Challenges facing youths today
Challenges Facing the Youth in Today’s Society
Most of the problems facing today’s youth are not restricted to any one ethnic or religious group, but affect young people generally. Most discussions on youth have focussed on issues such as drug abuse, crime, violence, sexuality and poverty. In addition to these, today’s youth are afflicted by new challenges.
These include:
1. An Identity Crisis: Who am I?
2. Lack of self confidence and low self esteem: I am worthless
3. A sense of hopelessness: Where am I going?
4. Confusion and ambiguity concerning moral issues: What is right and wrong?
5. The negative impact of the electronic media: Entertainment ?
6. Competitiveness in education: the uneven playing field: Excellence by whom? Not Me.
Muslim Youth
The Quran and life of the Prophet give numerous examples of outstanding youth.
Islam praised the efforts of the youth in reviving religion through calling to the worship of God and fighting against disbelief as a form of backwardness and corruption.
Indeed the image of Abraham peace be upon him in the Quran is one of extreme inspiration, enlightenment and uniqueness. It is the image of a young man rebelling against his people’s decadent traditions, a young man defying the dominant values of his society even in the form of a tyrant king who claims divinity. His son Ismail inherited these qualities of sincerity in worshipping Allah and sacrifice of everything for His sake, as clear in the story of the sacrifice when his father consulted him upon seeing in his dream that he is to sacrifice him, and he answered with determination and certainty to obey Allah’s command “Oh my father, do as you are commanded, you will find me, if Allah so wills of the steadfast”.
Again, facing the despotism of Pharoah, those who dared to declare their faith were a group of youth who defied Pharoah and joined Moses “And none believed in Moses except some children of hid people because of fear of Pharoah and his chiefs, lest
Most of the problems facing today’s youth are not restricted to any one ethnic or religious group, but affect young people generally. Most discussions on youth have focussed on issues such as drug abuse, crime, violence, sexuality and poverty. In addition to these, today’s youth are afflicted by new challenges.
These include:
1. An Identity Crisis: Who am I?
2. Lack of self confidence and low self esteem: I am worthless
3. A sense of hopelessness: Where am I going?
4. Confusion and ambiguity concerning moral issues: What is right and wrong?
5. The negative impact of the electronic media: Entertainment ?
6. Competitiveness in education: the uneven playing field: Excellence by whom? Not Me.
Muslim Youth
The Quran and life of the Prophet give numerous examples of outstanding youth.
Islam praised the efforts of the youth in reviving religion through calling to the worship of God and fighting against disbelief as a form of backwardness and corruption.
Indeed the image of Abraham peace be upon him in the Quran is one of extreme inspiration, enlightenment and uniqueness. It is the image of a young man rebelling against his people’s decadent traditions, a young man defying the dominant values of his society even in the form of a tyrant king who claims divinity. His son Ismail inherited these qualities of sincerity in worshipping Allah and sacrifice of everything for His sake, as clear in the story of the sacrifice when his father consulted him upon seeing in his dream that he is to sacrifice him, and he answered with determination and certainty to obey Allah’s command “Oh my father, do as you are commanded, you will find me, if Allah so wills of the steadfast”.
Again, facing the despotism of Pharoah, those who dared to declare their faith were a group of youth who defied Pharoah and joined Moses “And none believed in Moses except some children of hid people because of fear of Pharoah and his chiefs, lest