VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH
Volume 204, October 9, 2011
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Editors: Mohamed & Rashida Ziauddin
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MOST BENEFICENT AND THE MOST MERCIFUL
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Editors: Mohamed & Rashida Ziauddin
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MOST BENEFICENT AND THE MOST MERCIFUL
(www.xeniagreekmuslimah.wordpress.com)
ED NOTE:
We have started out this E-Zine by highlighting the positive news followed by interfaith news and then mental health. We have dedicated this issue of E-Zine primarily to the topic of Mental Health. People across the world from all nationalities, religions and cultures have medical illnesses and it is in most cases (except HIV and a few more) accepted as a norm to seek treatment without any stigma or ostracism attached to it.
However the same cannot be said of mental illness. Although we are in this "enlightened" 21st century, the stigma and negativity attached to mental illness is severe enough for many to restrict seeking treatment. Thus millions of people including the Muslims continue to suffer from the debilitating affects of mental illness.
What can we as Muslims do to help our fellow Muslims at a local level who may be suffering from extreme emotional distress ?
Are there any Muslim support groups for people with history of Major Depression, Bipolar disorder, Schizophrenia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Substance Abuse et.c. ?
Research studies have shown that for people with strong religious values, emotional support from their congregation is of help. In some facilities, spiritual support is listed as one of the treatment intervention.
Specially for immigrant Muslims who have settled in a new country, what innovative strategies can the Ummah through their professionals at the local and national level come up with, that strikes a healthy balance in terms of maintaining one's Islamic identity while at the same time be a MODEL CITIZEN integrating in the adopted country for permanent settlement ?
The whole issue is a complex issue and we readily acknowledge that we have barely touched the tip of the iceberg while discussing this issue of Mental Illness in context of the Global Ummah by addressing the Turkish Muslims in both Germany and Switzerland as a case study.
However the same cannot be said of mental illness. Although we are in this "enlightened" 21st century, the stigma and negativity attached to mental illness is severe enough for many to restrict seeking treatment. Thus millions of people including the Muslims continue to suffer from the debilitating affects of mental illness.
What can we as Muslims do to help our fellow Muslims at a local level who may be suffering from extreme emotional distress ?
Are there any Muslim support groups for people with history of Major Depression, Bipolar disorder, Schizophrenia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Substance Abuse et.c. ?
Research studies have shown that for people with strong religious values, emotional support from their congregation is of help. In some facilities, spiritual support is listed as one of the treatment intervention.
Specially for immigrant Muslims who have settled in a new country, what innovative strategies can the Ummah through their professionals at the local and national level come up with, that strikes a healthy balance in terms of maintaining one's Islamic identity while at the same time be a MODEL CITIZEN integrating in the adopted country for permanent settlement ?
The whole issue is a complex issue and we readily acknowledge that we have barely touched the tip of the iceberg while discussing this issue of Mental Illness in context of the Global Ummah by addressing the Turkish Muslims in both Germany and Switzerland as a case study.
PART I
POSITIVE NEWS:
PART I-a
FRANCE:
100-150 MOSQUES IN PROGRESS
100-150 MOSQUES IN PROGRESS
August 4, 2011
Via AFP (French):
100-150 mosques are currently being built in France, the president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, Mohammed Moussaoui, told RTL. Moussaoui said that most are financed by the worshipers and very few from abroad. The interior minister, Claude Guéant, said three months ago that in the past decade the number of mosques increased from 1000 to 2000. Guéant wants to stop Friday prayers in the streets.According to Moussaoui, 17-23% of French Muslims go to Friday prayers, which he says distinguishes between the practicing and non-practicing Muslims. He repeated that prayers in the streets were outrageous, but stemmed from lack of places in mosques. According to a senior official, there are 17 mosques in Paris, all filled up, and they can't accommodate more than 13,000 people, which is clearly insufficient.
PART I-b
NORWAY:
CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE WANTS A MOSQUE TO INCREASE IMMIGRATION
(www.islamineurope.blogspot.com)
September 3, 2011
CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE WANTS A MOSQUE TO INCREASE IMMIGRATION
(www.islamineurope.blogspot.com)
September 3, 2011
Via Utrop (Norwegian):
Trude Brosvik, head of Christian Democratic KrF party in the Sogn og Fjordane county, thinks a mosque will contribute positively to the county.
"Like it is important for Christians to have a Church, it's also important for Muslims to have a mosque here in the county. A mosque will be an advantage if we're to take in immigrants," Brosvik told the Firda newspaper.
The Frp party in the county previously announced a new goal to increase the number of residents by 13,000 by 2020.
"KrF is concerned by freedom of religion, and we have a lot of understanding for having people practice their faith. Therefore we principally support that also Muslims should get to build their own hall of assembly," says Brosvik.
Frank Willy Djupvik, Frp's candidate in the county elections, told Firda that Muslims should be allowed to build mosques in a country with freedom of religion, but within the laws and not by using county money.
"Like it is important for Christians to have a Church, it's also important for Muslims to have a mosque here in the county. A mosque will be an advantage if we're to take in immigrants," Brosvik told the Firda newspaper.
The Frp party in the county previously announced a new goal to increase the number of residents by 13,000 by 2020.
"KrF is concerned by freedom of religion, and we have a lot of understanding for having people practice their faith. Therefore we principally support that also Muslims should get to build their own hall of assembly," says Brosvik.
Frank Willy Djupvik, Frp's candidate in the county elections, told Firda that Muslims should be allowed to build mosques in a country with freedom of religion, but within the laws and not by using county money.
PART II:
INTERFAITH RELATIONS:
PART II-a
CAIR-HOUSTON: INTERFAITH GROUPS PROTEST TEXAS GOV. RICK PERRY'S PRAYER RALLY
CBN News
8/5/11
CBN News
8/5/11
As thousands prepare to attend Texas Gov. Rick Perry's prayer rally, The Response, opponents are holding an interfaith service in Houston Friday night. Although they haven't found evidence, they've accused Perry of using tax dollars to plan the event and say he's blurring the line between church and state. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, warned the governor "don't mess with the Constitution." "Don't believe that just because you're the governor you have something in your job description that says you're the pastor of everyone from San Antonio to Dallas," he said. Members of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) were also present at Friday's protest. "If it had been a Muslim governor, head of state, and he elected to have a Muslim prayer and opposed to bringing other people in, that would have been a big issue," Mustafa Carroll of the Dallas Fort Worth Chapter of CAIR said.
PART II-b
NETHERLANDS:
CALL TO PRAYER AT INTER-RELIGIOUS SERVICE
(www.islamineurope.blogspot.com)
CALL TO PRAYER AT INTER-RELIGIOUS SERVICE
(www.islamineurope.blogspot.com)
Via De Gelderlander
On Sunday September 4th the town of Doetinchem will hold a festival, followed by a joint inter-religious service. The city found Muslim, Catholic and Protestant leaders who agreed to participate in the service. Before the service the town will ring the church bells and sound the Muslim call to prayer.
Originally there were reports this will be done from a temporary minaret, but those reports turned out to be erroneous. "It's a statement from all participants," explains organizer Joop Sars. Sars said that in these times of hardening attitudes, they want to show that Doetinchem is a tolerant city where diverse nationalities live side by side and can confirm their faith together in the town's festival.
Originally there were reports this will be done from a temporary minaret, but those reports turned out to be erroneous. "It's a statement from all participants," explains organizer Joop Sars. Sars said that in these times of hardening attitudes, they want to show that Doetinchem is a tolerant city where diverse nationalities live side by side and can confirm their faith together in the town's festival.
PART III
MENTAL HEALTH:
(ED NOTE:
WE ARE ONE UMMAH !
WE ARE ONE UMMAH !
WE ARE ONE UMMAH !
Berlin has about 170,000 residents of Turkish descent. For several months last summer, life-sized posters were displayed in subway stations and on advertising columns. They included a hot line telephone number and one sentence, written in both German and Turkish:
"End your silence, not your life!"
Meryam Schouler-Ocak, the physician-in-chief at the psychiatric clinic of Berlin's highly respected Charité hospital, is behind the poster campaign. Her office is in the St. Hedwig hospital, not far from the café where Sema is sitting. Schouler-Ocak is of Turkish origin.
Young German women of Turkish origin, she says, are five times as likely to attempt to commit suicide as non-immigrant women of the same age, and they are twice as likely to succeed.
Many young Turkish women who were born in Germany, even if they are well integrated into society, still face pressures associated with their origins and can have an especially tough time.
..... "Often it's a desperate plea for help," says Oliver Razum, a physician and professor of health science at the University of Bielefeld in western Germany.
"But if someone jumps from a tall building, they intend to succeed."
Razum, the numbers man, was one of the people who had sent his statistics to Berlin physician Schouler-Ocak when she was doing her research.
He has even more statistics in his records, including numbers that describe how immigrant women commit suicide: 43.3 percent hang themselves, 16.3 percent jump from tall buildings and 13.5 percent take pills. ....
The crisis hotline project that Schouler-Ocak heads will continue until the end of September. It's uncertain how it will proceed, but the Berlin crisis service is planning ot take over the hotline for at least one day a week because so many women have been calling in .
When Sema (not her real name) tried to commit suicide, the doctors advised her to stay in the hospital for a few days longer. But her parents took her home and said nothing.
....A Second Suicide Attempt
She got up on a chair and tried to throw herself out of the window of her parents' apartment. She was 19 when she tried to kill herself the second time, a few weeks before the wedding. But her parents held her back. Sema told them that everything was OK, and that she wanted to sleep for a while. When she was alone, she got up and swallowed every pill she could find. She took four bottles of pills this time, her mother's sleeping pills and antidepressants. When Sema opened her eyes again, she was in the intensive care unit. She had been under for two days. Now she was disappointed that it hadn't worked. After four days in the hospital, Sema went back home and married the man who locked her up.
For the complete article check out: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,778237,00.html
(ED NOTE:
WE ARE ONE UMMAH !
WE ARE ONE UMMAH !
WE ARE ONE UMMAH !
Yes, we have heard that before.
But dear Muslim brothers and sisters in Germany and Switzerland, as part of UMMAH, please educate us as to what you are doing to help our Turkish sisters who in Switzerland have a suicide rate three times the average and in Germany, young German women of Turkish origin, are five times as likely to attempt to commit suicide as non-immigrant women of the same age, and they are twice as likely to succeed ?
In Switzerland, sixty percent of them had problems in their relationships and twenty percent had problems with their parents ? We were just curious as to what is the Swiss Ummah doing to address this above two problems ? Does the Swiss ummah have a network of ansars (field case workers), counselors and psychotherapists who work voluntarily from their headquarters (Muslim Social Service Committee) in the local Masjids ? OR is there an indifferent attitude such as "Well, there are clinics and hospitals they could go to".
While we want to be clear that we are NOT implying that the above volunteers from Masjid should be the primary mental health treatment providers, which we are aware they CANNOT BE, what we are saying is that as Muslims we need to be PROACTIVE and if we have a organizational structure and are able to reach out to Muslims at an early stage of a problem, identify their issues and encourage & refer them to seek treatment in the community, it could go a long way to prevent the problem from getting worse and blowing out of proportion.
We are hundred percent sure that not all values the immigrants bring from their home countries to their new country of settlement are truly ISLAMIC, although they may masquerade as Islamic. We believe that as Muslims if we sincerely tried to siff through the values and identify & eliminate the negative attributes that masquerade as Islamic, it could go a long way to reduce conflict between the immigrant husband and wife relationships & conflicts between parents and children. We know above is EASIER SAID THAN DONE and we acknowledge the extreme complexity of the whole issue. But we have to start somewhere and take the FIRST BABY STEP.
As Muslims the Imams and other leaders of the Muslim Community must encourage the concept of seeking treatment and work hard towards reducing if not eliminating the severe stigma attached to mental illness.
We were wondering, whether the ONE UMMAH concept is applicable only when you get together on Friday prayers, functions over the weekend, Tarawee prayers during month of Ramadan and during Eid functions ? OR is the ONE UMMAH concept applicable WAY BEYOND the above events. If that is the case we humbly appeal to you all to work together to help not only our Turkish sisters in Germany and Switzerland, but many other Muslims worldwide who are currently going through challenging times in terms of economical difficulties, social adjustment issues, family conflict issues, divorce, recent death, coping with chronic illness and debilitating conditions due to mental illness, substance abuse, gambling and sexual addictions et.c.
In the psychiatric hospitals and nursing homes in the United States, if the patient has strong religious beliefs, every attempt is made to help the patient receive services such as visits by the pastor for SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS SUPPORT and providing religious services within the facility.
For example if a Muslim sister is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, in as much as a Pastor could visit a Christian patient for providing support, an Imam could also visit the patient and provide Islamic support. There are hadith that emphasize the importance and rewards given to anybody that visits a patient who is sick. Please note that such visits are not confined to medical sickness alone but all types of sickness including mental illness. Further there is a very long way the Muslims have to go in terms of working towards reducing the stigma towards mental illness.
The challenge for Muslims is that due to absence of a Muslim Social Service Committee in many Masjids, there is no central coordination and there is NO LINK between a Muslim patient in a psychiatric unit to the Imam. The link for sure is there when the patient may have already overdosed on medications or committed suicide in some other way and the Imam is called for the funeral prayers.
The male editor of this E-Zine recalls that in the past, he was a mental health professional as part of an EMERGENCY OUTREACH BUREAU in a particular County. That County had a toll free hot line number for anyone to call if they are OR if they knew one of their family member or friend et.c was suicidal or homicidal. The above professional was on-call and received several referrals & went to different parts of the county and visited the suicidal/homicidal patient and as needed referred the individual to a psychiatric hospital via the help of ambulance and police if need be.
Apparently one day the above professional learnt from members of the local Masjid that an adult Muslim male committed suicide by hanging from a tree in his own backyard. It was so sad and painful to note that the above professional went all over the County to evaluate patients who were suicidal and referred them for treatment, but little did he know that in the same City where he lived, there was a mysterious suicidal Muslim brother who committed suicide without receiving any help. While there were Pastors from Church who had called the same 800# requesting a psychiatric evaluation for one of their Church members in their community, because of lack of a organizational structure in the Muslim community to reach out to distressed Muslims, the Imam had no clue of an impending crisis / death and had NO opportunity to be pro-active to seek out help on the late Muslim's behalf.
We strongly encourage Muslims in local communities to put in practice the ONE UMMAH concept and have Masjid as their headquarters not only to pray together but also to create opportunities to help each other in various ways through various committees and sub-committees. Anyone who knows the history of Islam knows very well, that our own Prophet Mohamed (SAW) used Masjid for multi-purpose use beyond just prayers.
This is a really sad state of affairs for Muslims GLOBALLY. The below case study examples in Germany and Switzerland is just a platform to even begin discussion on such an important but neglected issue in both the real world and the Cyber world including the blogosphere.
But dear Muslim brothers and sisters in Germany and Switzerland, as part of UMMAH, please educate us as to what you are doing to help our Turkish sisters who in Switzerland have a suicide rate three times the average and in Germany, young German women of Turkish origin, are five times as likely to attempt to commit suicide as non-immigrant women of the same age, and they are twice as likely to succeed ?
In Switzerland, sixty percent of them had problems in their relationships and twenty percent had problems with their parents ? We were just curious as to what is the Swiss Ummah doing to address this above two problems ? Does the Swiss ummah have a network of ansars (field case workers), counselors and psychotherapists who work voluntarily from their headquarters (Muslim Social Service Committee) in the local Masjids ? OR is there an indifferent attitude such as "Well, there are clinics and hospitals they could go to".
While we want to be clear that we are NOT implying that the above volunteers from Masjid should be the primary mental health treatment providers, which we are aware they CANNOT BE, what we are saying is that as Muslims we need to be PROACTIVE and if we have a organizational structure and are able to reach out to Muslims at an early stage of a problem, identify their issues and encourage & refer them to seek treatment in the community, it could go a long way to prevent the problem from getting worse and blowing out of proportion.
We are hundred percent sure that not all values the immigrants bring from their home countries to their new country of settlement are truly ISLAMIC, although they may masquerade as Islamic. We believe that as Muslims if we sincerely tried to siff through the values and identify & eliminate the negative attributes that masquerade as Islamic, it could go a long way to reduce conflict between the immigrant husband and wife relationships & conflicts between parents and children. We know above is EASIER SAID THAN DONE and we acknowledge the extreme complexity of the whole issue. But we have to start somewhere and take the FIRST BABY STEP.
As Muslims the Imams and other leaders of the Muslim Community must encourage the concept of seeking treatment and work hard towards reducing if not eliminating the severe stigma attached to mental illness.
We were wondering, whether the ONE UMMAH concept is applicable only when you get together on Friday prayers, functions over the weekend, Tarawee prayers during month of Ramadan and during Eid functions ? OR is the ONE UMMAH concept applicable WAY BEYOND the above events. If that is the case we humbly appeal to you all to work together to help not only our Turkish sisters in Germany and Switzerland, but many other Muslims worldwide who are currently going through challenging times in terms of economical difficulties, social adjustment issues, family conflict issues, divorce, recent death, coping with chronic illness and debilitating conditions due to mental illness, substance abuse, gambling and sexual addictions et.c.
In the psychiatric hospitals and nursing homes in the United States, if the patient has strong religious beliefs, every attempt is made to help the patient receive services such as visits by the pastor for SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS SUPPORT and providing religious services within the facility.
For example if a Muslim sister is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, in as much as a Pastor could visit a Christian patient for providing support, an Imam could also visit the patient and provide Islamic support. There are hadith that emphasize the importance and rewards given to anybody that visits a patient who is sick. Please note that such visits are not confined to medical sickness alone but all types of sickness including mental illness. Further there is a very long way the Muslims have to go in terms of working towards reducing the stigma towards mental illness.
The challenge for Muslims is that due to absence of a Muslim Social Service Committee in many Masjids, there is no central coordination and there is NO LINK between a Muslim patient in a psychiatric unit to the Imam. The link for sure is there when the patient may have already overdosed on medications or committed suicide in some other way and the Imam is called for the funeral prayers.
The male editor of this E-Zine recalls that in the past, he was a mental health professional as part of an EMERGENCY OUTREACH BUREAU in a particular County. That County had a toll free hot line number for anyone to call if they are OR if they knew one of their family member or friend et.c was suicidal or homicidal. The above professional was on-call and received several referrals & went to different parts of the county and visited the suicidal/homicidal patient and as needed referred the individual to a psychiatric hospital via the help of ambulance and police if need be.
Apparently one day the above professional learnt from members of the local Masjid that an adult Muslim male committed suicide by hanging from a tree in his own backyard. It was so sad and painful to note that the above professional went all over the County to evaluate patients who were suicidal and referred them for treatment, but little did he know that in the same City where he lived, there was a mysterious suicidal Muslim brother who committed suicide without receiving any help. While there were Pastors from Church who had called the same 800# requesting a psychiatric evaluation for one of their Church members in their community, because of lack of a organizational structure in the Muslim community to reach out to distressed Muslims, the Imam had no clue of an impending crisis / death and had NO opportunity to be pro-active to seek out help on the late Muslim's behalf.
We strongly encourage Muslims in local communities to put in practice the ONE UMMAH concept and have Masjid as their headquarters not only to pray together but also to create opportunities to help each other in various ways through various committees and sub-committees. Anyone who knows the history of Islam knows very well, that our own Prophet Mohamed (SAW) used Masjid for multi-purpose use beyond just prayers.
This is a really sad state of affairs for Muslims GLOBALLY. The below case study examples in Germany and Switzerland is just a platform to even begin discussion on such an important but neglected issue in both the real world and the Cyber world including the blogosphere.
PART III-a
Caught Between Two Cultures:
Risk of Suicide Greater for Turkish-German Women
www.spiegel.de
(condensed version)
By Barbara Hardinghaus
August 5, 2011
Risk of Suicide Greater for Turkish-German Women
www.spiegel.de
(condensed version)
By Barbara Hardinghaus
August 5, 2011
The number of attempted suicides is five times as high among young Turkish-German women than their ethnic German counterparts. In a state of limbo between two cultures, they often succumb to despair. Sema (not her real name) , a 27-year-old woman who tried to commit suicide twice, is a case in point.
Berlin has about 170,000 residents of Turkish descent. For several months last summer, life-sized posters were displayed in subway stations and on advertising columns. They included a hot line telephone number and one sentence, written in both German and Turkish:
"End your silence, not your life!"
Meryam Schouler-Ocak, the physician-in-chief at the psychiatric clinic of Berlin's highly respected Charité hospital, is behind the poster campaign. Her office is in the St. Hedwig hospital, not far from the café where Sema is sitting. Schouler-Ocak is of Turkish origin.
Young German women of Turkish origin, she says, are five times as likely to attempt to commit suicide as non-immigrant women of the same age, and they are twice as likely to succeed.
Many young Turkish women who were born in Germany, even if they are well integrated into society, still face pressures associated with their origins and can have an especially tough time.
..... "Often it's a desperate plea for help," says Oliver Razum, a physician and professor of health science at the University of Bielefeld in western Germany.
"But if someone jumps from a tall building, they intend to succeed."
Razum, the numbers man, was one of the people who had sent his statistics to Berlin physician Schouler-Ocak when she was doing her research.
He has even more statistics in his records, including numbers that describe how immigrant women commit suicide: 43.3 percent hang themselves, 16.3 percent jump from tall buildings and 13.5 percent take pills. ....
The crisis hotline project that Schouler-Ocak heads will continue until the end of September. It's uncertain how it will proceed, but the Berlin crisis service is planning ot take over the hotline for at least one day a week because so many women have been calling in .When Sema (not her real name) tried to commit suicide, the doctors advised her to stay in the hospital for a few days longer. But her parents took her home and said nothing.
....A Second Suicide Attempt
She got up on a chair and tried to throw herself out of the window of her parents' apartment. She was 19 when she tried to kill herself the second time, a few weeks before the wedding. But her parents held her back. Sema told them that everything was OK, and that she wanted to sleep for a while. When she was alone, she got up and swallowed every pill she could find. She took four bottles of pills this time, her mother's sleeping pills and antidepressants. When Sema opened her eyes again, she was in the intensive care unit. She had been under for two days. Now she was disappointed that it hadn't worked. After four days in the hospital, Sema went back home and married the man who locked her up.
PART III-B
SWITZERLAND:
FEMALE TURKISH MIGRANTS THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT SUICIDE
September 7, 2011
FEMALE TURKISH MIGRANTS THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT SUICIDE
September 7, 2011
(www.islamineurope.blogspot.com)
Via WRS:
60% suffered from problems in their relationships, and 20% suffered from problem with their parents.
Via WRS:
60% suffered from problems in their relationships, and 20% suffered from problem with their parents.
Studying the reasons why people try and take their own lives is an important part of tackling suicide prevention. Research released on Tuesday uncovered some worrying trends in migrant communities. A group from the University Psychiatric Clinic in Basel carried out in-depth interviews with Turkish migrants who had attempted to take their own lives.
THE END
PART IV
MUSLIM CHAPLAINS CONNECT COMMUNITIES TO PUBLIC BODIES
September 25, 2011
The research found chaplaincy is a rapidly expanding sphere of work for Muslim religious professionals
Via the BBC (h/t Islamophobia Watch)
PART V
THE SCENARIO OF A MUSLIM COUPLE:
(ED NOTE:
UNITED KINGDOM:Muslim Chaplains in the UK seem to be doing a splendid job in trying to connect their communities to public entities. We should admit that Muslim Chaplains in the United States are lagging behind in this respect. But inshallah they will catch up soon.
On a personal note, we attempted to be a bridge to connect the Imams to various public entities to assist our Muslim clients/inmates/consumers and we mailed our invitation to almost all Masjids in a particular City but unfortunately received a dismal response in terms of responding and/or attending the CONSORTIUM OF MUSLIM SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS.
In one hospital, there was already a assigned Rabbi and Pastor visiting the patients in Intensive Care Unit and other units, on a voluntary basis whenever requested by patients. There were several Muslim patients too and therefore, we tried to request the Imam of the local Masjid to be a volunteer, but unfortunately he did not seem to be interested to be assigned on a regular basis as the Rabbi and Pastor. This is not to be misconstrued to reflect all Imams. We are sure there are several other Imams within the US, who are motivated and would do their very best to assist our Muslim brothers and sisters who are consumers in various public entitites including hospitals, prisons, schools et.c.)
On a personal note, we attempted to be a bridge to connect the Imams to various public entities to assist our Muslim clients/inmates/consumers and we mailed our invitation to almost all Masjids in a particular City but unfortunately received a dismal response in terms of responding and/or attending the CONSORTIUM OF MUSLIM SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS.
In one hospital, there was already a assigned Rabbi and Pastor visiting the patients in Intensive Care Unit and other units, on a voluntary basis whenever requested by patients. There were several Muslim patients too and therefore, we tried to request the Imam of the local Masjid to be a volunteer, but unfortunately he did not seem to be interested to be assigned on a regular basis as the Rabbi and Pastor. This is not to be misconstrued to reflect all Imams. We are sure there are several other Imams within the US, who are motivated and would do their very best to assist our Muslim brothers and sisters who are consumers in various public entitites including hospitals, prisons, schools et.c.)
MUSLIM CHAPLAINS CONNECT COMMUNITIES TO PUBLIC BODIES
September 25, 2011
The research found chaplaincy is a rapidly expanding sphere of work for Muslim religious professionalsVia the BBC (h/t Islamophobia Watch)
Muslim chaplains in Britain play a key role linking their communities with public organizations, research by Cardiff University has found.
It found a rapidly growing number of Muslims in a sphere of work usually associated with the Christian faith.
Chaplains can be found in prisons, hospitals, airports, courts, higher education and the military, with some people describing them as role models.
It found a rapidly growing number of Muslims in a sphere of work usually associated with the Christian faith.
Chaplains can be found in prisons, hospitals, airports, courts, higher education and the military, with some people describing them as role models.
PART V
THE SCENARIO OF A MUSLIM COUPLE:
There was a Muslim couple who separated after few years of marriage. Some friends from the local Masjid (couples consisting of males & females) who met them as a couple while attending various parties and functions were shocked because they seemed at all times to be a "happily married couple" all along. The common close friends of the couple got together and with the sisters leading the group approached the separated wife and asked her what happened all of a sudden in terms of the separation.
She went off on them like bullets continuously flying off an AK 47 machine gun, making horrendous accusations against him, "he did this","he did that" and "I did not expect that he would be ..." et.c. She continued in a loud uninterrupted tone. Although they met her in parties on numerous occasions earlier, they never saw her with such an explosive verbal blowout. They were waiting when she will stop, but she continued making a long list of accusations relentlessly against him. Finally one of the sisters had to interrupt her and politely requested her that they had to leave to take care of something else.
The same group of common friends later went to the husband and asked him what had happened for them to separate. In a slow, polite and calm manner, he started out talking all good things about her. He recalled the happy occasion of their marriage ceremoney, their honeymoon, their enjoyable out of town trips and he continued verbalizing glowing praises of her. They were shocked and one of them commented to him, that when they met his wife, she had lot of negatives to tell them about him, and now he is talking nothing but good things about her ? He told them that, he fully understands where she is coming from and he cannot talk anything bad about her, since "she is not here to defend herself". The friends later left puzzled.
Was the marital conflict building up lot of anger, seething resentment that the wife did not find an avenue to express it to anyone until the common friends met her ?
Were they the outlet for her to finally vent out her explosive locked up intense negative feelings against him ?
Was she in a MANIC PHASE of her prolonged UNTREATED BI-POLAR DISORDER to which the husband was used to but not the friends who only met them at parties ?
Was the husband a real gentleman as he appeared to be or was he is an extremely slick emotional manipulator who brought her to her current state of anger as she exhibited ?
She went off on them like bullets continuously flying off an AK 47 machine gun, making horrendous accusations against him, "he did this","he did that" and "I did not expect that he would be ..." et.c. She continued in a loud uninterrupted tone. Although they met her in parties on numerous occasions earlier, they never saw her with such an explosive verbal blowout. They were waiting when she will stop, but she continued making a long list of accusations relentlessly against him. Finally one of the sisters had to interrupt her and politely requested her that they had to leave to take care of something else.
The same group of common friends later went to the husband and asked him what had happened for them to separate. In a slow, polite and calm manner, he started out talking all good things about her. He recalled the happy occasion of their marriage ceremoney, their honeymoon, their enjoyable out of town trips and he continued verbalizing glowing praises of her. They were shocked and one of them commented to him, that when they met his wife, she had lot of negatives to tell them about him, and now he is talking nothing but good things about her ? He told them that, he fully understands where she is coming from and he cannot talk anything bad about her, since "she is not here to defend herself". The friends later left puzzled.
Was the marital conflict building up lot of anger, seething resentment that the wife did not find an avenue to express it to anyone until the common friends met her ?
Were they the outlet for her to finally vent out her explosive locked up intense negative feelings against him ?
OR
Was she in a MANIC PHASE of her prolonged UNTREATED BI-POLAR DISORDER to which the husband was used to but not the friends who only met them at parties ?
Was the husband a real gentleman as he appeared to be or was he is an extremely slick emotional manipulator who brought her to her current state of anger as she exhibited ?
ALLAH KNOWS BEST
THE END
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