Identity and Isolation

The issue of identity is particularly important to teenagers and has wide implications upon self- esteem, connectedness, social functioning and overall personal health. These issues are compounded for young Muslims in Western societies grappling with multiple identities. What implication does this hold for you and your identity formation? How does this impact upon your mental health? Islam is the fastest growing religion which derives from the Arabic word ‘Salam’. This translates into English As ‘peace’ however is this really the case? Muslims may look like crazy and radical, however many non-Muslims receive their primary source of information on Islam through the biased media and the untrue propaganda around the world which creates many misconceptions and negative stereotypes.

The local Muslim community can be described as multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-lingual. The unifying dimension of this otherwise diverse group is the Islamic worldview which integrates religious, political, social, economic and individual life. This is sometimes viewed in contrast to the Australian context which presents as an open, secular and pluralist society. However, up against a global backdrop of ‘Islamophobia’ emanating from the events of September 11 and an often hostile and bias media, the necessary and emerging synthesis between faith requirements and citizenship commitment and the seeking of negotiated and reciprocal Australian Muslim Identities is becoming extremely difficult for young Australian Muslim youth.

As stated by ‘Islam in the media’, the media is a significant social agent which have the ability to influence community perceptions. Numerous media campaigns are going on against Islam and Muslims. Most of them using financial resources try and depict a rough image of Islam. The media use previous crisis and incidents such as the event that took place on September 11 trying to capitalize its political gain and portraying Muslims as