The Youth department of the ICCI was pleased to welcome Brother Tafazal Mohammad, from Muslim Youth Skills UK to help us understand and explore youth work, faith and culture in the Muslim context.
It was an inspirational and uplifting weekend, giving everyone the feeling of ‘let us unite and do this right for our youth.’ They are our future. The Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions (may Allah have mercy on them) understood the importance of their youth, encouraging them and believing in them, helping them to become great and active members of this Ummah.
The main purpose of youth work is the personal development of young people and their social inclusion. It is vital that we work with our youth and help them understand their identity as Muslims living where they are living. Some people may ask are you Irish/English (slot in whatever nationality you wish) or Muslim? To quote Brother Tariq Ramadan: “You can be a father, brother and son at the same time. You can be a mother, sister and daughter. There is no clash".
It was a two-day intense course but we find it very attractive, inspirational, easy going and beneficial. The content was very relevant and we also had a game of football one touch!!!
The participants learned that the Youth work provides for young people’s well-being and development in all its various forms: intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual (taken from the occupational standards of youth work)
Brother Tafazal went through some statistics from surveys carried out on Muslim Youth in the UK, focussing on the issues and challenges faced by them. The top main concerns of British Muslim Youth were:
- Relationships (these can be family related, peer-related etc)
- Mental Health (this is something that is many times brushed under the carpet)
- Religion
- Offending and Rehabilitation
- Sexuality and sexual health
We as a community in Ireland cannot close our eyes to these issues and think that they are not affecting our youth here. They are, even if they do not talk about it to their parents. Statistics in the UK showed that youth go to youth leaders for advice and guidance and voice their concerns to them. We need to all work together, support our youth and put a system in place for our future generations. Training youth leaders to in turn mentor those below them to take over their work so it continues in a productive cycle.
There is a saying in English ‘you reap what you sow’ – don’t we wish to leave a good legacy behind us for the sake of Allah? We may not see the successes of our work in our lifetimes, but we are one small cog in this machinery that is life. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not see the successes of Abu Bakr or Umar, but his guidance and his belief in teaching his companions helped them to become the great people that they were.
Are you ready to be part of this legacy for the sake of Allah???
I know I am!
