An Analysis of 100 Muslim Email Counseling Clients

This chapter analyzes 100 of the author's Muslim clients to learn about their most common problems, demographic information, number of emails typically exchanged, and number of resolved and unresolved cases. The most common problems were marital, family (non-marital) issues, depression symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. Eighty-four percent of clients were women and 16% were men. Most clients were from either the Indian subcontinent or North America and were in their twenties. The average number of email exchanges (a single client's email and the author's therapeutic response) was six. Of the 100 clients, 36 cases were resolved, 57 cases were unresolved, and 7 cases are ongoing. The main type of marital problem faced was infidelity (physical and non-physical). Islam-informed cognitive behavioral techniques, as well as relevant Islamic teachings to use in therapy, are recommended and explained. An overall finding is that global Muslim clients seek online counseling for mostly relationship problems.

Research Findings From the American Muslim Women's Health Project (MWHP)

Understanding the health of American Muslims remains a neglected topic in public health research with even fewer empirical studies conducted with American Muslim women. To address persistent knowledge gaps related to the health behaviors and health outcomes of this population, in 2015, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health (SOPH) funded the Muslim Women's Health Project (MWHP) through its Back of the Envelope (BOTE) mechanism. The purpose of the MWHP was to collect exploratory, self-reported data on health indicators, beliefs, behaviors, and experiences from American Muslim women through online social networks. In this chapter, the authors summarize published findings from the MWHP that may serve as case studies to inform further discussions among health practitioners and public health researchers who seek to improve population health through healthcare delivery and equity research.

Situational Analysis of Muslim Children in the Face of Islamophobia

Islamophobia is a reality today that finds its manifestations at different levels of society and has been researched through diverse gendered, ethnic, and regional perspectives. The sensitivity of the topic has resulted in limited work around exploring consequences of Islamophobia on Muslim children. As religiously charged crimes against Muslims in the West continue to grow, Islamophobia has crept into the schools, classrooms, and playgrounds of many countries and needs to be recognized and effectively mitigated. Based in a child rights-based context, this chapter is a review of empirical literature that attempts to characterize and theorize Islamophobia to understand why and how it affects the lives of Muslim children. It accounts for varied Islamophobic experiences that children encounter in regions of North America and Europe. It is inferred that educational institution cannot be isolated from global incidents of Islamophobia and become sites for further propagating racist sentiments. The chapter ends with school social work model directed towards prevention and reduction of Islamophobia.

Muslim Worldviews

This chapter seeks to provide an overview of traditional and contemporary Muslim worldviews, specifically beliefs and attitudes that may relate to help-seeking and interaction with human services such as counseling, health services, educational systems, and social services. Traditional Islamic beliefs and views, combined with contemporary issues and the experiences of living as a religious minority, can impact successful interaction between members of the Muslim community and service providers. In addition, basic knowledge of Muslim worldviews can aid helping professionals in providing effective, culturally competent care. This chapter focuses on traditional Islamic concepts of health and illness, common lay beliefs that stem from traditional views, attitudes towards treatment, and help-seeking patterns. The interplay of religiosity, acculturation, gender, family dynamics, and other relevant factors on help-seeking and service utilization are also presented to provide the reader with a holistic perspective of prevalent Muslim worldviews.

Ethical and Moral Dilemmas in Psychotherapy

The chapter highlights the importance of ethics and ethical codes in the light of the existing literature. It explains the various ethical dilemmas that can arise in the context of therapy. Moreover, it specifically explains the various ethical dilemmas experienced by Muslim psychologists with case examples to strengthen the argument. The worldview of the Muslim therapist is emphasized and the religious sensitivity in the outlook explained. The importance of professionals to safeguard their religious identity and also uphold the ethical precepts of the profession are discussed. The chapter also addresses difficulties and challenges faced by non-Muslim therapists while dealing with Muslim clients. The concept of cultural competence perspective is further highlighted stressing on the continuous self-reflection and educating oneself. The chapter concludes by stressing on the importance of incorporating knowledge of both religion and psychology for furthering the scope and vision of therapy.

Religious Coping Among Muslims With Mental and Medical Health Concerns

Studies suggest that a lack of understanding and sensitivity around religious issues by healthcare professionals may be a noteworthy barrier for Muslims seeking treatment. One way to help bridge the gap between Muslims' healthcare needs and healthcare utilization rates may be through fostering awareness and sensitivity about the influence of Islam on how Muslims cope with their illness experience. Using a biopsychosocial-spiritual theoretical framework, a main aim of this chapter is to consider a variety of ways that Muslims use religion to cope with physical and mental health challenges. Religious coping can take a variety of forms: Positive religious coping involves making use of Islam in beneficial manners. Negative religious coping, referred to here as r/s struggles, often involves tension or conflict regarding matters of religion. Understanding the role that religion/spirituality can play in how Muslims cope with their physical or mental illness may help to foster higher quality, more culturally sensitive care. Recommendations and limitations are discussed.

Social Work in Islam, Socio-Religious Revelations, and Conflicts

To provide effective social services to different cultural groups requires cultural understanding which is often missed in recent social work education programs and textbooks. The use of fundamentally different social work knowledge and a different approach in every different cultural group is the key to effective social work in different areas. How to adopt social work in working with Muslim communities is an unresolved question so far. It can be done only by focusing on possible client characteristics, understanding the level of difficulties, and requirements from the perspective of the social workers. Issues of spirituality, different levels of understanding and working knowledge of working professionals, and understanding expectations of clients are relevant. All the educational institutions, agencies, and social workers must put up coordinated efforts to achieve the objective of localized social work for Muslim clients.

The Role of Mosques in the Transformation From Transnational Spaces to Muslim Cultural and Consumption Spaces

Migrations lead people with various ethnic origins, religions, and consumption cultures to live together. Religious places are special and of great importance in Islam, as in other religions. Turks experience a process of transformation into Euro-Turks in Western Europe, especially in Germany. Mosques have played a significant role in the process of migration and the transformation of migrants into Euro-Turks. In these countries, mosques have become institutions that provide cultural and social services as well as being sanctuaries. In Germany, mosques have been transnational spaces that provide spiritual and social services since their first appearance. Over time, these transnational spaces have become Muslim cultural and consumption spaces offering a wider variety of services. This study found that the generation of transnational spaces began with the establishment of Barbaros Mosque in 1969, and that the Muslim Cultural and Consumption Spaces became legitimate with the establishment of the DITIB Central Mosque (2018) in Cologne, Germany.

A Primer on Substance Use and Islam

There is a paucity of research on the rates of alcohol and drug use among Muslim peoples. Many of the publications on substance use and abuse among Muslims tend to focus on the Qur'an's explicit prohibition against the use of mood-altering substances. Epidemiological studies of use, if they show lower use in a specific country, tend to ascribe the lower rates of use to the religious prohibitions is Islam. Such models are overly simplistic in that the perceived outcome is ascribed to a single variable: religion. This chapter will explore the value of the ecological model of substance use/abuse in understanding, assessing, and treating Muslim clients. The ecological model helps move Muslims from a unidimensional characterization to a fuller and nuanced understanding.

Domestic and Family Violence and Associated Correlates Among Muslims in Australia

Domestic and family violence (DFV) is a significant social problem that is found in all societies, cultures, and socio-economic backgrounds. Australian-Muslims are under-researched on DFV issues. This chapter explores the correlates associated with DFV using focus group data with various community-leaders living in South-East Queensland. Findings illustrate some unique characteristics of DFV relevant to Australian-Muslims that distinguish them from mainstream Australians such as misusing religious text and scriptures, contribution of culture, burden of men's financial responsibility vs women's work-choices, clash of cultures when living in Australia, loss of extended family support and social support networks, in-law contribution to abuse, and foreign spouses lack of awareness of the law. Findings are important for the design of effective strategies that challenge core assumptions towards DFV which promote and justify DFV. It highlights the importance of working within the cultural and religious framework in preventing DFV for cultural groups.