Muslim Youth in Chains of Contradiction

It is undeniable that vast sections of Muslim youth today find themselves confused, struggling to reconcile the tension between what they are taught to do, what they are told to do, and what they actually end up doing. Many live fractured lives, torn between conflicting personalities, generating emotional storms and intellectual tensions that distort concepts and cloud horizons.

The root of the crisis lies in their ill‑preparedness for the dynamic and multilayered challenges of the postnormal world - an age where change is rapid, uncertainty is pervasive, and traditional frameworks of truth, order, and stability no longer hold. Ours is a world where complications, contradictions, and crises dominate; where little remains "normal," and where being "normal" is no longer a prerequisite for success.

To navigate such turbulent waters, one requires a set of criteria by which to judge, evaluate, and act. Yet most young Muslims possess these criteria only partially, if at all. One needs both external standards and internal principles - those embedded in the mind and soul - living in harmony as two sides of the same coin.

For this reason, Allah describes His Qur'an as the Criterion (al‑Baqarah 185), the final testament to humanity. When internalized and applied, it transforms people and their way of life into guiding criteria themselves, illuminating thought and existence (al‑Anfal 29).

Venturing into the world directionless, purposeless, and identity‑less is a recipe for disaster. Here we have a senseless world that gives little; it only takes, yet devours. Its disposition is akin to a black hole, consuming everything in its path and leaving behind only traces of destruction. One must know what is worth knowing and what is not, whom to listen to and whom to ignore.

Exposure to the endless noise of social and digital media only worsens the condition. Everything has been ideologized, stripped of authentic wholesomeness. The more one consumes of it, the more contaminated one becomes; the more modern, postmodern, and postnormal one is, the weaker one's Islam becomes.

The solution, therefore, is to build an immune system: arming oneself with the normative Islamic worldview, principles, and values. These open the mind and eyes, enabling one to discern and evaluate what is being served. The greatest authority in life belongs to the One who created it and set its guidelines. Life is not to be lived according to one's own will or the will of any creation, but according to the will of the Creator. Once a person sorts out the basic concepts and fundamental requirements of his mission, everything else becomes easier.

Islam is life, and life is Islam. Both are from Allah. No segment of existence lies outside His guidance. If Allah created life and placed humans at its center, it is only natural that He be taken as the supreme authority in conscious choices, decision‑making, and civilizational imprint. This unity of creative and accountable existence stems only from the Oneness of Allah as Creator, Master, and Sustainer. Fragmentation of life from His transcendent plan leads only to confusion, pessimism, and chaos.

When the unity is impinged upon, anarchy reigns. Attacks come from all sides, clothed in the guise of sincerity, yet offering nothing but a poisoned chalice. A person is torn apart, crucified at the Golgotha of insecurity, doubt, and gloom. That is precisely the scenario Allah describes: "Allah puts forth a Parable: a man belonging to many partners (masters) at variance with each other, and a man belonging entirely to one master: are those two equal in comparison? Praise be to Allah! but most of them have no knowledge. (al-Zumar, 29).

The verse encapsulates the plight of Muslim youth today. Fragmented communities, broken institutions, and competing authorities - religion, education, politics, economics, media, entertainment - all vie for rulership over their fragile minds and souls. Each claims legitimacy, each demands loyalty, each promises fulfillment. Yet in reality, the youth are asked to worship Allah in one place and idols of materialism, nihilism, hedonism, and agnosticism in another. They are forced into split characters, juggling internal conflicts and contradictions until exhaustion sets in.

The outcome is tragic: disorientation, depression, even suicidal thoughts. Instead of simplicity, beauty, and hope, they inherit convolutions, ugliness, ennui, and despair. What can be witnessed is the definitive consequence of being ruled by multiple quarrelsome masters, each seeking dominance in the pantheon of false gods. The deepest pain of such a slave is the realization that he has been dishonored, forsaken, and misused - a pawn in a game played by invisible hands.

The Way Forward

1. Liberate them from modern paganism - free them from the worship of multiple false gods of skepticism, pessimism, and uncertainty.
2. Empower them with the Criterion - anchor them in the authentic enlightenment and discernment of Islam, the only truth since life's inception.

The most responsible parties in shaping the condition of Muslim youth are parents, homes, governments, the hierarchy of religious institutions and bodies, and the wider social establishments. Needless to say, ideological harmony and mutually reinforcing performances among these actors are indispensable. Anything short of such unity results not in progress but regression - a step forward followed by two steps back.

Fragmentation ensures that gains are undone, leaving youth stranded between promise and loss.