Omar Ahmad | 8C
Have you ever noticed how things that used to be forbidden are now treated like normal jokes in conversations? Sometimes it feels like many students my age are slowly moving away from the principles our religion teaches us. Instead of working on their faith and strengthening their bond with Allah, children have begun violating the principles their religion taught them.
Things that even adults would never speak of have begun to appear in day-to-day conversations among children with the pretense of being “cool” or “trendy”. Usually these things are passed off as harmless fun, but when we take a moment to stop and really think about these things, we begin to realize that these “fun jokes” are actually severely harmful to our mental health and behavior.
A driving force for this is the influence of peer pressure and social media trends. I have seen perfectly innocent and well-behaved students get corrupted by their friends’ actions just so that they can fit in and look cool.
Social media also greatly influences children through harmful memes and posts that introduce harmful ideals. When people constantly see others showing off lifestyles that are harmful and against one’s religion, they begin to morph their identity to fit the one they see on screen.
Social media also promotes propagandas that are against students’ religions, causing them to support something that goes against their beliefs, without even knowing this. A prime example is the hate of other religions which has spread to our entire generation. Islam teaches us to be wary of other religions, yes, but it also teaches us to treat them equally and not to hate anyone for their beliefs.
I am not saying that everyone has lost their values. Many people still care deeply about their faith and do their best to follow it. However it is clear that pressure from others leads even the best of us, to forgetting our key principles.
Thinking on this subject has taught me a valuable lesson which I hope will be as useful to you as it is to me. Faith requires effort and awareness. It is easy to get swept away in the ideals and practices of the world and to lose your religion, but it is true hardship and persistence that allows you to remain steadfast to your religion, no matter the obstacle.
“If you were to obey most of those on earth, they would lead you away from Allah’s Way. They follow nothing but assumptions and do nothing but lie” Surah Al An’am (6:116):