veiled4allah: nasiha for the brothers (and for all of us)

Being a Real Man in Islam: Drugs, Criminality and the Problem of Masculinity by Yahya Birt examines the problems of drug use and drug dealing as well as general criminal behavior among young Muslim men in the UK, especially in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities.

After describing the scope of the problem, Birt looks at "negative masculinity":

Negative masculinity occurs when a youth misuses his natural qualities of enthusiasm, strength and bravery to satisfy his own desires. He becomes selfish, ignores the rights of others and ends up disobedient to his Lord. He thinks it is cool to follow the lifestyles of the street, and at the rough end this means getting involved in crime... ...Negative masculinity is about showing off, about trying to be ‘hard’, and about using physical strength to humiliate others. The fake man thinks strength should be used to dominate others so that he gets ‘nuff respect’ from his peers and enemies out of a sense of fear. But this is not how true respect is earned: it is really about acting like a loud-mouthed and proud fool. The youthful bully fights to remain leader of his ‘posse’ and, likewise, strives to dominate other street gangs: both perversions are achieved by instilling fear...

...Negative masculinity is about the obsession to have the right ‘look’: the designer clothes, the most up-to-date mobile phone, the latest trainers, and the flashiest car...

...Negative masculinity is about wasting time and playing around like a child when the corrupted youth already has the strength and intelligence of an adult. He looks out for himself first, neither respecting the wishes of his parents nor serving them, and ignoring the needs of others around him. Many of the criminalised gangs rob and prey on the weakest members of their own community. Instead of being the pride of the community, these lost young men have become its badge of shame.

Negative masculinity is about being a slave to desire. The signs of this slavery are the impulse for instant gratification and the immediate feeling of frustration and anger when desire is not quickly satiated. Servitude to caprice entraps the slave in a cage of restless discontent. Why? Because if we want the latest fashion, one thing can be sure, it will go out of date. Negative masculinity is about being a slave to the capitalist system.

Birt then sets out Islamic teachings that he feels can help young Muslim men develop a positive masculinity. He provides examples from the early generation of Muslims and a code of conduct that young men should strive to follow.

He reminds us:

There are no easy solutions, and it is important to remember that Islam condemns those who feel it is enough to recriminate, but not to call towards the truth or to work to change a bad situation. The point is that we all have to pull together, and face up our individual and collective responsibility. It is not just a question of the youth seeing if they measure up to the ideals of positive masculinity, but for all of us to strive to embody the example of the Prophet (salla’Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). It is a duty upon all parents and community leaders to deal wisely with our young men when they fall from the Straight Path, and not to cut them off out of self-righteous disdain or, even worse, indifference.

Finally, he offers seven concrete suggestions that the Muslim community in the UK can take towards solving this growing problem.

Obviously, much of this applies well beyond the Muslim community in the UK, it applies to any community where crime and drug use by young men in particular are problems.

Ultimately, the cures for these problems are spiritual. We need to change the values that we hold in our community and that we are teaching our young people; we need to look beyond materialism to humility and concern for others.