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Maldive Muslims at a
crossroads: A call to guide our youngsters
Our society through the eyes of a sixteen-year-old school girl
Noora 05/05/2005--At
the age of sixteen, and having so far lead a normal life of a
typical Maldivian girl I have not encountered much in life.
Even then I have come to know that during the past few years
of development our Muslim society has encountered a lot of
changes. Some of these are quite necessary while the others
truly do not have any importance. What I am talking about is
the over westernized lifestyle which has been growing rapidly
within our nation.
Being a hundred percent Muslim nation, this over growing
westernization is certainly not what we need. Parents need to
open their eyes, before they are taken too far behind from
their responsibilities. Being the youngest and the most
innocent, it’s the youngsters of our nation on whom the major
impact of westernization is going to fall on.
Being Muslims we specially need to protect the Muslim girls
from all these happenings. Parents need to know that even if
they teach their children a foreign language they need not
teach them a whole new foreign lifestyle. What children see on
Televisions, and what they see and hear around them effects
them immensely. It thereby becomes the responsibility of the
parents to give their children proper upbringing to build up a
good generation. As unpleasant as it might sound it’s true
that children suffer because of the actions of parents and
adults. But it is the responsibility of the parent to provide
an atmosphere where spiritual growth is possible, where strong
foundations of truth can be laid in the heart and mind of a
child. What really happens is the intention to become
modernized in the wrong way, and the urgent need to become
someone of today’s so called high esteemed society, deprives
us unknowingly from what we really are.
It’s not only the parents who are supposed to take
responsibility of what’s happening to our generation. The
government too needs to be fully aware and taking practical
measures to bring things into control rather then being a
supreme path for what’s prohibited in the eyes of Islam.
Especially the Supreme council for Islamic affairs should be
responsible and they too need to get up and do their jobs
rather than supporting more western non Islamic values in to
our society. It’s those who know to whom God has given the
responsibility to guide the misguided in to the right path.
Not only this, but I wonder how the Maldives information
ministry just allows anything to be shown on TV as well. Our
own Muslim girls displayed half nude on TV, as if it’s no big
deal. Isn’t it illegal or isn’t it included in the illegal
behavior by both the sex? This has not gone unaffected. The
way girls are behaving nowadays is really disgusting. It’s a
shame they don’t understand the values of the purity of Muslim
girls, and how can we even expect them to if they are not
being guided in the proper way. Rather then simple Muslim
girls now you can easily find within us a large number of more
westernized, fashionable and in a way selfish group of girls.
I don’t hesitate a second to say this is due to the
irresponsibility’s of the concerned authorities.
Honestly speaking, when a generation of children is being
slaughtered at the hand of an enemy, whether that enemy is
famine or war, or disease or drugs, or an enemy of greed or
selfishness or even un- acceptable westernization, one wants
to find what is affecting these causes and stop them. A caring
person gropes for perspective and finds little satisfaction in
the answer that it is the faults of parents and government
that children suffer. And anytime when one looks for someone
to blame the world’s ills on, one comes away feeling empty,
because no matter who’s responsible, finding someone to blame
is no real comfort in the end. It is no good looking at what
we have become to be. It’s a wise saying that we become what
we gaze upon intently. So the main thing is we need to change.
We need to be who we are really supposed to be; true Muslims.
Unless and otherwise a sustainable change is being brought
this rapidly spreading westernization is going to leave us no
where. All these happenings to today’s generation are hugely
related to social behavior and are going to have its own
impact on future generations. So the time has come for the
government concerning instrumentalities to be really concerned
over these vital issues. Cause it’s in there hands now to
protect our future and maintain our independence and our own
way of life. And as one from today’s generation I am looking
forward for these changes.
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