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lot of power and influence at stake. And power tempts.
While it’s true that only a tiny minority of extremists conduct themselves in a way that is inhumane
or promote hatred and manipulate us into believing the world is fighting Islam, it is also true that their
influence on the 70 percent of Muslims who are illiterate and the hundred million Arabs between the
ages of fifteen and twenty-nine, of whom 28 percent are unemployed, must not be underestimated as
we look ahead. Remember that the Arab world is the heartland of Islam, and so we should really be
concerned about the quality of life of its populations.
The unfortunate reality for the rest of the world is that today’s Arab youth will shape the character
of the region over the coming years, and this could mean that we witness more anger and destruction,
or productivity and progress, or a return to the traditional institutions of Arab and Islamic culture.
Rigid job markets, out-of-date legislation, sectarianism, a weak productive identity, and finally, the
oil price collapse that created a regional deficit of 9 percent of GDP in 2015 after years of surpluses
are the extreme disadvantages troubling our youth. Unemployment is among the top three biggest
obstacles facing the region (behind the rise of ISIS and the threat of terrorism). Opportunities for
quality education at the university level remain weak. Only one of several hundred Arab universities
was included in the 2015–2016 top 400 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. In
addition to that, 8.6 million Arabs are not enrolled in primary or secondary school; 5 million of these
children are girls.
These young Arabs will one day soon influence international politics and all global economies.
How is the rest of the Muslim world faring?