The role of Moslem’ Youth in mastering digital transformation

Opening
The development of the global system of interconnected computer networks that we generally call the Internet has
revolutionized the world of communications and transformed the society, economy, and private lives of billions of
individuals.
Hello, my name is Aisyah.

Today no dimension of human life remains untouched by ICTs. These technologies

have resulted in a deeply connected world, where time and geographical boundaries
are bypassed and people from all walks of life can connect and communicate

Content
Ladies and Gentleman, there are two fundamental questions towards my
speech. First, who is a Muslim youth? and what is the role of the Muslim
Youth in today’s digital transformation for building a peaceful society? 
Youths, as defined by the Nigerian National Youth Policy Document are
“people between the ages of 18 and 35″. Going by this, a Muslim Youth is a
person between the ages of 18-35 (or as may be determined by his/her
Country), who believes in the oneness of Allah. Peace building, on the other
hand, refers to the steps taken by stakeholders towards establishing harmony
in a society.
It is disheartening that the contributions of youths to building a peaceful society are mostly
overlooked by the aged adults, who often regard youths as good-for-nothing or too inexperienced to
understand the demands of a chaotic world. Age is not an indication of maturity; and even The
Prophet (pbuh) admonished that we take benefit of five things before five others, one of which is
“our youth before our old age”. In light of these, the following are areas in which Muslim Youths can
assist in nurturing peaceful societies:

 Be the drivers of Change: Historically, in Islam, Youths played key roles in fighting
and winning battles such as the battle of Badr and Uhud. In our modern age, while
battles are not so much the order of the day, Youths can still play a vital role in
maintaining peaceful societies by advocating for values that drive positive change. To
achieve this, youths must employ patience even in their enthusiasm to serve and fight
for a just cause.
 Readiness for Leadership: The Muslim Youths should equally understand their
capacity for leadership and exploit every opportunity to serve and lead, starting from
their smallest circles, as it will help to hone their basic decision making skills. In the
same vein, Muslim youths can forestall violence in their circles and even larger
community circles, by instituting a medium of conflict resolution that focuses on
instilling values and renewing the spirituality of fellow Muslims. Furthermore,
 beyond the willingness of youths to serve, aged adults should also be willing to
delegate responsibilities to youths according to their perceived capabilities. Muslim
Youths can learn from the success stories and achievements of Islamic Societies like
NASFAT, which was instituted by a group of youths. This suggests that youths are
capable of achieving great things if they are included at the right levels of societal
growth and development.
 

 Self Development: Muslim Youths should constantly participate in trainings

bordering on conflict transformation, mediation, negotiation, facilitation of group
decision making, and leadership to equip themselves with adequate knowledge. To
make a difference, education is key; education, beyond the borders of the school
environment. As proffered by Napoleon Hill, an educated man is not necessarily one
who has an abundance of general or specialized knowledge, but one who has
operated his mind that he may acquire anything he wants or its equivalent, without
violating the rights of others.
 

 Socio-Cultural involvement: Youth of different ethnic groups can popularise shared

values, shared cultures and traditions handed down from previous generations.
Interested political players can engage in creating political awareness, forcing
reforms to ensure good governance, accountability, transparency and citizenry
participation at all levels. On the international scene, Youths can become peace
ambassadors of their respective countries, promoting exchange programmes in
education, culture, science and technology, sports and games and tourism to foster a
shared knowledge of a very diverse world, thereby creating an atmosphere of
understanding and peaceful co-existence.
In my view, Muslim youths do not lack ideas on how to build a better society; what they lack is
proper guidance and mentorship. It is common to find educated youths, these days, who are
terrorists, which proves that education is not enough. There is a need for social virtual and
non-virtual interactions and team-playing amongst the youths; such that while some chart
the course for maintaining cleanliness in our communities and societies, some save the
planet by planting more trees and some others occupy the rural areas and slums to educate
the less-privileged youths.

By this, the youth’s role is clear: we are agents of positive change, we are the main actors in
instilling world peace. And the key to achieve these roles is allowing the Muslim Youths the
time, and space, as well as trusting their initiative to act.
If Youths are constantly seen as powerless individuals, they will remain powerless; but when
they are seen as powerful actors, they believe you and act like it.

What role would digitization have in creating a world you want to live in? What
is the one thing that you would like to see technology change about the world
today? How do you think digitization will impact or change the workplace in
the future?

More than half of the respondent (52%) said that individuals (through social
media and other online platforms) are the most essential influencers
nowadays.

The result which was obtained showed that youth of nowadays is aware of the
tremendous impact that an increasingly digital era has and the potential for
good that it can have on the world that we live in. Overwhelmingly,
respondents likewise felt that digitization should act as an enabler to accessible
information and communications.

One participant also stated that digitization acts as a communicator for three
major reasons: To connect social innovations, to raise awareness and also to
tackle issue locally and globally. Through an increased access to information
and communication, digitization should provide more education about the
world today.

Beyond the above ethical concerns, the commoditization of information and

knowledge results in a society where every human endeavor is done to sell more.
Art and literature is made to sell and not to explore human creativity. Education is
likewise commoditized. News is presented in ways that maximize viewership,
regardless of accuracy. The entertainment industry harnesses every kind of negative
human trait and gains popularity not based on the merit of its content but on the
extent of violence, sex, and spectacular wealth is portrayed therein.

This commodification of information and knowledges stifles our intellectual

capabilities. Take, for instance, Google’s search engine – perhaps the greatest
symbol of information technology innovation. We go to Google to search for
anything, often without a thought as to how it works.  This search engine displays
webpages according to Google’s page ranking algorithm. The higher the rank of the
webpage with respect to the keyword, the higher the webpage will appear in the
search result. But how is this page ranking done? Generally, the more a page is
visited, the higher its rank will be. However, Google has started personalizing search
results based upon who is searching a given keyword. This ostensibly helps the user
find results more relevant to his or her likes and context, thus making the search
experience friendlier. However, if we start receiving search results according to our
own biases then how will we develop a critical perspective on anything we learn?[7]
Even the factor of “most visited” does not guarantee the credibility of that webpage,
as sensationalized content will predictably draw more viewers than a more accurate,
but less appealing, webpage. A search of keywords on Islam, for instance, reveals
higher rankings for Islamophobic websites[8] than for accurate depictions of Islamic
practice. Such websites peddle lies about Islam but they earn the crown place in
Google’s search results by the simple fact that they are visited more and the more a
page is visited the better its page rank. Is this really how we ought to envision
knowledge acquisition? In this manner, we create our own filter bubble[9] and
remain inside a shell, closing all doors of critical thinking, disagreement and dialogue
even when connected to what ought to be the largest repository of information in
human history. The present polarized nature of cyberculture is a proof of this critical
flaw.

The pervasive usage of digital communications likewise stifles our ethical growth.
Platforms like Instagram and Facebook harness the addictiveness of the dopamine
release that follows every like or view or positive comment. Enjoying praise is a
natural human tendency but an obsession with receiving more praise, through more
likes, is deeply problematic. If our life choices and actions are defined more by what
others like and praise, how will we develop a stable moral character?
It comes as no surprise that the capitalistic tendencies of these digital platforms and
the power seeking tendencies of political actors have often furthered their goals in
tandem, taking crony capitalism to the digital arena.

Today fake news spread via social media can easily become viral, reaching millions
of viewers[10]. This is all the more worrying because fake news is not harmless: it is
often designed with specific, malignant political ends in mind, yet too often such
news goes by unregulated on digital platforms. One of the biggest reasons behind
the virality of fake news is the technological design of these platforms. The more
something gets spread the more profit these companies can make, and
unfortunately fake news often has just the right degree of sensationalism to capture
the interest of the masses and become viral in a way that accurate reporting does
not. 

The Internet age started with a great potential to democratize information and
communication but capitalistic tendencies have taken over and disrupted that
potential. For this reason, we need to be critical curators when it comes to using
technology, rather than blindly accept the latest development. Going beyond
questions of good and bad use, we need to take a wholistic look at the broader
consequences of the spread of these technologies. Doing so, we see many issues
that are not compatible with a sound view of Islamic ethics, including crony
capitalism, labor exploitation, compulsion in opinions, totalitarianism, environmental
degradation, violation of privacy, apathy in the face of injustice, commoditization of
knowledge and education, commoditization of art and culture, consumerism and
materialist extravagance, and so on.

What does Islam have to say on this? Muslim discourse on ICTs tends to focus on
what one is using the technology for. So if you are using ICTs for a good purpose
then you don’t have to think much beyond that. However, a more wholistic approach
is needed, one that takes into account the consequences of the mass adoption of
ICTs across the world.
Therefore, the advancement of technology has been a boon for Islam as we
are witnessing more and more Muslims embracing technology every day. This
is because it helps one both religion wise as discussed above, by giving one the
opportunity to gain Islamic knowledge virtually by attending live classes online
and listening to lectures of reputed scholars all without leaving the comfort of
their homes.
Children are also able to learn religion in a non-traditional manner by playing
Islamic games and other interactive software that motivate them to learn
better.
 1. We should create a culture of digital literacy in order to make the masses
realize the better use of digital technologies and understand the dangers
associated with them.
2. We should create a balance between the real and the virtual. Our life should
be governed by the real and not the virtual, thus minimizing our overuse of
various kinds of digital platforms.

The power of technologies nowadays is nothing to be underestimated. As a Muslim, we should use technology

as a way to improve our iman and Islam. The effect of technology in Islam is very huge, both in the life of

Muslims and Islam as the religion itself.

The use of internet initially unwelcome by the Islamic scholars. Up until today, some of them are still

disapproved of the technology. But many Muslims use technology to strengthen their iman to Allah SWT.

They often access da’wah from Islamic scholars from all over the world and learn Islam deeper through it

Islamic education should be started from very young age. Children should understand their basic obligation,

about iman and Islam. Educating children is easier and fun by using technology. There are many Islamic app

that can be downloaded for free to teach children how to read Quran, doing prayers, and wudu.

Islamic preachers are now using technology to spread their da’wah as wide as possible. They often recorded it

and upload it later on Youtube or doing the da’wah live via Facebook. This is a very positive impact of

technology for Islam.

Seeking knowledge counted as a good deed in Islam. A useful knowledge that passed down from people to
people even counted as deeds that never stop after the people die. Seeking for knowledge is not always in

school but actually can be done through other ways. Internet and technology are good combination to seek for

knowledge in the modern years. We can learn about Islam through the smartphone and it’s very convenience

sine we can access it anywhere and anytime.-