Some recent commentary on the relevance of religion and spirituality to social work emphasizes a liberal Western individualized notion of spirituality, rather than the significance of formal religion. Evidence from sociological research on religious nurture in British Muslim families challenges this emphasis. Sixty Muslim families from diverse backgrounds in one UK city took part in a qualitative study, consisting of interviews
There has been growing interest in religion and spirituality within social work literature.However, little empirical research has explored Islamic welfare organisations and especially their significance for service users. . This article presents findings from an evaluation of a British Islamic social work organisation (ISSA Wales), drawing on qualitative interviews with Muslim service users (n=8) and quantitative findings from the service user database (n=495), a quality of life assessment (n=42) and a satisfaction survey (n=36). In discussing the qualitative findings, religious authority, authenticity, culture, gender, and the role of mosques are considered in analysing why the organisation's services were perceived as beneficial to their Muslim service users. Over three-quarters of those responding to a satisfaction survey reported that the help from the organisation had improved their wellbeing, but quantitative data from assessment and review showed no evidence of either improvement or deterioration in quality of life over time, with the exception of social life where there was a significant improvement. Overall, in exploring the experiences of these service users, the findings highlight the diversity within the category of the 'Muslim service user' and the potential contribution that Islamic social welfare organisations may make in meeting the needs of British Muslims.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.