With the spread of huge megacities, the people who dwell in them face many challenges. It is not just a case of living in a concrete jungle that suffers from lack of warmth, homeliness, and the beauty of nature, but there are also all the problems of millions of people living close together in an urban area. And in today’s world, these are usually people who come from all walks of life, many different ethnic backgrounds, many beliefs and attitudes—all bunched up together in one place.

Living in the city is a way of life, a way of looking at people and issues. There is a rush to try to get money, and so values become such that the worth of a person usually centers around how much money they have. Everything in life has to be bought with money, including goods and services. Money and purchasing power have replaced the “old fashioned” way of bartering, sharing, helping each other out. So what if you are a person who for some reason or another doesn’t have the opportunity to work in a high-paying job, or what if your education wasn’t up to scratch? Or you come from a family that doesn’t value education? There are so many possibilities.

Then another phenomenon of modern urban life with its influx of non-Muslim values means that in the midst of an impersonalized environment where life takes on the feeling of a jungle—that is, survival of the fittest (the economically fit, that is)—the family disintegrates, leaving individuals quite alone without their natural support system. In this environment people are allowed, if not encouraged (through advertisement) to smoke and drink and drug themselves to insanity or death. Then along with alcohol and drug abuse come violence and crime, loss of self-esteem, the need for more money than what is readily available, and more and more thinking of the needs of me, myself, and I. The individual is considered to be the most important person in the world (so many insurance companies tell us), and this gives the individuals within families the excuse to skip out on their responsibilities and seek their own happiness and satisfaction, thinking “to hell” with everyone else. Such is modern life.

The families and individuals who can live in the urban sprawl and maintain close-knit supportive, loving families are few and far between. But they do exist and they do deserve our appreciation, acknowledgement, and support. But the majority of young people are crying out for the love, support, and guidance that a caring family provides. And when the family is broken or when the family just doesn’t know how to be family, then the young people are left hanging in limbo, so to speak, and in great need of having someone or some people to be with who understand them, who will be loyal to them, who will support them, and who will accept them.

In the modern city sprawl, many young people turn to gangs. Now when most people think of gangs they think of a bunch of criminals who seek strength in each other but are really a bunch of cowards if they have to fight on their own. Many people fear gangs and fear the strength of people who are united, even if they are so without a cause.

But think about it! What else can these young people do when they do not have families to help and support them? Not all gangs are bad—their main problem may be that they lack the wisdom and experience to deal with all the issues and situations they might be confronted with. After all, like any other human group, gangs are made up of individuals, and a group is only as good or bad as its members. Society at large really doesn’t have the right to point fingers at gangs when they themselves (just a bigger and more organized empowered group) are mostly corrupt, racist, indecent, and hypocritical. So we are all in the same boat; we all need to organize ourselves to cooperate and communicate and help one another be better.

So when young people feel the need to join a gang or are floundering in life looking for support, acceptance, and love from somewhere, it is best to try to understand what makes them do this and then look for ways to help them obtain their basic needs. What’s the point in saying “you’re a member of a gang; therefore you are good for nothing!” It’s not a very wise thing to say. It doesn’t serve any purpose and only builds up resentment between both parties.

When a gang or a group of gangs emerge and unite to make a social statement at one and the same time, it is indeed time for the rest of society to stop what they’re doing and look and listen because these young people are communicating. They might do this in a destructive way, but just listen to the message and try to figure out why they felt they had no choice but to make their statement to the rest of society in that particular way. Rather than label them (which only keeps the root of the problem going), try to understand them and their situation, and then think of ways to sort out the mess we are all in. For really, if such a large segment of society is wasting away in the fringes of life; if so many young people never achieve what they could have; if so much life and energy are wasted—then be sure that society as a whole is the loser. Because we are only as strong as our weakest part.