Using Islam as a religious Coping mechanism to Heal Post 9/11 Racism and Grief among Arab Americans

Introduction

Arab American also called Arab immigrant refers to people who speak Arabic and who have immigrated to the United States from Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, and Iraq (Abraham & Abraham, 1983). According to Abu-Ras and Abu-Bader (2008) out of 6 to 7 million Muslims living in United States in 2000, there were approximately 1.7 million Arabs. This Arab American population comprised of 77% Christians and 23% Muslims.

The 9/11 attacks were a heartbreaking event in the lives of Americans. However, the negative consequences for Muslims and Arab Americans communities were even more severe than the wider US population. As a consequence of 9/11 attacks,  Muslim community in United States faced a volume of retaliation from American public in the form of hate crimes, offensive speeches, harassment, job discrimination, and Islam-phobia (Abu-Ras & Abu-Bader, 2008). Abu-Raiya, Pargament, and Mahoney (2011) reported a 17-fold rise in crimes against Muslims in 2001. Arabs and south Asians faced 645 bias incidents and hate crimes in the first week post 9/11. Hence, not only 9/11 attacks put Muslims to extreme traumatic experiences but the consequent negative perceptions about Muslims and Islam resulting in stressful interpersonal experiences also badly impacted their physical, social, and psychological health. Their fear, insecurity and other traumatic feelings was also guided by anti-Arab and anti-Muslim retaliation following the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing attacks. Thus, the trauma of 9/11 tragedy revitalized past memories and traumatic experiences among Arab Americans, thus escalating their experiences of discrimination and worsening their preexisting political, economic, social, spiritual, psychological, and medical problems. These different dimensions of traumatic profile of Arab Americans call for special attention of students and researchers of psychotherapy to test and establish different therapeutic approaches for their treatment and rehabilitation.

Research verified Islam to provide coping mechanisms to Muslims like other religions do. Hence, Arab Americans can and should use Islam to cope with grief and racism they are facing since the attacks of 9/11. The purpose of this particular research is to find whether religion and hence Islam in this case could be used as a coping strategy to deal with the unique post 9/11 traumatic experiences resulting in grief and racial discrimination among Arab Americans. The article first sheds light on the different aspects of traumatic experiences the Arab Americans are facing. Then religious coping and its capabilities and the prevalent aspects of Islam are discussed in the light literature. Finally, evidences based discussion is made on the capability of Islam to provide religious coping within specific context of Arab Americans facing grief after 9/11.

Religious Coping

Religious coping emphasizes the focus on sacred for example God and other related concepts as a significant human stimulus, value, and concern. The religious coping theory suggests that for many individuals cultivation, sustenance, and transformation of a relationship with their perceived sacred being is central factor in life (Pargament, (1997). According to Pargament, religious coping predicts that people might consider life stressors as sacred losses and desecrations and they may use positive and negative religious coping methods to deal with these stressors. He further described that religious coping methods mediate the relationship between perceptions of sacred loss and desecrations and health and well-being.

Religious Coping and Mental Health Outcomes

Research has verified the positive mental health outcomes of positive religious coping. Abu-Raiya, Pargament, and Mahoney concluded from survey of research literature on associations of religious coping with mental health that positive religious coping is strongly associated with desirable mental health outcomes. The authors cited the works of Ano and Vasconcelles (2005), Narin and Merluzzi (2003), Rosmarin, Pargament, Krumrei, and Flannelly (2009), Smith, McCullough, and Poll (2003), and Smith, Pargament, Brant, and Oliver (2000) to have verified the positive correlations between desirable mental health and positive religious coping practices. It can be concluded that religion and concepts of sacred things can be positively used in coping strategies and therapeutic tools to treat traumatic individuals associated with different religions like Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and others.

Study of some Islamic beliefs and teachings guide researchers on the coping strategies existing in Islam. Abu-Ras and Abu-Bader (2008) investigated a Muslim population of New York after 9/11 and found them to hold various beliefs, which can provide basis for establishing Islamic coping strategy. ‘O Allah, I seek refuge with you from distress and sorrow, from sloth and from decrepitude’” (Sahih Muslim, Book 35, chapter 14, Hadith No. 6539). One of the beliefs promotes and emphasizes love, kindness and forgiveness. Similarly, some Muslims also believe that anything wrong happens to them only when they forget the existence of Allah and that if they remember Allah and practice religious worships, they will be out of distress and trauma. Similarly, Abu-Raiya et. al, (2011) found that Muslims have a very positive coping mechanisms prevalent in the teachings of Islam. They pray to their God, remember him at times, and ask for his forgiveness and mercy. Salah, Du’aa, and recitation of the Holy Quran are some of the practices Muslims often use for relieving their stress. These actions almost instantaneously make such Muslims feel better. These studies indicate the positive coping sacred elements of Islam, which can really help post-traumatic healing, and improvement of mental health.

Role of Islam in Positive Religious Coping of Post 9/11 Grief among Arab Muslims

Religion Islam can be used effectively to help the traumatic Arab Americans living in United States who faced the tragedy of 9/11 and its consequences quite differently from majority of the population of rest of United States. Studies on traumatized Muslim communities victimized by this historic tragedy have verified religious coping capability of the Islam and its crucial role that it can play in rehabilitating the Muslim Traumatized community of United States. Abu Raiya et. al (2011) applied religious coping theory to investigate the methods of coping used by 138 Muslims residing in the United States who had experienced stressful interpersonal events after 9/11 attacks only due to being Muslims. The study established that among various coping strategies, religious coping was also adopted by the Muslims and that the positive religious coping adopted by the Muslim victims of post 9/11 consequent situation helped them positively in achieving desirable mental health outcomes and improvement in post-traumatic growth. Rodriguez Mosquera, Khan, and Selya (2013) conducted a survey of Muslim Americans shortly before the tenth anniversary of 9/11 attacks to measure their concerns and coping strategies regarding these concerns. They found religious coping in terms of reading religious texts and seeking guidance from the religious authorities, to be the most frequent coping response among the respondents. Additionally they explained these communal practices as source of social support. Abu-Ras and Abu-Bader (2008) presented yet another example of prevalence of Islamic coping among Arab Muslim victims of consequences of 9/11 attacks. The structured interviews based on trauma theory revealed that the victims’ belief in God as the sole helper in times of distress and trauma helped them handle their traumatic feelings. The study concluded that most of the Arab Americans turned to their religious places and practices in order to relieve themselves from extreme stress and anxiety.

Conclusions

This evidence-based study of existing literature proves the religious coping capability of Islam like other religions. Not only does Islam guide on positive religious coping to improve mental health outcomes and post-traumatic growth among the victims of discrimination and other traumatic events associated with one’s cultural or religious identity, but the research also evidenced the negative religious coping prevalent in this religion, which might lead to consequences from moderate to extreme levels of severity. Hence, the therapists’ community must come up with conclusions on how to bring in positive religious coping aspects of Islam to help these victims in the improvement of their mental health. Similarly, equally important is to conduct research and come up with strategies and environment to avoid prevalence of negative religious coping among the Arab Americans.

References

Abu-Raiya, H., Pargament, K. I., & Mahoney, A. (2011). Examining coping methods with stressful interpersonal events experienced by Muslims living in the United States following the 9/11 attacks. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 3(1), 1.

Abu-Ras, W., & Abu-Bader, S. H. (2008). The impact of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the well-being of Arab Americans in New York City. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 3(2), 217-239.

Abraham, S., & Abraham, N. (1983). Arabs in the new world: Studies on Arab American communities. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press

Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, practice. New York: Guilford Press.

Rodriguez Mosquera, P. M., Khan, T., & Selya, A. (2013). Coping with the 10th anniversary of 9/11: Muslim Americans’ sadness, fear, and anger. Cognition & emotion, 27(5), 932-941.

Sahih Muslim, Book 35. Retrieved December 22, 2004, from http://www.isna.net/library/hadith/muslim/035 smt.html