Camp Odyssey

A few days ago, a news clip appeared on television. It was coverage on a confidence-building camp organised for Muslim youth during the school holidays.

The camp is a noble effort indeed. It is heartening to note that professional Muslim bodies in Singapore are concerned in equipping our youth with the confidence and tenacity needed to take on the challenging road that lies ahead of them. Apparently the camp has been an annual affair organised by the Association of Muslim Professionals’ (AMP) Mercu Learning Point. Efforts like these should be applauded and deserve the full support by our community.

However as the visuals went on, several scenes left me a little concerned.



Several similar visuals appeared but I was too occupied with something else to lift anything more than a couple of casual snapshots from the screen.

The video portrayed camp participants in various states of play. The activities being held included games like the ‘Spider Web’ in which participants are required to get every team member across the obstacle in the fastest possible time, without touching the thread.

Most of us who have been camp leaders in schools will be familiar with these team-building games. Indeed they are the best vector to convey values such as teamwork and initiative.

However, my question to the camp organisers is as follows: In the pursuit of character building, where does the organisation place the importance of Islamic manners within its activities? Judging from the way some of these games are being played without any concern for body contact between males and females, Akhlaq seemed to have taken a back seat.

Have the organisers come to the conclusion that it is reasonable to sacrifice certain elements of Islamic virtue and morality in order to attain more desirable values such the teaching of teamwork and social tenacity?

Unbridled body contact between the sexes, especially at an event organised by a Muslim body, gives the wrong impression that Islam condones the free-mixing of males and females. The camp participants are at an age where they are extremely impressionable. If there ever is a time to best convey the importance of values such as restrain of the senses in the context of Islamic morality, a gathering like this will be it. Judging from the social problems we are currently having with our youths, we could definitely use it.

I hope camp organisers, especially the ones being attended by Muslim youth, can pay a little more attention to Akhlaq in planning their activities. Islam has sanctified certain guidelines on how Muslims should behave. We can't complain too much about social problems when we raise our youth like a non-believer.