Young Muslims are beginning to question the paradoxes expounded by Islamist leaders. As religious ideology moves forward, Arab youths take a step back.
 |
|---|
The grip of religious doctrine can be a tough vice to break. Stories of individuals splitting with their ideological foundations trickle in to the public as heroic, controversial, or heart-breaking examples of determination and choice. Such was the case with a recent post by blogger Osama Dorra, who publicly shared the reasons behind his own religious eschewal; After years as an Islamist youth, Dorra felt the need to “put Islam on hold as a religion.” Journalist Mohamed Abdelfattah believes this is not an exceptional situation, however. Instead, he claims “a growing generation of skeptics and atheists is increasingly coming to the fore.”
According to Abdelfattah, this generational egress is partly due to an unforeseen consequence of Islamism’s public rhetoric. The “archaic and medieval” Islamist dogma that thrived behind closed doors is struggling to maneuver the modern stage, tripping over issues like foul language, slavery, and religious tolerance. All of these missteps are making it easier for Islam’s more skeptical youngsters, like Dorra, to notice a disconnect between Islamism’s “details and … sanity, justice, and logic.”
Although there are few voices like Dorra’s piping up, he is not alone. Abdelfattah writes that “young people feeling alienated by every Friday sermon… are moving away from the religion.”
Read more from M. Abdelfattah here.
