Much has been said in the recent years about the problems faced by our youth living and receiving education, both secondary and higher, in the Western culture. There is a lot of talk about the moral challenge that faces them day and night through different forms of media that continue to exercise considerable influence in their character formation. From private home discussions to the serious discourse that comes from the religious pulpits on a regular basis, our concern about the Muslim youth has almost been trivialized by parents and religious leaders. Everyone seems to be anxiously awaiting a major crisis to occur before a concrete action plan can be offered to the families and communities around the world to respond to the pressing issues related to everyday existence of the young men and women in the society in general.
It is appropriate to acknowledge the efforts that are being made in providing necessary religious education to our children, with much care being taken in teaching the basics of Islam the way we have traditionally done in the past. In the last decade or so new methods have been introduced in the curricular development and some Muslim educators have participated in the actual preparation of teaching materials for our religious education system. However, on examining the contents of the materials that have been recently produced, there seems to be a dearth of challenging materials that can sustain the ever expanding intellectual horizons of Muslim youth. Substantial improvement requires not only well structured research into Islamic and secular materials; it also demands creative imagination that could respond to the generational gap in communicating religious knowledge that continues to dominate the way critical moral information is relayed, whether in the madrasa-system or from the pulpits of our religious centres.
The suspicion of secular culture that provides the rockbed on which modern education is constructed is not totally baseless. There are serious problems with that system when it comes to the development of an individual's moral character. Such a deficiency has led to moral illiteracy among the youth in society at large. Educators all over the world are aware of the serious problems facing modern men and women and have suggested many useful ways of combatting moral illiteracy that is costing modern society in terms of breakdown of the familial relations as well as social and psychological well being of the most vulnerable victims of the present crisis: the youth.
Nevertheless, it is this critical situation that has forced many conscientious people in the community to look beyond the traditional institutions of religious-moral education that are overburdened with conservative spirit, fearful of any challenge to the status quo in the community. The energies of these individuals have been directed to search for complementary rather than supplementary platforms for religious interaction in the community.
Such platforms, they believe, can allow for more creative and responsible activities to emerge under their new, but authentically Islamic, supervision.
To be sure, major part of the challenge for the community today is to reach out youths who have entered universities and who experience what psychologists have identified as "loss of innocence." This loss pertains asmuch to the faith as to one's moral commitments. Both these, that is the faith and the personal morality, are the critical ingredients of a Muslim youth's identity. Hence, any threat to these two elements is a threat to one's total being, one's existence.
After all, what happens in the colleges? Whereas all parents emphasize and support higher education with good and practical reasons, they have a hard time in visualizing the socialization aspect of college life. In some cases, their children are the first generation to get the college education. In other instances, there is a potential confidence in their up bringing. Whatever the case, experience has, at times, revealed the negative consequences of exposure to the "pop culture" of the academia. The situation is indeed serious when one recognizes the casualness of male-female interaction, overshadowed by prevailing promiscuous culture. Ask any Muslim male or female about their socializing experience upon entering a college. In the midst of many interesting encounters are those that challenge them to abandon the moral restrictions with which they grew up in the secure environment of their homes. Moreover, the encounters also indicate their ill-preparation in handling highly tempting and corrupting conditions in colleges.
When parents come to know the situation, if they at all do, they either close their eyes, especially if these young ones happen to be their sons; or they panic when it involves their daughters. Under those conditions the obvious question that is constantly raised in different gatherings and even from the pulpits is about the role of religious institutions rather than religious education in nurturing necessary male-female interaction to further healthy relationships among the younger generation in the community. Obviously, people think that such permission within the context of the community and under its responsible leaders is impossible because Islam does not permit the male-female gatherings of the modern society.
While there is truth in evoking Islamic teachings that impose moral restrictions on male-female interaction, it is irresponsible to leave the matter at that. After all, if the institutions in the community cannot provide with morally safe platforms for our young people to interact with each other with a view to encourage them to create healthy bonds among themselves, where else can they turn to receive such directions?
It has become religiously "correct" (just as in the universities it has become "politically correct" to say certain things, even if one is not fully convinced about them!) to oppose any "mixed" gathering (with its peculiar meaning in our community), even when the Islamic Sacred Law, the Shari`a does not object to the supervised "mixed" gatherings, as will become evident in the following fatawa of Ayatollah Sistani. The problem is the way cultural norms have prevailed over the religious truths about human relationships as taught in Islam. Whereas Islam does not see the problem of supervised male-female interaction, the inherited cultural tradition with its strong South Asian emphasis has deemed such gatherings un-Islamic. Where is the truth in this regard? Does the culture bear the solution to the problem or is the religion the provider of reliable directive?
It was with this background understanding that a number of parents approached Ayatollah Sistani during our visit in May of 1996. When the entire situation facing the youths was presented to the Ayatollah he immediately responded by saying that the Sacred Law was against moral corruption and shameful conduct among men and women. It was not against nurturing healthy environment for their interaction, as long as that ethical goal was kept as a guiding principle. But the parents insisted that the Ayatollah should provide written instructions about the permissible "mixed" gatherings and clearly specify the limits that must be observed at all times to avoid occurrence of corrupt behavior. The Ayatollah, thus, asked for submission of questions regarding the situation to which he would then respond accordingly. Hence, the following letter that was hand delivered in Najaf in April of 1996:
After offering our greetings to you, our last meeting with you [in Najaf] in the presence of men and women from our community was very beneficial. We express our deep gratitude to you for your valuable guidance and attention [to our problems].
Following that discussion and the concern about the Shi`a youths in the West, [let us bring to your attention the following]:
The Shi`a youth are gradually drifting away from religion and even from the precinct of the Shi`a community, getting married under the negative influence of the West and adopting corrupt ways of living. [To combat this situation] it is necessary to establish legitimate contacts between young men and women, so that the Shi`a youth come to know each other and develop sound and legitimate mutual attraction towards each other under the parental and other responsible communal leaders' supervision.
To elaborate further, let us mention this. Such meetings between Muslim young men and women, whether Shi`a or Sunni, can be observed frequently outside the safe environment of the family and traditional religious gatherings. Thus, for instance, there exists an abnormal state of such contacts in the universities. Therefore, the main reason for asking the following questions is to facilitate legitimate ways so that the Shi`a youth can be encouraged to establish sound relationships within the framework provided by the code of behavior by Islamic teachings. Undoubtedly, in these critical and troubled times in which the Muslim families are living in the West, prohibiting or preventing such programs of contact between the youths, which is being propagated by some religious leaders, will result in the detriment of the youth. We request you to provide appropriate guidance to preserve the esteem and faith of our youths in the Western environment so that those responsible in the Shi`a community can discharge their religious duties without any confusion and obstacle in the name of Shari`a.
Let it be clear to your excellency that the Shi`a girls in the West, who will participate in these programs, will necessarily observe the minimum hijab [as prescribed by the Shari`a].
Moreover, it can be ascertained that such an observance of the minimum hijab could be made a prerequisite for participation in all religious and educational programs for women.
Q.1: Is it permissible to organize religious and educational gatherings in which young men and women will participate in accordance with the rules of Islamic interaction (that is, without any intention of lust and without any threat of corrupting morality)? Let it be clear that such a program will be organized under the supervision of parents and sympathetic religious persons.
Q.2: Can young men and women in such gatherings exchange views and discuss issues in the form of debate and argument?
Q.3: Can young men and women in such gatherings which has been organized specifically for them give speech and present papers on religious and educational topics for each other?
Q.4: In order to encourage these youths to get married among themselves so that their religious interests will be preserved, is it permissible to organize activities under the supervision of the parents and sympathetic religious persons to allow them to know each other through conversation and discussion?
Answers from Ayatollah Sistani:
In the Name of God
A.1: There is no objection provided the girls observe the Islamic dress properly and sit separately from the boys. Both sexes should observe the respectful exchange of character and conversation to avoid putting themselves in any sin or situation of corrupt conduct. It is highly recommended that in the beginning of such gatherings a knowledgeable person, with sound reputation and Islamic behavior, should undertake to explain to and exhort them about the Islamic teachings connected with such occasions.
A.2: If the topic is within the framework of legitimate subject for discussion and exchange of ideas for young men and women, from the Shari`i point of view, and if the observance is at the level explained in Answer 1, then there is no objection.
A.3: With the observance of the conditions already stated there is no objection.
A.4: Their knowing each other is attainable through the activities mentioned in the other questions.
I am praying for an increase in the felicity to carry out the teachings of Islam for all of you. God's blessings and peace be on you all.