Arab society in Israel is undergoing modernisation and secularisation. However, its approach to disability and mental illness is still dominated by religious and traditional stereotypes, as well as folk remedies and community practices. The present study examines differences in Muslim social workers and Imams’ recommendations in marriage/divorce and child custody cases of persons with intellectual disabilities (IDs) or mental illness. The study has two goals: (1) To examine differences in recommendations between Imams and Muslim social workers and (2) to explore variables related to their differential recommendations as observed in their responses to vignettes. Quantitative study using vignettes resembling existing Muslim religious (Sharia) court cases. Muslim social workers (138) and Imams (forty-eight) completed a background questionnaire, a religiosity questionnaire and a questionnaire that included twenty-five vignettes constructed by the researcher based on court rulings, adapted for the study. Muslim social workers tended to consider the religious recommendation when the family of person with ID or mental illness was portrayed in the vignette as religious. The same applied to Imams, albeit to a greater extent. The findings call for raising awareness amongst social workers and academics regarding the importance of religion and tradition in formulating professional recommendations.
The current study examines the perspectives of Arabs with disabilities living in Israel coping with various barriers as ethnic and political minority group members who also have disabilities.Our qualitative study utilized a grounded theory approach. Thematic analysis of indepth interviews was conducted among 15 Arabs with physical, visual impairment, and mental disabilities. Three major themes were derived from the participants' responses: microsystem, exosystem, and macrosystem, with each in turn having several sub-themes. A unique model was developed to integrate intersectional and ecological theories. Applying this integrative model, a reverse ratio was found between the two identity statuses of minority and disability. Moving toward the outer levels of an ecological model (macrosystem), the influence of 'minority identity' strengthened, and that of 'disability identity' weakened. The findings conclude that greater political commitment is required by Israel to develop laws and policies that can reduce social opportunity disparities for individuals with minority and disability identity statuses.
This study aims to examine the subjective perspectives on marriage of Arabs with disabilities living in Israel. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 15 Arabs in Israel with physical, visual impairment, and mental disorders. Themes were generated using thematic analysis. Two main recursive and intertwined themes emerged: reflections about marriage and the reality of marriage. The real-life situation feeds into social perceptions: when the disabled person sees that people with disabilities hardly marry, this increases self-stigma and the fear of rejection. Similarly, social and personal perceptions exacerbate the situation on the ground. Gender also played a key factor with women with disabilities facing more stigma and negative experiences relative to men with disabilities. The findings call for raising awareness of the marital rights of Arabs with disabilities and combating negative social attitudes towards them as first steps to creating a more accessible and inclusive environment, with particular attention to gender differences.
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