhabism,
political division, etc is undermining the ummah. The seed of nationalism created
in the colonial era has become entrenched and now flowered in most places.
A Question to think about:
If Muslim parents living in the West restricted their children from socialising
with non-Muslims, would they be more confident of their Muslim identity?
Media Image
Look at the world today, in the historic juncture
between the two millennium, and see the suffering, trauma, ethnic cleansing, genocide
and physical, intellectual and cultural onslaught inflicted upon human beings.
Where do the Muslims stand? Without any second thought any conscientious person
would admit that Muslims constitute the majority of the dispossessed and brutalised
people on earth today. Yet, they are portrayed as fanatics, radicals, terrorists,
criminals, barbaric and what not, by the powerful media and others establishments
of the West. The oppressed are portrayed as oppressors so that more 'legitimate'
oppression can be done to them.
Concluding Remarks
Humanity is in a loss. The world is moving toward a spiritual, moral and even
physical ruin. In these days of Jahiliyah a new vigour of Islam can only save
the world. A new generation of Muslims worthy of becoming 'best nation' can be
the beacon of hope, not only for the Muslim ummah, but for the whole of humanity
as well. (al-Qur'an 103:1-4, 3:110).
A Question to think about
: How can Muslims living in the West be persuaded to be more religious and develop
their piety?
|
