Manggarai Gen Z Serve at the Mosque, Dispelling the Stigma of Individualistic Youth
Jakarta, KOMPAS.com – Deciding to devote oneself to a mosque or other places of worship is by no means easy, as it requires consistency and many sacrifices.
But that is not a problem for a group of Generation Z or Gen Z, in RW 07, Manggarai, South Jakarta, who are members of Ikatan Remaja Masjid Al-Falaah (IRMA).
Dozens of Gen Z members within IRMA decided to dedicate themselves to mosques in their neighbourhood since 2016. One example is establishing a Taman Baca Al-Qur’an (TPA) for children in Manggarai.
To establish this TPA, Gen Z from IRMA had to sacrifice their labour, finances and time, as they volunteer as teachers to children without a single penny in return.
On the other hand, they are not reluctant to spend money to meet learning facilities such as books, stationery, reading materials etc that support teaching and learning at the TPA.
A sociologist from Universitas Negeri Jakarta (UNJ), Rakhmat Hidayat, said that Gen Z has traditionally been known as a generation focused on digital concerns and personal interests or individualism.
However, the existence of a group of Gen Z who are willing to devote themselves to the mosque like in Manggarai challenges the stigma that youths are inclined to be individualistic.
“When there are Gen Z children active in the mosque, it is a contradiction of the narrative of individualism,” Rakhmat said when contacted by Kompas.com, Tuesday (3/3/2026).
On the other hand, the involvement of youths in mosques can also be linked to the concept of social solidarity, even though they live in an individualistic era, they still need to connect with collective and spiritual values.
Rakhmat also assesses that Gen Z involvement in various religious activities is one way they seek identity.
“Gen Z is often understood as a period of identity search; they seek methods, processes, efforts, to define themselves in a complex world that is open, fast,” Rakhmat said.
Thus, their involvement in mosques can be seen as a social construction process that integrates religious and social values in life.