Islamophobia and Psychiatry: Recognition, Prevention, and Treatment
Introduction
The book begins by covering the general and clinical challenges that are unique to Muslims, drawing from an internationally, ethnically, and intergenerationally diverse pool of experts. The text covers not only how psychiatrists and other clinicians can intervene successfully with patients, but how we as clinicians can have a role in addressing other societally connected mental health challenges arising from Islamophobia. The text addresses three related but distinct areas of interest: Islamophobia as a destructive force, Islam as a religion that is threatened by stigma and misinformation, and the novel intersection of these forces with the field of psychiatry.
Islamophobia and Psychiatry is a vital resource for all clinicians and clinicians in training who may encounter patients struggling with these issues, including adult and child psychiatrists, psychologists, primary care physicians, counselors, social workers, and others.
Editors and affiliations
H. Steven Moffic: Medical College of Wisconsin (Retired Tenured Professor), Milwaukee, USA
John Peteet: Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
Ahmed Zakaria Hankir: Bedfordshire Centre for Mental Health Research in Association with Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
Rania Awaad: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA
Keywords
Community Resilience, Radicalization Prevention, Extremist Idealization, Psychosocial Aspects of Terrorism, Cultural Literacy
Bibliographic Information
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00512-2
Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-00511-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00512-2
Psychological Determinants and Social Influences of Violent Extremism
Mine is the last chapter, Psychological Determinants and Social Influences of Violent Extremism, and I did it with one of the editors, Ahmed Zakaria Hankir, who was first author. (Pages 391-406)
Abstract
I know but one freedom, and that is freedom of the mind. – Antoine de Saint–Exupéry
Terrorists seek to wreak havoc in society, whether they are the self-proclaimed Muslim marauders who rammed their vehicles into revellers on London Bridge and Borough in the United Kingdom or the far-right fanatic who shot and killed Muslim worshippers in a mosque in Quebec in Canada. But what do we know about the conflicting and terrorizing forces that often operate in the minds of those who perpetrate heinous and horrific atrocities such as these? What are the psychological determinants and social influences that could drive people to carry out such abhorrent and abominable activities?
This chapter aims to answer these questions and to provide mental health practitioners with a map to help them navigate through the precarious territory of the minds of those who perpetrate terrorism. In Section 1, we will discuss, describe and delve into some of the major psychological determinants and social influences of violent extremism. In Section 2 we offer insights into the pernicious phenomena of undue influence, brainwashing and mind control and the roles that each potentially plays in the cognition, character and conduct of members of destructive cult organizations. We conclude with clinical considerations for mental health practitioners as well as suggestions for how to stymie the proliferation of dangerous mind control cults of all kinds.
How This Important Book Came To Be
My sincere apology for our video interview which did not capture accurately the full story. This has the gist of the evolution. Rao Gogineni is the psychiatrist behind the scenes who inspired all the interfaith Symposia like this one, including one of forgiveness. This textbook, ‘Islamophobia and Psychiatry: Recognition, Prevention and Treatment’ was inspired by a Symposium given at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in May 2017. Led by Roomana Sheikh, M.D., “Islamophobia: Social, Religious and Clinical Perspectives” was well attended, and stimulated considerable discussion.
Following this session, Dr. Moffic was contacted by Nadina Persaud – Editor of Clinical Medicine at Springer – about the possibility of an edited book on the topic. Dr. Moffic, in addition to editing other psychiatric books, had focused on cultural psychiatry over his 45-year career, including establishing the first model curriculum on this subject for psychiatric residents in training. Following that, another of the symposium’s participants, John Peteet, M.D., who has had a major interest in the importance of religion and spirituality in the practice of psychiatry showed interest, and both then decided to test the feasibility of the project through collegial contacts. Fortunately, not only did there seem to be enough potential chapter authors, but serendipity and contacts soon led to two other well-known psychiatrists, co-editors Ahmed Zakaria Hankir, M.D., and Rania Awaad, M.D., each a major spokesperson on Islamophobia and Psychiatry in their respective countries, Great Britain and the United States. That left us with four co-editors – spearheaded by Dr. Moffic – representing a spectrum of age, experience, religion, gender, and countries of professional work, united in a passionate concern for the psychological and societal harm of Islamophobia.
How My Involvement Came About to Contribute
Since 1999, Dr. John Peteet and Dr. Mary McCarthy have had me come to be a presenter in their course Spirituality, Religion, and Society in the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Residency Training Program. It is a primer of Dissociative Disorder 300.15 and my work with destructive cults of all types. I have presented the Harvard Longwood Psychiatry Grand Rounds two times and Psychiatry Grand Rounds at Boston University Medical Center, as well. Another way of saying this is: if we well-minded, psychologically sophisticated, and compassionate co-editors and chapter writers of very different cultural backgrounds can’t get this task of how to address Islamophobia (and potentially Anti-Semitism) right, then the likelihood of successfully negotiating this challenge in our field, our societies, and the world is about nil.
An additional resource, for former members but especially for mental health professionals, is a two-hour program I did for the famous psychiatrist, Dr. Judith Herman, author of Trauma and Recovery. In a very unusual case, a former client who had exited the International Church of Christ after being in leadership for many years, suffered (after leaving the group) for 11 years in the mental health system, being misdiagnosed and mistreated. When she heard I was teaching for Dr. Herman’s course, she begged us to let her come and speak. She passionately wanted to educate the mental health professionals and discussed her case with them. To protect her privacy, her face was blurred on the public video, but Laura gave permission to give access for training purposes to credentialed mental health professionals.
Part 1: Judith Herman’s Victims of Violence Trauma Seminar Department of Psychiatry (Hassan presents)
Part 2: Judith Herman’s Victims of Violence Trauma Seminar Department of Psychiatry (Laura presents)
[Laura has given permission for mental health professionals to view the unblurred version of her talk. Please contact FOM office for link and password]
Video Interview with Ahmed Hankir
Table of Contents
General Issues
Mental Health in the Islamic Golden Era: The Historical Roots of Modern Psychiatry
Rania Awaad, Alaa Mohammad, Khalid Elzamzamy, Soraya Fereydooni, Maryam Gamar
Pages 3-17
Islamophobia: An Introduction to the Academic Field, Methods, and Approaches
Hatem Bazian
Pages 19-31
History and Principles of Islam and Islamophobia
Khurram K. Durrani, Ahmed Zakaria Hankir, Frederick R. Carrick
Pages 33-40
Islamic Perspectives on Psychological and Spiritual Well-Being and Treatment
Hooman Keshavarzi, Bilal Ali
Pages 41-53
Religiosity and Mental Health in Islam
Harold G. Koenig, Saad Saleh Al Shohaib
Pages 55-65
The Social Psychology and Neurobiology of Intergroup Conflict
Sara E. Gorman, Jack M. Gorman
Pages 67-81
Saad Ghosn, H. Steven Moffic, Ahmed Zakaria Hankir
Pages 83-93
Symbols and Identity in Islamophobia
Shridhar Sharma, Sidra Ghafoor, Rama Rao Gogineni
Pages 95-100
R. Cecilia Jefferson
Pages 101-109
Psychiatric Cultural Formulation in the Islamophobic Context
Osman M. Ali, Carol S. North
Pages 111-121
Clinical Assessment Tools for the Culturally Competent Treatment of Muslim Patients
Neil Krishan Aggarwal
Pages 123-132
Psychiatric Implications of Islamophobia
Transference and Countertransference in Addressing Islamophobia in Clinical Practice
Neil Krishan Aggarwal
Pages 135-145
Islamophobia: A Jungian Analytical Perspective
Ashok Bedi
Pages 147-156
The Islamophobic Normative Unconscious: Psychoanalytic Considerations
Lara Sheehi
Pages 157-170
Challenges of Islamophobia: Psychiatric Considerations for Effectively Working with Muslim Patients
Fahad Khan
Pages 171-181
Understanding Islamophobia and Its Effects on Clinicians
Samaiya Mushtaq, Saira Bhatti
Pages 183-192
Muslim Psychiatrists in Training Address Islamophobia in Clinical Experiences
Salam El-Majzoub, Mim Fatmi
Pages 193-207
Islamophobia from an American Muslim Perspective
Rania Awaad, Sara Maklad, Imman Musa
Pages 209-219
Islamophobia: A British Muslim Perspective
Ahmed Zakaria Hankir, Sayeeda Ali, Usman Siddique, Frederick R. Carrick, Rashid Zaman
Pages 221-233
Islamophobia: Social, Religious, and Clinical Considerations from a Jewish Psychiatrist
H. Steven Moffic
Pages 235-246
Islamophobia: A Christian Psychiatrist’s Perspective
John Peteet
Pages 247-254
Specific Clinical Challenges
Addressing the Mental Health Needs of African American Muslims in an Era of Islamophobia
Balkozar Adam
Pages 257-266
Islamophobia and Ethical Challenges for LGBT Mental Healthcare
H. Steven Moffic
Pages 267-276
Islamophobia and the Mental Health of Rohingya Refugees
Salman Majeed
Pages 277-291
Social Psychiatric Implications
Fauzia Mahr, Tania Nadeem
Pages 295-305
Muslim Youth in the Face of Islamophobia: Risk and Resilience
Madiha Tahseen, Sawssan R. Ahmed, Sameera Ahmed
Pages 307-319
Children, Adolescents, and Islamophobia
Sana Younus, Ayesha I. Mian
Pages 321-334
Omar Reda, Sara Maklad, Rania Awaad
Pages 335-345
A Case Study of the Political Determinants of Division: Muslim Perceptions of British Combat Troops
Ahmed Zakaria Hankir, Frederick R. Carrick, Jamie Hacker Hughes, Rashid Zaman
Pages 347-360
Andrew J. McLean
Pages 361-373
Islamophobia and Public Mental Health: Lessons Learned from Community Engagement Projects
Sara Ali, Rania Awaad
Pages 375-390
Psychological Determinants and Social Influences of Violent Extremism
Ahmed Zakaria Hankir, Steven Hassan
Pages 391-406
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