Angry, disaffected Muslim youth? Don’t believe the hype – look at what they did after the Manchester attack

Hundreds of “We love MCR” banners coursed their way through central Manchester last week, along with signs proclaiming, “Love for all, hatred for none”. Young Muslim women and men proudly displayed them in an act of defiance against hate, in the wake of a horrific attack that left 22 innocent people dead. It reminded me of a great man who once said, “A nation cannot be reformed without first reforming its youth.”

Shortly after the terror attack last week, two narratives emerged.

One was courageously articulated by Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. “This is an extremist act and the person who did it in no more represents the Muslim community than the person who killed Jo Cox represents the white Christian community.”

The other narrative was of cowardly anti-Muslim extremists and keyboard warriors such as Katie Hopkins who demanded a “final solution” as a response. It is the latter narrative that continues to dominate media headlines, advances fear of Islam and Muslims, and promotes a sense of hopelessness among youth in particular.

Most frighteningly, this latter narrative mimics the narrative of Isis, playing perfectly into their hands. Isis wants Muslim youth in the West to feel as if the West fears them, that in response they should fear living in the West, and that it is hopeless to believe otherwise. They want to eliminate the “grey zone”, forcing Muslim youth to either leave Islam or join a so-called Islamic caliphate.

With reports of hate crime having doubled in Manchester in the past week, some would argue that this strategy of hate is working. But look closer and you’ll see the resilience of a different narrative – one that demonstrates how young people can still turn it all around.

Isis and the Islamophobes who shamelessly support it – whether they believe they are doing so or not – have no answer for the resilience of Muslim youth pushing back against the horrific events in places like Manchester, Westminster, Berlin and Brussels. We saw young British Muslims take the lead after the Westminster attack. Young Belgian Muslim imams were at the forefront of writing the narrative for tolerance after the Brussels attack. After the horrific attack in Berlin last Christmas, hundreds of young German Muslims responded with the same slogan we’ve seen again and again: “Love for all, hatred for none.”

In Britain, you’ll find more than 5,000 young British Muslims raising millions for charity as a practical manifestation and reflection of their faith. These charities include the Royal British Legion, Barnardo’s, the British Heart Foundation, the Red Cross, Save the Children, Marie Curie Cancer Care, and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The groundwork for this unity against extremism was laid by the great man I quoted earlier, His Holiness Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad, second Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. When he established the International Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association in 1938, he envisioned a future of nations rising up because their youth were relentless in their dedication to the love and service of humanity. Now established in over 200 nations worldwide, it is the world’s single largest Muslim youth association – and it is set on ending terrorism by upholding Islam’s true teachings of service to all humanity.

Thus, “Love for all, hatred for none” is not merely a slogan to hold up on some banners after a terrorist attack. It is the narrative we need to prevent and end extremism in the first place. It is a way of life manifested in countless hours of relentless service to humanity by Muslim youth worldwide. It is evidence that the West need not fear Islam, nor demonise Muslims. Nor should Muslim youth fear the West or feel forced to choose between Islam and a western home.

“Love for all, hatred for none” is a proven model of peace. It is evidence that the narrative of hate and violence set forth by Isis and anti-Muslim extremists will fail. And the actions of those who believe in that slogan should be more than enough proof that we will win out in the end.

Qasim Rashid is a lawyer, author and national spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the US. Follow him at @MuslimIQ