My Personal Thoughts on Issues (Muslim) Teens Face

There are a lot of issues that teens have to go through (especially being a Muslim in the West), not just the one I mentioned about girl-guy relationships and such. But, this is a big one I noticed which is why I included it with so much info. I couldn't find anything talking about more than one problem so below are some issues I came up with in no particular order of importance.

~Lack of interest in Islamic knowledge and practicing Islam correctly
"I'll take the time out to learn about Islam and practice later in life when I'm older and had some "fun". Well, who guaranteed you a long life that you will be able to repent for a life full of sins and just because you were "born Muslim" doesn't mean you have a space reserved in Heaven. You have to work for it and NOW is the time to change before it is too late!

~Music addiction
Excessive listening to music and keeping up with the useless facts about the lives of singers, rappers, performers, etc.

~Peer pressure
Trying to fit in with the crowd and being popular or just getting (bad) attention. A lot of time, money, and energy is wasted in trying to impress people who don't care about who you really are but how well and far you will go to copy them, whether it is fashion, looks, behavior, attitude, relationships, etc.

~Violence
ex. gangs

~Drugs
It's "cool." More like disgusting, dangerous, and a waste of time, money, and a life!

~Parent-teen relationship
Lack of respect from children for elders, especially their parents, and lack of understanding and communication from parents for their children's situation and the difficulties of being a Muslim teen in America. Give us a break and try to understand!

~Identity confusion
"Am I more or less of xxx (nationality), American, Muslim...?"

~Islam vs. culture
Confusion of Islam mixed with culture and picking and choosing "buffet style" what to practice and believe. This is usually picked up from elders and shows how much of an impact elders do have on young people, especially parents and their kids. More about this will be added later in my blog inshAllah.