Muslim Youth: Challenges, Opportunities and Expectations

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.

Mohammad Siddique Seddon is Assistant Director of the Centre for Faith and Public Policy and Lecturer in Islamic and Religious Studies at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Chester, UK.
Fauzia Ahmad is Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations at the Aga Khan University (UK) and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship at Bristol University, UK.