The Youth of Today

Our young generation of today has both good qualities and some deficiencies in them. This generation has a series of understandings and emotions that the previous generations did not possess and therefore, we must always give them the benefit of the doubt.

At the same time, they also have some corrupt thoughts and negative ethical traits which must be removed from their character. It is not possible to remove these traits from them without keeping in mind and respecting the good qualities that the youth possess – meaning their understandings, emotions and their other noble traits and qualities – thus, we must show respect to them in these regards.

There is no dead end in life. In the previous generations, the thoughts and minds of the people were not as open as the generation of today. These emotions and good qualities were not present in the people of the past, and thus we must show respect to the youth for their noble qualities – and it is Islam itself which has shown respect to these traits.

If we do not wish to pay attention to these issues, then it is impossible to think that we will be able to take charge and remove the intellectual perversions and the negative ethical traits from the future generations.

The method that we have presently taken in the face of this generation is that of making faces at them, criticizing them, and slandering them. We are continuously crying out to them that the movie cinemas are like this, the theatres are such, the guest houses that exist between Shamiran and Tehran (two cities in Iran) are such and such; the dance halls are like this, the swimming pools are such and thus we continuously cry out (about the corruption in all of these places) and we must know that this is not the correct method to follow. We must return back to the original reason for the corruption found in these places (and why this new generation should not go to these places).

* Guiding the Youth of the New Generation, by Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari, published by: Word Federation of Shias Ithan-Asheri Muslim Communities, chapter 10.