WHEN PARENTS GO TO HAJJ

Source: muslimmatters.org

By: Nur Kose, Nura F, and Safiyyah Ghori

Every year, millions of Muslims around the world gather to Mecca for Hajj.  Many men and women complete the sacred rituals that Muslims have been doing for hundreds, even thousands of years.  During Hajj season, people around the world watch the daily tawaafs around the ka’bah on TV and on the Internet, observing the Hajjis fulfill the pilgrimage of a lifetime.  People wonder about the Hajjis’ stories, their trips, how long their journeys will be, and how they feel in such a sacred place.  What many observers don’t realize or consider, however, are the stories of the children left behind at home.

Some girls have collaborated together and have compiled some stories and experiences of Hajjis’ kids on the homefront.  Kids from all around the United States share what it was like for them to be at home while their parents were off at Hajj.

Muslims teens and the challenge of a sexualized culture

By: Maria- Zain

Source: onislam.net

Iblis (satan) refused to participate in the ceremonial prostration towards Adam (PBUH), and was thus cursed by Allah (SWT), banished from the comfortable abode of Jannah. Humiliated and dejected, Iblis hatched a plan of revenge against Adam (PBUH) and Hawwa, luring them to the forbidden tree.

NEGATIVE INFLUENCES OF CELEBRITIES ON TEENS

Technology has given people easy access to everyone’s lives. Fans are able to feel a part of their favorite celebrity’s everyday life by tracking their whereabouts. They feel up-to-date on what is happening in their lives. Thus, giving them a connection and a sense of closeness to celebrities. The ability to constantly know what is happening with celebrities—what they are wearing, where they are going, and what they are interested in—affects how society lives their lives. People feel the need to emulate their favorite star, so they imitate their clothes, accessories, and even attempt to attend the same type of places.

Teenagers are the most common people trying to copy their idols. Celebrities have the easiest time influencing teens because they are so vulnerable. Teenagers are in search for self-esteem, their identity, and a “cool” self-image. All of these aspects of a teenager’s life are detrimental to who they will become. The power of the celebrity has taken control of these teens and ended with negative influences.

A teen needs to satisfy his need for love, acceptance, and success in order to experience high self-esteem. He gains his self-esteem by pleasing his parents, peers, and society. This is a time in an adolescent’s life where they feel the most need for acceptance. This need for acceptance drives teens to be more experimental, innovative, and sometimes controversial. They are at a time in their life where they keep reinventing themselves. They may start out as a jock, then become a punk, then preppy, and so on and so forth.

According to Teenager Research Unlimited, fun is the number one description for the teenage generation. Teenagers emphasize freedom, yet do not want to take on the responsibilities and obligations of adults. Fun links the teens to experimentation with illegal or illicit substances. Their ideas on life are more in the clouds than in reality. Teens are thinking, dreaming, and even planning a few years ahead. This, in turn, is making celebrities a few years older than them more desirable. Teens are fans of Miley Cyrus, who was caught on film smoking marijuana, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, who went to jail for drinking and drugs. Teens consider this to be okay, and do not let instances like this hinder their idols’ likeability.