What are the biggest issues that you feel young Muslims in Britain are facing today? (300 words) – My Response

Below is my response to the above question.

Many young British Muslims struggle with issues of identity.  Second generation Muslims like myself have been born and raised in this country, attending British schools and surrounded by all aspects of British culture.  But there’s a dislocation between “outside” life and life at home and in the community. It often felt like I was living two different lives which I had to keep distinct from each other in order to get on with those around me.  I couldn’t see how faith fits in with modern life and has a place in today’s society.  I questioned how can I be both a Muslim and a British young person. There is often too much debate on what defines us – are we British first or are we Muslim first? As I have grown more confident in my identity and my faith, I have come to think that why should we separate the two? Some the greatest British values that we have in our society are the same as Islamic ones.

Extremism and the radicalization of young Muslims is one of the biggest challenges Islam has ever faced. In Britain today since September 2001 there has been an average of 272 terrorism related arrests with over 90% belonging to the Muslim community. One of the biggest issues we as Muslims face today is to grasp the reality of radicalization. We need to understand how and why young Muslims just like ourselves make that choice to walk on a train with the intent of murder and destruction. We need to understand how extremists take a special interest in the weak and vulnerable and how we as Muslims and citizens can help protect our community.

And finally the struggle to reclaim our faith.  Islam is a religion that has been ‘hijacked’ by extremism and we as Muslims face the challenge of bringing Islam back to what it really is –  a beautiful religion of peace not a hub of evil.