I read something last night that made me laugh, apparently the Bangladeshi government has told mobile phone operators to stop offering free calls after midnight because loads of parents complained that their kids were chatting through the night forming romantic attachments. Who would have thought that those free minutes we hold so dear, cause such social degradation? On the surface it seems a reasonable course of action, stop the free minutes, youngsters stop talking, couples stop eloping and mum and dad keep their honour intact. If only it was that easy. To find the real cause of the problem, you need to look further back and consider the factors that are making youngsters pursue these relationships. These factors are probably due to the lack of social segregation and also due to the predominant Bollywood culture.

Bollywood is a very powerful establishment and the film stars are idolised by the Asian youngsters. Anybody who watches Bollywood films would have realised that they’re only ever about one thing, romance. I’m not exaggerating, but every film that I’ve been forced to watch has been about two people who fall in love and for one reason or another are not allowed to get married. Anyway, the youngsters are obviously influenced by all of this and feel the need to emulate their idols and do the same. Coupled with this romantic atmosphere, the ease with which boys and girls can freely mix and socialise, is what gives rise to unislamic relationships and flirtatious conversations throughout the night. It is very difficult for youngsters these days because they are being asked to maintain Islamic values, whilst being bombarded with secular values and temptations. Some feel that the only way they are going to find love is if they look and behave like a Bollywood star.

You can never expect to preserve Islamic values and practices if Islam is not being implemented in its totality. Islam has its own vanguards to protect its values and the individuals from deterioration. It is a very practical way of life and allows men and women to interact for meaningful objectives like, trade, education and healthcare but forbids social freemixing between the sexes. An Islamic society would also prohibit external influences that would readily agitate people’s desires. All this helps to ensure that unislamic relationships are minimised and that the social fabric is preserved. Youngsters would instead be encouraged to confine their romantic relationships within marriage and it would be the society’s responsibility to make this as easy as possible.

So if Bangladesh wants to preserve its social fabric and eliminate “rogue” relationships it would be better off implementing a holistic Islamic social system. Then the youngsters can enjoy free minutes getting to know their future spouses with their parents consent.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 17th, 2006 at 5:55 pm and is filed under Islam. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.