CNN Premieres "Generation Islam"

I admit, I'm not exactly on top of world events. In college I read the paper, watched the news, cruised online for updates and commentary. But with two little ones and a house (and sanity) to maintain, I've fallen off the grid. When offered the opportunity to preview a new CNN special, I agreed for two reasons; I hoped it would help bring me up to speed on some global issues, and it had to do with children.

I'm a mom, so naturally I have an interest in children's issues. But it goes a little deeper than that. In my professional life I spent some time investigating child abuse, and working with families fractured by domestic violence. I saw the cycle of violence repeat itself over and over again. I also volunteered in our prison system, and saw how broken children grow into broken adults. I know all too well that if we don't focus on the children we have no hope for the future, no matter the issue.

Tomorrow night (Thursday, August 13), CNN will premier Generation Islam. CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour traveled to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Gaza to uncover what life is like for the smallest victims; the children.
More than half the population of the Gaza Strip are under the age of eighteen. Nearly 45 percent of the population of Afghanistan are under the age of fourteen. Those are HUGE numbers, each representing an innocent child, who has endured a life scarier than most of us can even imagine.

Watching Generation Islam, I was reminded of the studies I did on American Gangs. Children in impoverished areas, especially those lacking clear father figures and role models, search for someone to emulate. Far too often the local gang leaders fill this role, with their flashy lifestyle and power over the community. The gangs know this and reach out to the children to offer what they lack; a sense of belonging, safety, security, protection....family. That's why you see programs such as midnight basketball crop up in gang-infested neighborhoods. Kids need an alternative if we want to keep them on the right path.

The same principles are at work in the countries featured in Generation Islam. These children are often in fatherless homes, and entrenched in some of the worst poverty our world has ever seen. Many are all alone, on the streets, with nobody to watch over them. Muslim extremist groups (such as the Taliban) know this. And they prey on these children. They offer food, shelter, a family. They offer a way off the streets, a future that includes more than begging for the next meal. Many children fall in with these extremist groups not because of religious belief, but because of the tangible benefits that come with membership.

Some agencies and individuals are trying to offer these children a safe alternative. Schools are being built, programs are being funded, help is slowly trickling in. But it isn't easy. These children are scarred. They have known nothing but war, violence, and poverty their entire lives. How do you begin to teach nonviolence to a child who has only known violence? How do you begin to teach him tolerance when all he has known is hatred? It is a daunting task, for sure.

And why should we care? Sitting a world away, why should we care what choice these Muslim children make? Do you remember September 11? Can America risk having an entire generation pulled into the Taliban and other extremist groups? Can America risk having an entire generation of children grow up thinking that America is an enemy to extinguish at any cost? The children of the world belong to all of us, on the grand scale. We're all responsible for them. And personally, since America has a portion of the blame for the war and violence these children have been exposed to, I think we owe it to them to step in and help.

Tune in Thursday, August 13 at 9PM Eastern to CNN for Generation Islam. I'd love to hear your thoughts, so come back and leave me a comment after you watch!!