IDENTITY CRISIS, IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION & MUSLIM YOUTH IN THE WEST

In conversation with Mubin Shaikh, a former Islamist turned counter extremist expert at Parents for Peace. Mubin shares his story and experiences of growing up first generation Muslim in Canada. And reflects on the issues of identity, belonging, community and self otherization. A story many Muslim families, specifically Muslim youth living in North America can relate to. We talk about what parents need to understand and how we as a society can help young Muslims navigate the world and build new construct for themselves. 

Some key take aways:

• Start young, talk to your children about their place in the society and where they live.

• Engage with the wider society and encourage your children to do the same. Don’t create an us vs them world for the kids.

• Being a Muslim is one of the identities of your children. Their religious beliefs might be different from those around them, but they might have other shared values, hobbies and interests with people surrounding them. Encourage them to see the intersectionality of identities and how they are connected to people that might seem different.

• Discuss how they can respond to racism and Islamophobia without getting negatively effected by it or responding with violence or hate.

• Building trust and having a strong communication, specially with young adults goes a long way.

You can learn more about Parents For Peace here.

Mubin Shaikh is the co-author of Undercover Jihadi: Inside the Toronto 18 — Al Qaeda Inspired, Homegrown, Terrorism in the West. A book based on his time working undercover with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. You can watch his TED talk here.