About Yemeni youth [Archives:2004/797/Letters to the Editor]

FaidhurRahman Tariq
[email protected]
I would just like to bring your attention to the current situation of the Muslim youth. Having read your article on accident rates going up in Ramadhan and Eid, I thought it appropriate to add my personal experience to this kind of thing happening in my own locality. Being a resident in the Manchester area of Britain, the people of this area have to put up with the same kind of thing on every Eid. There is a stretch of Wilmslow Road known as the curry mile (with restaurants of all sorts from Arabic to Chinese), which is a hot attraction for the youth on Eid occasions as this is where they gather (hundreds of them), showing off all the cars they have and blasting loud music. This causes a lot of inconvenience for the locals, as there are traffic jams and often fights amongst the Muslim youths themselves.
Along this route and in nearby surroundings are also located three very busy hospitals. Because of this traffic problem on Eid, these emergency vehicles also have difficulty in transporting the patients to the hospitals. As a result of all this, the police and local council leaders write to the Imams of mosques begging them to ask the Muslim youth not to cause disruptions.
Look at the image we give to the non Muslims we are residing with.. Even on our celebrations and days of happiness, we cause so much distress and inconvenience to the people that they generalize Islam as being bad because of a few ignorant Muslims. I believe that as Muslims living in a non-Muslim country, it is much more incumbent and a duty on us to set a good example. The behavior of these kinds of people certainly does not help.
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