Muslims Discuss Solutions to Radicalization of Youth

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Thursday, 11 March 2010 12:10

D.C.-area Muslims tackle concerns underlying the radicalization of Muslim youth in a new television series, “Living Islam in America,” produced by Inner-Attainment Production Company. During the March 8 taping, the program host, Imam Johari Abdul Malik, outreach director of Dar Al-Hijrah in Falls Church, Va., spoke to guests currently involved with youth groups in the D.C. area.

The show’s panelists discussed the reasons leading to what are often labeled as “radical” views among young Muslim Americans. In December of 2009, five local Muslim youth were arrested after fleeing to Pakistan to allegedly join a terrorist organization.

“Radical views are not religiously motivated,” said Yusuf Khan, a dental student at Howard University and one of the panelists of the program. “Often times, these are factors of [the] socio-political and economic status of these youth.”

Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation said Muslim leaders must address Islam and the Quran from a contextual point of view. Religious leaders must get involved with the youth to address their emotional and psychological problems, he said.

The best way to address these issues is to have an open discussion about problems of the youth, said Alexandro Beutel, government liaison at the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington

“Don’t shut down the free market of ideas in the Masjid,” he said.

Bray said the mainstream media portrays the “simplest agenda,” and that they are not calling terrorism what it is. Americans of other faiths engaging in violent acts against the government are not called terrorists, he said.

Sadia Ali Aden, a writer, peace activist, and co- founder of the Somali Diaspora Youth, said the government needs to do a better job of investigating the reasons behind radicalization among Muslim youth, just as it investigated the psychological state of students who were affected by the deadly April 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech University.

During the show, the panelists described the meaning of radicalization from a contextual point of view, differentiating their definitions from the popular notion linking terrorism to Islam.

“All of the prophets were radicals because they brought change against the status quo,” Bray said.

Other panelists agreed, saying buzz words like “radical,” “fundamental,” and “extremists,” are used as synonyms for Muslims.

“I wear a beard, and that is considered radical in America,” Khan said. “Radical is an ambiguous term which needs to be better defined by the American government.”

The Department of Homeland Security guidelines are so strict that they are “criminalizing free speech,” Beutel said. Muslim leaders, he said, need to advocate a change in these guidelines to have better governance of informants. Radicalization can be prevented if the Islamic centers have the opportunity to freely discuss ideas without fear of spies in their centers, he said.

Beutel said distress arises when one’s distasteful ideas are connected to criminal activity. He said organizations like MPAC have launched outreach programs to introduce youth to civic engagement, a field lacking Muslim participants, according to a 2009 Gallup study.

Starting in April, MPAC will recruit volunteers from Islamic centers across the county for its “I Am Change” community outreach program. The program aims to get Muslims involved in their communities.

“We found there is willingness for civic engagement,” Beutel said. “But we just need to educate the youth on how to get involved.”

Similarly, the MAS Freedom Foundation started its “Straight Path” program recruiting Muslim males between the ages of 18 and 29.

Producer Hassanah Thomas-Tauhidi is a television veteran. She previously produced Washington D.C.’s first award winning Islamic television series, “Islamic Perspectives,” which aired from 1996 to 2004.

She has been working on Living Islam in America since 2006, but she put the project on hold due to a lack of funding. The program will air in April and will be available to everyone in the D.C. area with basic cable. The show will air at 3 p.m. on Sundays.

“I want Muslims to be proud of this show just like any other primetime show. We want people of all faiths to watch this show,” Tauhidi said. “I hope people will rush home to watch the show just as they would do with any of their favorite primetime programs.”
Tauhidi is looking for underwriters willing to align with her on this mission to create a positive dialogue about major issues facing Muslims living in America.

“Muslims have saturated the print media, but we are rarely seen in television,” she said. “This is where the real cost comes in, but this is where we can easily access a large audience.”

Please visit www.ia-tv.org for more information and to view the schedule.