Press Release
International Campaign, “Muslim Youth: Pioneers of Real Change” Launched by the Women’s Section in the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir

The Women’s Section in the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir launched on the 15th April an international campaign entitled, “Muslim Youth: Pioneers of Real Change” to counter the current intensive global agenda being pursued by Western governments and regimes in the Muslim lands to win the Muslim youth across the world to the secular liberal systems and its values, and to take them away from their Islamic beliefs and identity. This agenda takes many forms, including the pervasive counter-radicalization programmes targeting Muslim youth in Western and other states, the secularization of the education curricula and environment of schools in the Muslim world, the regulation of madrassahs, and the heavy promotion of Western-based advertisement, media and entertainment industries in the Muslim lands which glamourize the liberal culture and lifestyle and erode the values of Islam. Certain Islamic beliefs in particular are being blackened in the eyes of young Muslims by secular governments and institutions in an attempt to shake their confidence in their Deen and pressure them to accept the reformation of Islam along secular lines or to coerce them to abandon specific Islamic ideals and practices by linking them to extremism, radicalization and terrorism. These ideas include the belief in Islam as a spiritual and political Deen, the Islamic laws related to women, the concept of a global Ummah, and the rejection of democracy, secularism and liberal values, as well as the support of the Islamic concept of Jihad, the implementation of the Shariah and the re-establishment of the Khilafah "Caliphate" (Caliphate) state upon the method of the Prophethood.

Alongside this, as a Muslim Ummah, when we became complacent in the understanding and practicing of Islam in our lives and abandoned the implementation of its rules and system in our lands, allowing non-Islamic ideas – traditional and liberal – to enter our homes, communities and societies, many of our youth lost their way, became unable to define their identity, and distanced from their Deen.

An identity crisis and crisis of Iman therefore developed amongst many young Muslims, where they became enticed by the Western liberal lifestyle and system, shaping their thoughts, inclinations, aspirations, and allegiances upon it. Many also came to view Islam as simply a set of rituals and rules and hence irrelevant to their lives or the issues of the modern world, while others became resentful or doubtful about their Islamic beliefs, leading to the abandonment of their Deen. Many Muslim youth therefore came to be affected by the same vices and problems of those in the West. This is in addition to becoming detached from the problems of their community and Ummah and from shouldering responsibility for bringing a solution to these issues through their Deen. Furthermore, Western colonial wars in the Muslim lands, and the rule by flawed capitalist systems, regimes and dictatorships in the region created a lost generation of youth who were deprived of the hopes of enjoying a good life or fulfilling their economic or educational ambitions due to violence, mass poverty and unemployment, and substandard education systems. Many therefore left their lands in search of refuge or a better life in the West, resulting in a brain drain and a squandering of the energy, vitality, creativity and skills of the youth from the Muslim world.

The challenges and current state of the future generation of the Muslims is one of the most vital issues for this Ummah and the future of its Deen. Hence, this international campaign seeks to counter the global agenda to secularise the Muslim youth, highlight the extremely detrimental impact of the capitalist liberal way of life and system upon young Muslims, and finally present Islam’s vision for our youth and how as an Ummah we can make them strong adherents to Islam, instilled with the confidence to defend attacks against their Deen, and embodying the qualities to become pioneers of real change in this world. The campaign will culminate in an international women’s conference on the subject in May, Insha Allah.

The campaign can be followed at: http://hizb-ut-tahrir.info/en/index.php/dawah/cmo/10106.html

andtheFacebookpage.

Dr. Nazreen Nawaz
Director of the Women’s Section in the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir