This is the first part of a speech on ‘student idealism’ delivered at the annual gathering of the Malaysian and Indonesian Muslim students in Washington DC in December 2007.

Assalamualikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Peace and blessings to all of you. May Allah Bless our gathering and grant us wisdom and serenity amidst this increasingly chaotic world in which the powerful amongst us continue to trample over the powerless. May we see this trend reverse in our lifetime.

I thank you for inviting me to speak on something which makes me feel 20 years younger – on ‘student idealism’, on what it is, and what to do with it. I love the word ‘idealism’. It brings us right to what the Greek philosopher Plato said about the difference between ‘forms’ and ‘appearance’. Of what the Hindus say about ‘Maya’ and the troubled ‘yuga’ in which Prince Rama would come back to bring salvation. A world in which the ‘rapper’ and the ‘hip hopper’ would say "for real … my dude?"