I found these two articles:
"Does going to Mecca make Muslims more moderate?"
A very interesting study done of Pakistani Hajjis and how their perspectives tend to be more understanding and compassionate (think of Malcolm X) after having extensive dealings with Muslims from all over the world.
"US Teen abstinence programs failing"
I'm very intrigued by this topic of teen sexuality and how best to address it. Here in Saudi, where the in-your-face culture of sex is absent, teen sexuality is still a problem - teen pregnancies and STD may not be as prevalent, but are replaced with issues such as homosexuality or pedophilia.
Many Muslims tend to believe that gender segregation would solve all such problems, but Saudi Arabia is proof that isn't the case. I guess, like tackling most other social ills, a strong foundation based out of the home is a good start...
Just don’t call it genocide
1 week ago
3 comments:
Gender segregationg is part of the solution. But not the complete solution.
Hijab is part of the solution. Lowering the gaze on the part of both genders is part of the solution. So is taqwa. And so is MARRIAGE. And so is making MARRIAGE EASY.
If the society is segregated and women covered, but there is no EASY way to get married, then you can't expect success.
And that's how most muslim countries are. Getting married is so freaking hard. economy. (u can't married cuz u aint settled younger in life and may not be able to afford a wife even if yur not gona be super lavish) and then family issues of cast, and skin color and other stuff.
AA- Anon,
Excellent point on making marriage easier. However, that doesn't really address the issue of teen sexuality. Although I'm a strong proponent of young marriages, I'm also pragmatic enough to realize that won't be adopted by society at-large.
So what do to in the meanwhile? Teens, who have no interest in marriage, are experimenting with their sexuality. How to address that issue?
I think a lot of it goes back to these youth not being educated in their deen, though it's not entirely fair to look only at their age group when they reflect society as a whole. What's missing, which 'Anonymous' mentioned in passing, is taqwa.
It's an interesting situation in Saudi Arabia, because of how visibly Muslim their culture is, on the outside, as opposed to most other predominantly Muslim countries. Societies where people's Islamic dress and behaviours on the outside are more reflective of their level of Islam and how practicing they actually are. In other words, a Muslim woman who may not even pray can be wearing a full abaya and niqaab in Saudi Arabia, while that same woman may not feel she 'has to' in Lebanon or Egypt.
My point in this is that people who don't have Islam in their hearts can hardly be expected to act like someone who does in privacy. So instead of putting the emphasis on these outward, public aspects of our deen, as important as they are, it's more important to instill a love of Allah and a fear of disobeying Him in our youth. And with that, everything else will fall into place, inshaAllah.
(And yes, I'm generalizing here)
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