This week, in our Friday bulletin, we are speaking with another young Friday prayer leader in the UK. His experiences and views are valuable and insightful for all Friday prayer leaders. Hujjat al-Islam Mustafa Araki, who has been traveling to the UK for many years for religious outreach, discusses important issues related to the challenges faced by Muslim families and the marriage of young people in this interview.

1- Could you first share your activities related to Friday prayer leadership?

For about twenty years, by God’s grace, I have been engaged in explaining the teachings of Islam and the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) in various cities across Britain. For most of the year, I reside in the holy city of Qom, where I fulfill my academic duties, such as studying, teaching, and researching. However, during specific periods of the year, such as the months of Muharram, Safar, Ramadan, and the Fatimiyyah days (peace be upon her), I dedicate three to four months for outreach work. During these times, in addition to giving lectures and engaging in cultural activities, I also lead Friday prayers at various mosques and Islamic centres. I have had the privilege of conducting outreach activities and leading Friday prayers in cities such as London, Nottingham, Walsall, Aberdeen, Oxford, Newcastle, and others. The goal of my efforts is to preach about Islam, strengthen the connection of Muslims with the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt, and utilize the great potential of Friday prayers to strengthen religious identity and social cohesion among Muslims.

2- What is the most significant memory or idea in this area that could be impactful for your colleagues?

If we want to transform Friday prayers from a purely worship ceremony into an influential institution in the social lives of Muslims, we must shift our perspective from merely “holding the prayer” to “managing a faithful community.” In fact, Friday prayers provide a unique opportunity to regenerate religious, educational, and identity bonds among Muslims.

From my perspective, the key to the effectiveness of Friday prayers in the West lies in understanding its role in human and community development. Islam is a religion that builds a community, and Friday prayers are a manifestation of this capacity to build a community. Many verses of the Quran emphasize this, such as:
“Those who, if We give them power in the land, establish prayer…” (Hajj: 41) and “And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good…” (Aali ‘Imran: 104).

I have experienced that Friday prayers should become a “spiritual and social refuge” for believers, not just a weekly worship obligation. If the space for Friday prayers is designed in such a way that individuals come not only to worship but also to regain peace, resolve crises, and restore their identities, then this religious duty will become a strategic institution in the lives of Western Muslims.

Over the years, I have witnessed multiple examples of such impact. I recall a person in one of the cities in England who, after facing a severe financial crisis, was on the verge of suicide. His connection with Friday prayers and his accidental meeting with a caring believer in the same setting not only saved his life but also transformed it. This individual later became one of the most active members of that Islamic centre. Such occurrences can only happen in a setting where Friday prayers serve as a spiritual and social refuge.

That is why I propose that the management of Friday prayers be redefined with a social support approach. In other words, the leaders of the Friday prayer should not only be responsible for worship but also act as a “spiritual leadership institution,” serving as a place for listening, supporting, educating, fostering connections, and even intervening in moral and psychological crises.

3- How can Friday prayers in the West become a place for the flourishing of Muslims and the centre of family life?

I believe that the most effective way to make Friday prayers more vibrant and to turn it into a hub for the growth and cohesion of families is to create a platform for active participation of families, especially the youth, in collective and religious activities. True participation is achieved when families are not just recipients but also active planners and decision-makers of the programs.

Mosques and Friday prayers should not merely be places for worship but should become dynamic hubs for growth, interaction, and the flourishing of the new generation and the preservation of Islamic identity, with the direct involvement of the members of the congregation.

4- You have extensive experience abroad. What is the most significant challenge threatening Muslim families in the West today?

Despite all the pressures against Islam and religious values in the West, as His Eminence Ayatollah Khamenei often emphasizes, I am very hopeful about the future of Islam and the committed youth. Among the new generation, there is an extraordinary thirst for authentic religious teachings and the lofty ideals of Islam, which, in my view, is unprecedented or at least rare.

However, precisely because of this, the enemies of Islam are not sitting idly by; they have devised complex programs to extinguish this light and destroy this immense capacity. I believe that the greatest threat to Muslim families in the West is their distancing from authentic religious gatherings and deviating from the pure path of Muhammad’s Islam (peace be upon him).

What can protect families, especially the youth, from these deviations is a deep and conscious connection to the true path of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), as indicated in the blessed declaration of Imam al-Mahdi (may Allah hasten his reappearance) to Muhammad ibn Uthman: “As for the incidents that occur, refer to the narrators of our Hadith, for they are my proof upon you and I am Allah’s proof upon them…” This narration emphasizes the need to turn to the true religious authority of the Shia and remain loyal to the intellectual path of the Ahl al-Bayt.

In summary, preserving religious identity in the West is impossible without a connection to authentic religious authority, social insight, and active participation in religious communities. These three pillars are strong fortresses against the waves of infiltration and deviation.

5- Marriage in the new generation is often unstable. What are the main causes and solutions to reduce this trend?

I believe that the instability of marriage in the new generation stems from two main factors: first, the weakening of Islamic teachings in personal life, and second, the weakening of the sacred institution of family in modern societies.

In the present age, social media provides a platform for the promotion of deviated ideas and the stimulation of excessive desires and instincts. This environment has distanced many young people from spirituality and modesty, pushing them toward individuality. On the other hand, the lifestyle in Western societies, with excessive work, economic competition, and an obsessive focus on material well-being, has deprived people of the time and energy needed to build deep emotional relationships within the family framework.

In such conditions, both the internal factor of preservation (i.e., faith, prayer, and piety) weakens, and the external factor (i.e., familial and social bonds) disappears. The result is emotional breakups, early divorces, and a lack of commitment to the responsibilities of married life.

To counter this trend, two essential pathways must be strengthened:
1. Strengthening faith and worship, especially the prayer, which according to verse 45 of Surah Al-Ankabut: “Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing…” is a deterrent to corruption and immorality.
2. Reviving the role of family and community in supporting young people. Families must play a more active role as guides, advisors, and supporters, and society should create a supportive environment for marriage and its consolidation.

In this context, reviving the practice of enjoining good and forbidding evil is crucial for social health, as the Quran says: “You are the best nation brought forth for the people, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong…” (Aali Imran: 110).

Thus, the sustainable solution lies not in legal and regulatory tools alone, but in reviving the spirit of piety, strengthening the family institution, and maintaining social monitoring in a believing community.

6- For a young Muslim from abroad who wants to start studying at a seminary, which country and seminary would you recommend, and what steps should they take?

Although I have been studying, teaching, and conducting research at the Qom Seminary for nearly twenty years, I am also familiar with the seminaries of Najaf Ashraf, other seminaries in Iraq, and Lebanon. Based on this familiarity, I can confidently say that the Qom Seminary is currently the only seminary actively and appropriately producing knowledge and training capable scholars and thinkers in various fields.

A clear example of this dynamism is the Charter of Seminaries, recently unveiled by the Supreme Leader during the hundredth anniversary of the seminary’s founding. This charter is a strategic document reflecting the high capacity of Qom Seminary to address new fields of Islamic jurisprudence, such as the jurisprudence of economic systems, family law, culture, and so on, all designed in response to the needs of contemporary Islamic civilization.

Entering a seminary is not an easy or straightforward path. A young person wishing to join this field must be prepared for continuous effort, striving, and detachment from many worldly distractions. However, this does not mean renunciation or isolation, but rather that a successful student is one who dedicates himself to study, self-purification, and the propagation of the religion.

From a religious perspective, studying in a seminary is a communal obligation. As long as there are insufficient qualified individuals in the seminary, this duty will fall upon all Muslims in Western countries.

The important point here is that young Muslims in the West, due to their familiarity with global culture and international languages, have a high potential for preaching and dialogue. If this group enters the seminary with sincerity and insight, they can play an effective role in spreading pure Islam and realizing the new Islamic civilization.