Values, Dreams, Ideals – Muslim Youth in Southeast Asia

How does Indonesia’s and Malaysia’s Muslim Youth feel about their respective country, their family, their society? Do youngsters care about politics? How religious are they? What are their needs, their problems? Who do they turn to? Are they happy? Optimistic? We don’t know much. That’s why we asked young people in both countries what they think, feel, believe, fear, aspire to and hope for. We cooperated with the authors of the Shell Youth Study, which has been conducted in Germany since 1953 .

The future of the country – any country – will be shaped by its youth. Youngsters set trends and change societies. In Malaysia and Indonesia, countries with Muslim majorities, young generations are huge: more than half of the population is less than 30 years old, about one third is younger than 14. In Indonesia, 200 million Muslims – 88% of the population – constitute the largest Muslim population world-wide. In Malaysia, 16 million Muslims account for 60% of the population. Far away from Islam’s region of origin, Muslims in these two South East Asian states have their own customs and traditions, distinguishing them culturally and linguistically from Muslims in the Middle East.

Young people face peer pressure from social groups they are part of in schools, universities or work places. In Indonesia and in Malaysia, most youngsters grow up in conservative households, where religious values are stressed. At the same time, many young Muslims live in and embrace a globalised world. In Malaysia, modern technology - readily available and unrestricted – has become part of youth culture. Almost 85% of young people use the internet, taking them beyond borders and exposing them to different cultures, views and value-systems. While youngsters in both countries grow up in societies that have adopted seemingly liberal political systems and a culture of consumption, they are also courted by fundamentalists, who believe that democracy, individual rights and open markets are not reconcilable with their Islamic values. With so many different influences at work, we wonder were these young people are heading.

This Muslim Youth Survey – envisioned to be the start of a periodic poll – was conducted in both countries in October and in November 2010. 1,060 people aged 15 to 25 were surveyed in Malaysia, 1,496 in Indonesia. Both surveys were conducted by trained interviewers, whose face-to-face conversations with the respondents took more than an hour. We focused on personal development, family orientation, religion, politics, social environment, lifestyle and values. Respondents provided generous information about their family life, their recreational activities, their professional and personal goals and their political orientation. They also told us about the role of Islam in their lives.

We hope that this survey will draw attention to the concerns of youngsters and lead to wider public discourse.