Reimagining Social Work from an Islamic Worldview

Abstract

With Islamophobia on the rise in Canada, it may reasonably be expected that social work, a seemingly care-oriented profession, would have effective support readily available for the Muslim community. However, rather than the Muslim community experiencing social services as a place where such support can be accessed, their interactions with these services demonstrate the ways that Islamophobia seeps into social work settings amidst discriminatory assumptions about Muslims and a lack of religiously informed care. In response, informed by an Islamic worldview and drawing upon decolonial thought and community-based participatory research principles, this study aims to centre Islamic ways of knowing, being, and doing in considering how mainstream social services and social work practice can most effectively support the Muslim community. Emerging from interviews with five Muslim community leaders and scholars were four key themes: the role of Islam in the lives and well-being of Muslims; anti-Muslim sentiment and the devaluing of Islamic identity in mainstream social work education and practice; the need for Islamically informed care; and reimagining social work from an Islamic worldview. The findings reveal significant challenges for the Muslim community in accessing and receiving effective support from mainstream social services, while also underscoring important considerations for enhanced social work practice with Muslims. Implications and recommendations for the social work profession, social work education, and the Muslim community are discussed, alongside suggestions for future research and action, with an emphasis on the importance of contributions from Islam and Muslims to elicit meaningful change.