By: Daniyal Ahmed Macomb Community College
On May 19th, 2012, IONA masjid had their annual youth day with speeches from three Imams from different areas in Michigan and other states. The most mesmerizing and fascinating of speeches were given by two Imams that talked about current issues of our youth as well as the challenges and problems of today.
An Imam from California and Imam Shamsuddin stood away from the conventional speeches of other Imams and actually referred to what was very severely needed. They talked about music, media, and today’s entertainment industry on the whole and how it is directly affecting our youth and brainwashing their perspective of life and morals. Today’s music videos are mostly based on the theme of devil worship, where influential artists like Katy Perry, Eminem, Rihanna and others incorporate signs like the all seeing eye, triple six, hour of the devil at 3 am and other things that indicate that they are not only worshipping the devil but also encouraging the philosophy that the devil is all powerful, which is obviously not the case.
According to one of the Imams, there was a time where hip hop music actually pushed Islam forward and brought in good messages. However times have indeed changed, and now baggy pants and long shirts have turned into skinny jeans and short shirts.
The Imams stressed on the need of our youth to take the initiative of working towards good and fighting fire with fire. There is a strict need for a counter culture and that is the only way our voice will be powerful enough to be heard.
Being influential in the same entertainment industry while maintaining a good reputation is the only way a positive change can occur. More of our children need to take interest in other fields like music, arts, film etc. where they can develop their fan base and become influential to an extent to cause a difference. This may be controversial for some conservative minded individuals, but it is the only way we can bring our youth back to the right path, where mottos like “YOLO” (you only live once) and “living young, wild, free” have no effect on the young minds of children.
Islam has given us tremendous liberty and freedom in many aspects of life; however we always fail to interpret the Quran and Hadith properly. It is time for the conservatives to open up and start thinking about how they can bring a positive change not just for our children, but for the children to come after them as well.
An Imam from California and Imam Shamsuddin stood away from the conventional speeches of other Imams and actually referred to what was very severely needed. They talked about music, media, and today’s entertainment industry on the whole and how it is directly affecting our youth and brainwashing their perspective of life and morals. Today’s music videos are mostly based on the theme of devil worship, where influential artists like Katy Perry, Eminem, Rihanna and others incorporate signs like the all seeing eye, triple six, hour of the devil at 3 am and other things that indicate that they are not only worshipping the devil but also encouraging the philosophy that the devil is all powerful, which is obviously not the case.
According to one of the Imams, there was a time where hip hop music actually pushed Islam forward and brought in good messages. However times have indeed changed, and now baggy pants and long shirts have turned into skinny jeans and short shirts.
The Imams stressed on the need of our youth to take the initiative of working towards good and fighting fire with fire. There is a strict need for a counter culture and that is the only way our voice will be powerful enough to be heard.
Being influential in the same entertainment industry while maintaining a good reputation is the only way a positive change can occur. More of our children need to take interest in other fields like music, arts, film etc. where they can develop their fan base and become influential to an extent to cause a difference. This may be controversial for some conservative minded individuals, but it is the only way we can bring our youth back to the right path, where mottos like “YOLO” (you only live once) and “living young, wild, free” have no effect on the young minds of children.
Islam has given us tremendous liberty and freedom in many aspects of life; however we always fail to interpret the Quran and Hadith properly. It is time for the conservatives to open up and start thinking about how they can bring a positive change not just for our children, but for the children to come after them as well.
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