As Muslims we are taught not to give in to sinful temptations, and sometimes this can be a hard task in view of the overwhelming amount of temptation coming from all around us. However, the time when temptation to do wrong is the strongest is most probably in a person’s adolescent years. I am a student in a high school in Western Australia. I go to a secular school, which in some cases can present a larger amount of temptation, considering the people around me do not have the same faith or any faith at all.

Students who go to secular schools may find themselves in some difficult situations. These situations can vary from explaining to your friend that you can’t eat the pizza she ordered because it has pig meat on it to struggling to tell a peer that you do not drink and you do not do drugs. So you may ask, why not go to a Muslim school? A metamorphosis of some young Muslims has taken place and their behaviours and attitudes are now also quite Westernized.

Muslims are in some ways very different from secular society. Our religion gives us guidelines to help us with our journey of life, and if we follow those guidelines we will be rewarded greatly. These guidelines are what separate us from others. The secular world states that Islam is too harsh a religion, too strict a religion; however if people stopped for one minute and looked at the things that are forbidden to us and how those things effect them, they would quickly realize that a person who lives without these things will be much better off.

A perfect example of this is alcohol. I had a peer at my school who asked why I didn’t drink. When I told her that my religion prohibited it, she looked at me as if this was a surprise to her and then said, “But it’s just a drink that helps you have a bit of fun.” I then explained to her that alcohol can effect you in many negative ways: It is detrimental to your health, befogs the mind and prevents rational thinking, causes road accidents and the loss of innocent lives. Alcohol increases the occurrence of domestic violence, and alcohol addiction causes financial ruin. I couldn’t understand why someone would find alcohol fun after knowing all the harm it can cause. I explained that I was happy not to be drinking and I was happy that my religion forbids the consumption of such a dangerous poison because it makes it clear that Allah is trying to protect us.

Alcohol is one of the main temptations that face young Muslims today, and many are giving in to the temptation. You may be wondering why. And the answer is right in front of us: the media. The vicious and vindictive techniques that alcohol companies are using to advertise their products to their target audience, which in many cases is the youth. Alcohol companies are using the power of the media in advertisements, movies, television shows, and various other mediums to drum a fictional and completely fake image of the so-called enjoyment that alcohol brings. Each year, a typical young person is inundated with more than 1,000 commercials for beer and wine coolers, in addition to several thousand fictional drinking incidents on television. The aim of the alcohol companies is to create a mirage, a shiny exterior around the ugly and disgusting truth that is the poison that billions of teenagers are consuming every day, alcohol. Alcohol companies and the media are brainwashing the next Muslim generation by repeatedly showing them images of beautiful, successful people having what looks like a huge amount of fun, and all of this is happening while they are holding a beer bottle, a glass of spirits, or a bottle of wine in their hands. However, the media can also help us steer the next generation away from such sinful temptations. Australia has started an anti-drug and anti-alcohol advertising campaign. These advertisements have strong images that show the real effects of drugs and alcohol, and it is not a pretty sight to behold.

All this fictional advertising and the negative impact of the media are contributing to the growing number of Muslims that are being led astray to drink alcohol. However, there are other contributing factors, and peer pressure is one of them. Peer pressure is one of the biggest problems in our youth today. Having friends and being liked is extremely important to most people, especially teenagers. The number of teenagers committing suicide due to severe depression is growing at an incredible rate, and a portion of these depression cases is due to feeling isolated and having no friends. So the power of peer pressure is also growing because of this. Some teenagers would do almost anything to feel that they belong to a group. I have seen a case with my own eyes where a Muslim boy accepted some marijuana from his supposed friends because when he refused the first time, they called him weak.   

Temptations do not stop at alcohol when you live in a Western country. It is normal for secular people to go clubbing and to date, and they enjoy these types of activities. However, as Muslims, we are prohibited from actions such as these. We are not permitted to touch or to socialize or have a personal relationship with a person of the opposite sex who is not your immediate family or your spouse. This is another temptation that many young Muslims have given in to for the reason that they go to secular schools and have Western friends who consider clubbing and dating normal and fun. When Muslims see everybody else doing this, they don’t want to feel left out so they join in, even though they might know it is wrong, because they want so badly to fit in with the rest of their group. The logical answer would be to make Muslim friends. However, many young Muslim people do the same type of things with their Muslim friends. You would not believe the wild escape stories that I have heard even though many Muslim parents are strict with their children.

I am a Muslim girl who goes to a secular school. I have been telling you of the many temptations that occur in secular schools. So why don’t I go to a Muslim school? Well, it’s simple: There is not much difference between a secular school and a Muslim school anymore. All these sinful deeds that I have described—consuming alcohol, doing drugs, dating, and clubbing—are all present in Muslim schools as they are present in secular schools. Our next generation are becoming more and more Westernized. There is little we can do but inform them and make sure they know their religion. If all the young Muslims were informed about what’s right and what’s wrong in their religion, there would bound to be some improvement in the behaviour of youth.

However, it is not enough to stop there if peer pressure is a problem. Then they need to learn to be assertive. If the media is a problem, they need to be aware of its deceitful techniques and to learn how to use this powerful tool to their advantage. They are the next Muslim generation; they will be representing Islam to the world. They will be raising their children and passing down their knowledge to them. So let’s make knowledge a priority because a lot of the Muslim youth are lost. I had a Muslim peer who was a smoker since he was 14. This boy was a good Muslim but was a bit lost. When I asked him why he smokes he told me that it wasn’t haram, but it is.

The Qur’an refers to intoxicants and games of chance as [abominations of Satan’s handiwork] (Al-Ma’idah 5:90).

“Intoxicants” means drugs, and cigarettes are drugs. You can also see that the Qur’an commands, [Slay not the life which Allah has made sacred] (Al-An`am 6:151).

We all know that cigarettes can cause lung cancer and various other diseases. This fact points out that when our smoking is like killing ourselves slowly and, therefore, taking life that Allah has made sacred. So we need to make sure that young Muslims understand what Islam is about.

Many young Muslims have already sinned, but they must know that it is not too late for them to ask for forgiveness. Allah will forgive one who asks sincerely for forgiveness and, after doing so, tries hard to follow the guidelines that have been given to us to help us with our life in this world.

When it truly comes down to it, it doesn’t really matter if you go to a Muslim school or a secular school. What matters is that young Muslims realize what is right and wrong in their religion and that they take that extra step forward and follow the guidelines and do right and stay away from wrong. Fighting temptation does not come from the school but it comes from within the young Muslim.

Marwa Fahmy attends Mount Lawley Senior High School in Western Australia. She is interested in English literature, science and journalism. She is active in extra curricular activities and has received awards for her writing. She is looking forward to writing about Islam which occupies such a large part of her life and is extremely important to her.