Muslim Youth Challenges, Opportunities and Expectations [Hardcover]

Many Muslim societies, regardless of location, are displaying a 'youth bulge', where more than half their populations are under the age of 25. An increasingly globalized western culture is rapidly eroding 'traditional' ideas about society, from the family to the state. At the same time, there is a view that rampant materialism is creating a culture of spiritual emptiness in which demoralization and pessimism easily find root. For young Muslims these challenges may be compounded by a growing sense of alienation as they face competing ideologies and divergent lifestyles.

Muslim youth are often idealized as the 'future of Islam' or stigmatized as rebelling against their parental values and suffering 'identity crises'. These experiences can produce both positive and negative reactions, from intellectual engagement and increasing spiritual maturity to emotional rejectionism, narrow identity politics and violent extremism. This book addresses many of the central issues currently facing young Muslims in both localized and globalized contexts through engaging with the work of academics, youth work practitioners and those working in non-governmental organizations and civic institutions.

Contributors and Editors \ Acknowledgements \ Foreword \ 1. Introduction Mohammad S. Seddon & Fauzia Ahmad \ Part I: Muslim Youth: Negotiating Local and Global Contexts \ 2. The Phenomenon of Serial Nihilism among British Muslim Youth of Bradford, England Saeed A. Khan \ 3. An Analysis of the Factors that Pave the Way for the Radicalization of British Muslim Youth from a Comparative Perspective Ihsan Yilmaz \ Part II: Identity and Belonging \ 4. Muslim Migrant Youth: Descriptive Factors related to Acculturation and Psychosocial Adaptation M. Taqi Tirmazi, Altaf Husain, Fatima Mirza & Tasanee R. Walsh \ 5. Religion, Language or Ethnicity? Hybridized Identity among the Ismaili Youth of Afghanistan in Germany Yahia Baiza \ 6. Turning to my Religion Muhammad G Khan \ Parl³%