Moral values key to preventing drug abuse: Wisdom Students

The Wisdom Students’ State secretariat has reiterated that instilling moral values and principles in young people from an early age is crucial to addressing the growing issue of drug abuse among youth.

Teaching moral principles and values promoted by religion to the younger generation is essential for their character development and shaping their world view.

“Attributing criminal actions or the involvement of individuals in crimes to their religious affiliation perpetuates communal divisions and fosters a harmful ‘us versus them’ mentality,” said Wisdom Students State president Arshad Al Hikami.

Mr. Hikami exhorted political parties in the State to put aside their differences and to collaborate to find a solution to the issue of drug-related incidents on campuses, rather than blaming each other.

The Wisdom Students’ statement has come in the wake of a raging controversy over some remarks made by Left Democratic Front (LDF)’s independent MLA K.T. Jaleel at an Iftar organised by the Wisdom Islamic Organisation here last week.

Mr. Jaleel had said that many Muslim youths were involved in criminal activities, including drug related cases, in spite of having been given religious education in madrasas.

Many joined the controversy and madrasas and Islamic religious education became the target of attack from some corners. Several Muslim leaders denounced Mr. Jaleel for his remarks.

However, Mr. Jaleel stuck to his guns. “My investigation has revealed a notable trend: approximately 99% of individuals with Muslim names arrested in drug-related cases had received Islamic education during their formative years,” he said in a lengthy Facebook post in reply to a criticism levelled against him by one of his classmates.

The Widsom Students, meanwhile, said that they were planning extensive programmes to address increasing immoral trends related to drug abuse among students as part of a State students conference being held at Perinthalmanna on May 11.