"Most of the obstacles children face today are linked to the belief among adults that the prime duty of the individual is to make the most of their own life, rather than contribute to the good of others... excessive individualism is causing a range of problems for children including: high family break-up, teenage unkindness, commercial pressures towards premature sexualisation, unprincipled advertising, too much competition in education and acceptance of income inequality." -- UK Good Childhood Inquiry
Over the past 10 years, more than 20,000 American children are believed to have been killed in their own homes by family members. That is nearly four times the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The child maltreatment death rate in the US is triple Canada's and 11 times that of Italy. Millions of children are reported as abused and neglected every year. Europe is not immune from child neglect. Take Britain for example. According to the 2010/11 figures from National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), child line counsellors dealt with nearly 670,000 contacts from children about various problems including, bullying, sex abuse, violence and mental health issues. On average, every week in England and Wales at least one child is killed at the hands of another person. Children under one are the age group most at-risk of being killed at the hands of another person. Over 16,000 allegations of children suffering abuse were passed from the NSPCC Helpline to police or social services.
It is almost customary for governments to respond to cases of child neglect by launching public inquiries. In the past the outcome of such inquiries has led to either the social services playing a greater role in the prevention of the ill-treatment of children or new legislation aimed at offering children greater protection from abusive parents. All too often these inquiries fail to stem the growing tide of child abuse pervading Western society. This has led some to call for tougher measures such as permanently taking children away from cruel parents or even stripping them of their right to reproduce. It is highly unlikely that the present government will make any headway in reducing the ill treatment of children. This is because the main cause behind child abuse is the unbridled individualism, which governments, sociologists and parents alike have repeatedly refused to acknowledge.
Individualism is an important pillar of Western Secularism and dominates many of the relationships that exist between people in Western societies. Individualism stipulates that people should put their interests first and foremost. This imbues in people a selfish mentality and encourages people to satisfy their own needs before the needs of others. Furthermore, individualism leads people to view responsibility as a burden and a hindrance towards the fulfilment of their selfish motives. Therefore, it is common to find people in the West, especially in the social sphere, entering and leaving relationships in order to avoid responsibility - all of which has a detrimental effect on society. Hence rampant fornication, abortions, single parent families, fathers avoiding child maintenance costs, mothers forsaking children to pursue careers, parents giving up children to foster homes and wanton child abuse are all symptoms of individualism.
Western governments are unable to deal with the effects of individualism and the harm it causes to society. This is because the role of the government is to guarantee individualism for its citizens and not to impose restrictions on people's individuality. Therefore, the primary concern of government is the welfare of the individual and not the family or wider society. For instance, when dealing with the issue of child abuse, Western governments view the child and its rights as separate to the rights of the mother and the rights of the father. Naturally any solutions arising from this type of thinking will focus more on preserving the individuality of the child, mother or father than protecting the family or society. In this way, the family and society bear no collective responsibility towards the mistreatment of children, since law and responsibility are solely applied at the level of the individual.
In Islam, the concept of individualism is limited to the relationship between man and God and the relationship of man with himself i.e. in the matters of worship, foodstuffs, clothing and morals. In relationships that involve people, individuals are permitted to satisfy their needs provided that they do not violate the rights of other individuals or transgress the limits imposed by Islam for the welfare of the society. In all types of relationships Muslims are required to seek the pleasure of God by conducting themselves according to laws prescribed by Islam. These laws when practiced produce a unique and distinct character for the human being, a character shaped by altruism and not selfishness. Islam promoted and raised high, not only the relationship between the parent and child, but also that of family and society.
Islam praised the family.
The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "Do marry the devoted and prolific women, for I will be proud of you before other nations on the Day of Judgement." [Abu Dawood, at-Tirmidhi]
Islam forbade the killing and torturing of children.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى says in the Qur'an:
وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلَاقٍ ۖ نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُهُمْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ قَتْلَهُمْ كَانَ خِطْئًا كَبِيرًا
"Kill not your children for fear of want, We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Surely to kill them is a great wrong." [Al-Isra: 31]
Islam has forbidden the neglect of children and has made it obligatory for parents to provide food, clothing, shelter and to meet the various other requirements of their children.
The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "It is enough sin for a person that he ignores those whom he is responsible for." [Abu Dawood]
Thus, within the Islamic framework children are regarded as a blessing and the family is viewed as playing a pivotal role in the stability of society.
Today, individualism threatens the social fabric of Western societies through the erosion of family values and violation of civil rights. Left unquestioned and unchecked, individualism will result in the fragmentation of both Muslim and non-Muslim communities. The Islamic attitude towards the family and society is much more responsible than the selfish outlook of secularism. Therefore it is essential that Muslims in the West expose the shortcomings of individualism and endeavour to present Islam to non-Muslims as the only solution to societal problems.
Abid Mustafa is a political commentator who specialises in Muslim affairs and global issues. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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Abu Affan
said:
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Even though the governments, sociologists and parents in the western societies do not acknowledge the consequences of freedom in their societies, the facts do. |
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Hasan
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To shelly barnel....if you explained why individualism and child abuse is not linked then it would have been good...anyway,i would like to highlight one of your own quote in your comment..'....this is absolute obligation of each and every one of us through personal responsibility to our community.'...you are saying that, because you believe in that responsibility,but everyone does not believe that,so they act irresponsible.now what can we do about it?can we make them to carry out their responsibility?if we do that then we attack on their individual right OF BELIEF...this is like,if a mother want to abort her child,how can i stop her?is it not her individual right? if you give a person uncontrolled individual right,then he or she only chose to leave all individual responsibility.that's why you are seeing so much irresponsible action in your society.Islam does not allow unhindered individualism.if you allow unhindered individualism to a tumer of cancer,it will destroy the whole body.Islam considers the society as a body,where cancer cells have to removed,even if those cells deny it.when some cells is in problem,it does not consider it the problem of the cells,but the problem of the body,unlike individualism...so,the problem between parents and child is not their own problem,its the problem of the the society.in khilafah,a child won't have individual right to dump his parents to old homes,and vice versa....THINK. |
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Abdul-Kareem
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The point that individualism has contributed towards child abuse was initially made by the Children's society. Abid Mustafa is simply expanding on this report. The Children's Society on its website states: "The report says that although freedom and self-determination bring many blessings, the balance has tilted too far towards individualism in Britain." The problem in Britain is that freedom with responsibility is a contradiction for many people. They may ask. Why should I be responsible to my neighbours, children, parents and wider society? In Islam responsibility and accountability are core values not freedom. Even if someone escapes punishment in this life for a crime, they will be accounted for it when they die. This concept has a strong effect on a practising Muslim's personality. A true Islamic government (Caliphate) would enshrine these values within the law of the land. |
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Shelly Bernal
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Although I respect Mr. Mustafa's opinion on individualism in the West, I must beg to differ. The link between individualism and rampant child abuse is far-fetched! This assertion is an egregious misinterpretation of unrelated facts to intentionally taint the widely held value of individualism in our national culture. It would be just as accurate to link the language spoken to child abuse. You might as well say that English causes rampant child abuse! Why don’t we take a closer look at personal responsibility and accountability as culprits? Our society is facing a crisis, but it is one of a lack of character, integrity, discipline and personal responsibility – not a crisis of individualism! In fact, individualism, diversity, creativity and innovation are all values of western societies highly sought after in other parts of the world. Those are characteristics of our culture that are natural, but the specific characteristic of personal responsibility needs to be nurtured and further developed to improve our society. Citizens must actively and constructively engage in the specific issues that our society faces (like child abuse) on a local, community level as individuals. This is the absolute obligation of each and every one of us through personal responsibility to our community. We must take individual action to improve our society. |
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