- in the name of Allah -

(all of this is relevant only to the Muslim ummah, no one else)

After a few days of working at the local masjid, I have made a few observations worthy of being mentioned. It seems that a majority of the sisters of the ummah have a "princess complex", and that would have been fine, had the brothers not also been afflicted with a "fallen prince complex".

Let me elaborate. What I know of female psychology, I know from both textbooks and personal experience, so if it offends anyone, then my condolences beforehand. What I know of male psychology, I know from both textbooks and the fact that I am one. The current trend I am noticing is that sisters are unwilling to shoulder more responsibility than was expected from them according to previous generations of social experience; in the past, a female would have been relegated to roles primarily situated in the "home" and would be considered the primary "caretaker" of the children. Not only were the males expected to provide the income for the family, they were expected to do all the "dirty" and "thankless" work that needed to be done but was obviously undesirable in and of itself (to be fair, the women had their share of such roles). Still, for a number of generations, the males were those who could and would do the work, and so there was some stability as far the family structure goes on a global scale, and how much respect each community and nation paid to its notion in keeping the "family" going attested to this.

These past two generations of males, entailing the last 50-100 years or so, have missed their mark. How can I say this? I can say this by observing the elders of our community, and communities, and by noticing as well the changes in behavior, from what it was expected to have been.

The results of two and a half world wars gives ample evidence for how the failure of the male has come, such a grand scale that it almost passes without notice, almost becoming a listless "evolving" of the male caricature. This is the nature of the "fallen prince complex": the prince being the former role once held by the past generations of Muslim men, who now having fallen from power and from "grace", now suffer a useless ignominy rooted in pride without substance or reason. This is our state today, as men. It is akin to the aging monarch, who sees and has seen his time to rule pass, but cannot and does not know how to convey power or educate the coming generation. Will our generation suffer as our fathers and their fathers suffered? How long can our "princesses" manage the ummah, while our "fallen princes" lament a past long gone? How can we reclaim our place among the nations of this world, and find the throne of the dunya once again in the hands of those who believe?