Table of Contents
List of case studies, figures and tables viii
Acknowledgements x
1 Introduction 1
Aims and scope 1
Definition of terms 5
Organisation of the book 6
Addressing ethnicity in social work 7
Social work, ethnocentrism and the influence of postmodernism 8
Reflectivity and reflexivity 10
Sara's story 11
Fatima's story 13
Basia's story 14
Tracey's story 15
2 The Muslim ummah: context and concepts 17
Introduction 17
The establishment of an Islamic community 17
The Qur'an, the hadith and the shari'a 18
Islam and Muslims 19
Fundamental principles of the ummah 20
Sacred spaces 23
Gender and Islam 25
Culture, faith and tradition 26
Denominational diversity 26
Nationalism and fundamentalism 28
Migration and Muslim communities in Europe 32
Politicisation and the quest for identity 37
Islamophobia 39
Human dignity and insan al-kamil 40
3 Social work education and Islam 43
Addressing discrimination in social work education 43
Globalisation and social work 45
Dominant pedagogies 47
Indigenisation, authenticisation and localisation 51
Social work values 53
Islamic values 55
Welfare of the community 57
Individual freedom and social conformity 58
Conflict in values 59
Spirituality, epistemology and cosmology 62
Assessments and cultural diversity 64
4 Gender relations and the centrality of the family 69
Family morphology 69
Marriage 75
Parenthood and child-rearing 77
Sexuality 79
Conforming to gender norms 80
Modesty and propriety 81
Feminism and Islam 85
5 Working with families 89
Contemporary family conflicts: changing gender roles 90
Problematic parenting 91
Family crisis due to 'unlawful' sexuality 92
Divorce 95
Domestic violence: forms and features 96
Forced marriage is domestic violence 104
Murder, 'shame' and domestic violence 106
Abuse of children 110
Accommodation of Muslim children 121
Adoption and fostering 123
6 Muslim families and health 125
Medicine in historical Islam 125
Faith, culture and health 126
Reproduction 127
Genital mutilation 132
Disability and Islam 138
Mental health issues 144
7 Ageing and end of life 151
Ageing trends in the UK 151
Global implications for ageing populations 152
Models of care 155
Health and social care systems 157
Cultural competence in elderly care 161
Islamic constructions of ageing 161
Al-Asr: The late afternoon of old age 165
End of life and coping with death 166
8 Muslim communities, crime, victimisation and criminal justice 173
Introduction 173
Ethnicity and criminal justice 173
Muslim communities and victimisation 174
Muslim communities and crime 181
Muslim communities, prisons and rehabilitation 183
9 Concluding remarks 189
Reflecting on the journey 189
Revisiting the terrain 189
Acknowledging faith 191
Future directions 191
References 193
Index 227
