Youth Work and Islam

The importance of engaging with the youth is evident from the practice of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Prophet Muhammad was always keen to engage with the youth and make them feel like an important part of the community. At times, and depending on ability, he would give key responsibilities to the youth such as acting as diplomatic envoys and even as generals in military expeditions. Putting adolescents in charge of adults who possess far more authority and experience, and who then make strategic life and death decisions, shows the level of faith, trust, commitment and importance that the Prophet had towards the youth. The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught his followers to show love and compassion to the young who, in return, should show reverence to their elders. The youth always played a key role in Islam. The historical episode known as the Pledge of [Aqabah is an excellent illustration of how the youth helped to shift the balance of power in favour of the Prophet Muhammad and Islam.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part consists of essays from Brian Belton and Tahir Alam who explore the relevance of Islamic values to youth work. They attempt to show how professional practice can be improved by these values. Sughra Ahmed and Tahir Abbas analyse the representations of young British Muslims. They effectively argue that the Muslim youth cannot be regarded as a problem that needs to be ‘fixed’. They present a balanced argument while taking in consideration the various challenges Muslim youth face in today’s society.

The second part of the book explores how Islamic principles of youth work can provide the best results in working with Muslim youth. While Julie Griffith argues that a distinctive approach to working with Muslim youth is necessary, Sadek Hamid and Maurice Coles maintain that faith-based youth work can create counter productive trends that need alternative models of practice.