Muslim Chaplains: Challenges, Opportunities and the Road Ahead
First Annual Muslim Chaplain Conference Detailed Report
August 30-September1, 2005
Crowne Plaza Hotel Rosemont, ILAdditions and corrections to this report should be sent to mumina79@hotmail.com and nadia@isna.net
Session 1: Muslim Chaplains: Challenges, Opportunities and the Road Ahead
Speakers: Dr. Louay Safi,
Chaplain Mumina Kowalski,
Chaplain Colonel Abdul-Rasheed Muhammed, and
Chaplain Yahya Hendi
The Muslim Chaplains’ Conference opened at 2:30pm, Central Time, at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel on Tuesday, August 30, 2005. Sura 30: 17-25 was recited to open the meeting in both Arabic and English.
Dr. Louay Safi, Executive Director of the ISNA Leadership Development Center (ILDC), briefly welcomed the participants and encouraged us to discuss, consult, exchange views and define our own challenges in the conference. He pointed out that Muslim chaplains are in a new phase of their history and represent the “face of Islam” in many US institutions. He called on us to educate the public about our important role. Dr. Safi then introduced 3 members of the ILDC Chaplain Board of Directors, who each addressed the conference.
Sr. Mumina Kowalski, a state prison chaplain from Pennsylvania and member of the ILDC Chaplains’ Board, spoke first.
Chaplain Kowalski spoke on the need for Muslim chaplains from all the fields represented at the conference—military, hospitals, universities and prisons—to find common ground for establishing a national organization of Muslim Chaplains. She also talked about current issues of communication, education and support needed in her specific area, prison chaplaincy.
Colonel Abdul-Rashid Muhammad, brigade chaplain in the US Army, former prison chaplain for the state of New York and member of the ILDC Chaplain’s Board, spoke next. He began with a discussion of the title “chaplain” and the response of some Muslims to this institutional term.
He stressed that we must educate the Muslim community about how chaplains in the armed forces are respected as SMEs (an acronym for Subject Matter Experts). He explained that Muslim chaplains in the armed forces have many opportunities to teach non-Muslims the basic tenets of Islam. For example, in his 11 years with the US Department of Defense, most of his service has been to people outside of Islam. Of the 4000 soldiers and 7000 people that he ministers to, only 50 are Muslim.
Chaplain Abdul-Rasheed would like to form an organization that recognizes all Muslim chaplains as a unified body, to establish our identity and insure our continuity as professionals.
Imam Yahya Hendi, who has served as Georgetown University’s Muslim Chaplain for the past 7 years, and is a member of the ILDC Chaplain’s Board, spoke to the conference next. In addition to his position as a university chaplain, Imam Hendi works as a contract chaplain at a US Navy hospital for 15-20 hours per week.
Focusing on campus ministry, Imam Yahya listed the many important areas in which Muslims working in this field contribute. First, a chaplain is responsible to teach and thereby influences the youth of today, the leaders of tomorrow. A Muslim chaplain’s presence on a college campus, where secular ideas are prevalent, adds to the diversity and spirituality of that campus.
The opportunity to develop college programs with other staff is an important aspect of this job. Assisting Muslim Student Associations, who need the networking and resource location skills a professional chaplain can offer, is another aspect. Chaplains often meet with policy makers in government and board members of educational institutions. This gives them influence in vital current affairs.
The challenges of this profession include understanding that the role of a chaplain in a pluralistic environment requires one to be non-judgmental and non-exclusionist. Because every chaplain serves a broad population, he/she must represent Islam in the best way and always maintain a high level of professionalism. Continuing to grow as an individual Muslim is both a challenge and a desirable outcome of the profession.
Imam Hendi has succeeded at Georgetown to develop a budget for Ramadan activities in the amount of $30,000. His budget for Islamic Awareness Week is $15,000. He has also developed two courses now taught at Fordham University in New York and New Jersey.
Questions and Feedback following session 1:1) Chaplain Abdurrahman Sykes , Federal Prison Chaplain and volunteer hospital chaplain in Florida, related that an inmate at his institution quoting a book entitled, Pillars of Islam, page 45, alleges that Chaplain Sykes, as an employee of US government, would fall into a level of kufar. How do Muslim chaplains deal with this misapplication of Islam? He handled it but has ongoing trouble with this type of argumentation with both inmates and prison administration due to lack of proper understanding. Other chaplains have had similar issues.
2) Hussain Shaikh, Chaplain US Navy Reserves, shared a useful web site address to the US Navy Chaplain Corps: www. c haplain.navy.mil . On this site, you can find a number of links and resources (type in Islam in the search engine). Included is a Talking Paper on How to Support Muslim Personnel and a document entitled, “Islamic Terms and Major Islamic Religious Dates in North America” compiled by Chaplain Shaikh. There are also articles of interest to all chaplains.
Khalid Bilal, Staff Chaplain at the Cook County Jail (11 years,) located in Chicago, shared his challenges. He has problems with female correctional officers searching male staff, cultural intolerance of jail employees towards Muslims in general, and1) difficulty in recruiting Muslims to work as chaplains due to the county not supporting paid staff.
2) Chaplain Hussein has a BA degree in Psychology and is currently working as an intern with Haymarket Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Program. See: http://www.drug-rehabs.org/bycity.php/Virginia/Haymarket . This non-profit organization is a resource for clients and also has some info and statistics that Muslim chaplains might utilize. Chaplain Hussein mentioned a copyrighted Christian book entitled, Path of Peace, which could be used as a model for Muslims wanting to write a faith-based drug & alcohol program.
3) Chaplain Layla Assem works as Women’s Chaplain at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in the Portland, Oregon area and is part of an Oregon Chaplains Organization. She is currently receiving training in drug & alcohol counseling, and interested in developing transition and re-entry programs for ex-offenders. She is having trouble with getting permission for female inmates to wear hijab and other women’s issues.
4) Sr. Amira Quraishi is Advisor to the MSA at Johns Hopkins University with a main emphasis on counseling Muslim youth. She mentioned a drug program developed for Muslims and Christians in Baltimore entitled, “I Can’t/ We Can” that could be used by Muslim chaplains.
5) Imam Yahya Hendi, Chaplain at Georgetown University, has a useful list of Islamic books and web sites he has reviewed that is available as a resource for Muslim chaplains: http://msa.georgetown.edu/booklist.html
Session 2: Getting OrganizedThe purpose of this session was to stimulate the chaplains from the four broad areas of service to share their insights, resources and reasons for attending this conference. We met with the chaplains in our specific fields (hospital and university combined due to small numbers present from university) and each addressed the following 5 key areas on a written survey:
a) Chaplain’s title, institution and year started
b) Number of clients served (approx.)
c) Favorite part of the job or achievement in past 12 months
d) Single most important goal or need for chaplains in this field
e) Most challenging aspect in their workplace in the past 12 months
If you would like to view the results of this session, please contact Nadia Pirzada.
Session 3: Recruitment of Chaplains in the Federal and State Prisons and the Military
Speaker: Dr. Ingrid Mattson
Sr. Mumina Kowalski introduced Dr. Ingrid Mattson, the current Vice-President of ISNA, and Professor and Director of the only accredited training program for Muslim chaplains in the US, the Hartford Seminary. Dr. Mattson shared her academic expertise and advice for educating and preparing chaplains to work in the variety of settings represented at the conference. She also addressed the current climate and status of the Muslim chaplain in America.
She began by pointing out that American Muslim communities still misunderstand the role of the Muslim chaplain, even as Muslim chaplains themselves are becoming more prevalent and valued in the rest of American society. A reason for this, she suggested, is that our communities are still preoccupied with short-term thinking, due to a focus on security issues. But it is through the broader vision of institution building, Dr. Mattson asserts, that American Muslims will overcome their insecurities in this country, and begin to recognize the significant role the Muslim chaplain plays as a representative of Islam in a pluralistic society.
Dr. Mattson recommends Richard W. Bulliet’s 2004 book, The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization, as a good resource for its deconstruction of the popular “clash of civilizations” theory. She said that the last chapter of this book is especially relevant to American Muslims. In this chapter Richard Bulliet addresses the question of authority or “who speaks for Islam?” His study of history shows that ultimately it is not the individual leader who speaks with authority but the institutions that are established that shape new cultural paradigms.
Dr. Mattson believes that the institution of chaplaincy is at the cutting edge for Muslims in America. “This is where our beliefs intersect with the public sphere.” Yet in order to establish this key institution, she added, we must do several things.
First, she advised, we must advertise. American Muslims do not really know what chaplains do. “We have to get the word out to our community. Our community is not supporting chaplains, not providing scholarships, not lobbying institutions to uphold professional standards.” Dr. Mattson said that part of the answer to help make this field succeed is to write and publish. Our stories must be chronicled to illustrate what we do, whom we help and why we are needed.
Second, the institutions we form must set realistic qualifications and endorsement practices for the jobs we do. The education required for a Federal Bureau of Prisons and Military chaplain position is the Master of Divinity (M Div), which is a 3 year graduate theological education. Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is another level of education, often recommended for chaplains in state prisons and other facilities. Our chaplains’ institutions must understand and support these differing levels.
The third issue is: “How we will mentor new chaplains?” She expressed concern about waiving endorsement requirements as is often done where the demand is high, such as in prisons. Also when new converts want to go into this field, she worries about the maturity and stability levels of those candidates. “Are they ready, (and) wise enough” to be chaplains? she asked. Wisdom will be required to answer these questions, Dr. Mattson reminded us.
She gave a brief overview of her Chaplain’s Program at Hartford Seminary. Started in 1999, this program is the only accredited program for Muslim chaplains in the country. Formerly the military and prisons had the most interest in the program at Hartford Seminary. But now the strongest interest is coming from colleges. Yale, Wellsley, Trinity College, New York University and Brown have all expressed interest in finding Muslim chaplains. Muslim chaplains are becoming known on college campuses for their ability to help bridge college communities, such as between Jews and Evangelicals, staff and students.
At the Muslim Chaplain program at Hartford Seminary, a Master of Divinity equivalence degree can be earned. The Doctor of Ministry degree (D Min) is a very good program in which the student studies ministry at an advanced level. A Masters degree is required to enter the program and the program will involve a 3-year commitment.
One-week intensive courses are available in January and June at Hartford Seminary making it possible to obtain a graduate certificate with field education in 2 years while attending part-time. More information is available at the Hartford Seminary Website. See: http://macdonald.hartsem.edu/chaplaincy/index.html
Some good news is that the Fadl Education Foundation is sponsoring a number of scholarships for the yearly funding of Muslim prison chaplains. Dr. Mattson said that statistics are needed to know the number of Muslim chaplains working in state prisons, as well as the number of volunteers. She said that the need for trained, contracted chaplains is a shared responsibility—and we must enlist the help of our community.
In answer to a question about universities hiring Muslim chaplains, Dr. Mattson explained that private universities “do whatever they want”. In other words, they are free to hire Muslim chaplains because they do not receive state funds, as government supported educational institutions do. Outside faith and service groups, such as Hillel, and Campus Crusade for Christ, fund their own campus chaplains in state schools across the US. Muslims will have to follow this example of supporting Muslim chaplains in state universities through regional and alumni associations.
She also recommended that ILDC investigate training chaplains for firefighter and police teams.
On a question about the Arabic language being necessary for Muslim chaplains, Dr. Mattson stressed that proper Qur’anic recitation is the more important factor in the language requirement for Muslim chaplains.
Finally, to further describe what a Muslim chaplain does in the multi-faith settings of universities, hospitals, prisons and military, Dr. Mattson said that the role of the chaplain is not the traditional role of an imam or mufti. The difference, she said, is “what you can give and what the client is asking of you”.
She shared a moment of her own past to illustrate the point. Once at a halaqa (learning circle) she was asked by a young Muslim woman, “Do I have to listen to my husband?” Sensing that the woman’s question was not one of fiqh, Dr. Mattson asked the woman to give an example of what her husband was asking her to do. The woman replied, “He wants another child and I don’t”.
When the woman further explained privately that being pregnant felt dirty (najasa) to her, Dr. Mattson realized that there was a deeper issue than the original question indicated. As it turned out, the woman had been kidnapped and raped as a teenager, a past trauma that would not have been helped by a fiqh answer to her initial question.
Listening to and clarifying the woman’s question was the skill that was needed to help her, not the Islamic ruling. An effective chaplain listens carefully and asks clarifying questions to make sure he/she knows what the client is really asking.
Session 4: Prejudice in the Workplace: Handling Anti-Islamic Bias
Speakers: Chaplain James Yee Br. Saif-ul-I slam
Br. Saif-ul-Islam a battalion Chaplain currently serving with the US Marine Corps, introduced Chaplain Yee. A 3rd generation Chinese-American, born and raised in the US, Chaplain Yee was graduated from the West Point Academy, the most prestigious military school of higher education in the US. Chaplain Yee served in the Gulf War and after becoming a Muslim studied Arabic in Syria. He was assigned to minister to prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in 2003, where his harrowing ordeal of being accused and held 76 days for charges of espionage against the US was widely reported. The US government in March 2004 dropped all criminal charges. His book, chronicling his story, entitled For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire, is due to be in bookstores October 3, 2005.
Chaplain Yee started his talk by commenting on the tragic irony of racial discrimination in America. In a history that seems to repeat itself, groups are singled out for unfair treatment on the basis of race, yet their civic and patriotic contributions to country are under-valued or forgotten.
For example, he mentioned the 442cnd regiment combat team from Hawaii, whose Japanese-American members served valiantly in WWII fighting Nazis in Germany. At the same time that these American soldiers were demonstrating their courage and valor, other Japanese-Americans were kept locked as prisoners in internment camps in the US, based solely on their racial profile.
Another famous example Chaplain Yee mentioned was that of the Tuskeegee Airmen, an all-black American fighter pilot regimen that served heroically from 1943-44 in the US Airforce. Flying dangerous missions for the US government, these pilots honored their country while at the same time numerous other African-Americans were being lynched and discriminated against widely in the American south.
Today, once again, Chaplain Yee asserted “we are living in historically dangerous times”, referring to the erosion of civil liberties that have ruined his military career and attacked his reputation.
Graciously Chaplain Yee spent the majority of his time speaking on how Muslim chaplains can offset discrimination present in the workplace. He offered 7 sound points to chaplains to consider:
1. Know our role as chaplains. Be well versed in the 1st amendment of the US constitution, which upholds the freedom of religion.
1. Know what policies against discrimination exist in your workplace. Learn the protocol or chain of command and advice others on the basis of regulations.
2. Be open to engaging others, especially non-Muslims, as individuals. When others get to know you personally, stereotypes are dispelled.
3. Stress the importance of continuing your education and development (Seek knowledge unto China, a saying often attributed to the Prophet (pbuh)) The former mottoes of the army and airforce are, “Be all you can be” and “Aim high”, both meaning to strive for excellence.
4. Focus on details, “cross your ‘t’s’ and dot your ‘i’s’, in other words, do your job properly.
5. Take advantage of your time opportunities.
6. Prepare for discrimination by knowing your rights and who to call if problems arise.
Chaplain Yee said his inspiration during his 76 day in the army brig, 30 days of Ramadan included, came from the Qur’an. He held on to two particular verses in Sura Baqara:
Qur’an 2: 153 “ O you who believe! Seek (God’s) help with patient perseverance and prayer: for God is with those who patiently persevere.”
Qur’an 2: 156 “Who say, when afflicted with calamity: “To God we belong, and to Him we return”—
On advice about dealing with the media, Chaplain Yee said that a smart approach is to explain what you do as a chaplain—to use the media to portray the good of our community to others. He encouraged us to write our own stories.
Chaplain Yee also revealed, for the first time publicly, that when the Qur’an desecration reports at Guantanamo first came out in the media, there was a Standard Operating Procedure (or SOP) on how to handle the Qur’an already in place. Chaplain Yee knows this to be true because he wrote the SOP. This fact is covered in his soon to be released book, For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire.
At the end of the session Chaplain James Yee was presented with an award recognizing his services to the Muslim community in. Dr. Louay Safi presented the plaque on behalf of the ISNA Chaplaincy Board and announced there would be further recognition for Chaplain Yee at the larger 42cnd Annual ISNA National Conference to be held Sept. 2-5, 2005
Brainstorming before Session 5Dr. Louay Safi announced that ILDC wants to support the efforts of Muslim chaplains, and has recently posted a job opportunity on the Website ( See job opportunities: www.ILDC.net). Currently the job title is listed as Deputy Islamic Endorser but that title may be changed to Program Manager. This job would include supervising, supporting and working with the 2 person staff at ILDC to support Muslim chaplains.
Chaplain Saif-ul-Islam brought up the great need for institutional support, stressing that we must primarily offer proactive support rather than reactive support.
Chaplain Umar Abdulraheem, from FCC Butner in North Carolina, commented that every (federal prison) institution has training Muslim chaplains should be at the forefront to institute that training. This past year (2005), the overall focus in the all-staff training was Islam. There was an accusation that Muslim chaplains were proselytizing staff.
Chaplain Dawud Agbere of the US armed forces commented that networking is key. Also we must institute professionalism. Chaplains are also administrators and must report yearly to their endorser. Needed is a forum to exchange ideas, perhaps a newsletter. He also encouraged chaplains to write about the field.
Dr. Safi commented that the conference could appoint a steering committee for handling these proposals.
Chaplain Hussein Sheikh commented that chaplains should interact with their local masjid or Islamic center.
Another comment was that chaplains need to extend invitations to all communities in their areas.
A question was brought up about what can we do collectively to impact (federal prison)
policy. Will there be help with legal aspects? Five investigations by EEOG are reported to be ongoing.
Dr. Safi commented that the full scope of a national organization including visiting the BOP, talking with top administrators, having input into decision-making—in other words, being a visible endorser—is developing. He reiterated that the new position of Deputy Islamic Endorser would help combat the perception that we have no visible protection or support. He mentioned the recent article by Frank Gaffney, calling ISNA an Islamo-facist organization, indicates that we have real enemies.
Br. Umar Abdulraheem, Chaplain/Imam at FCC Butner had some curriculum resources to share including a number of online publications that are free to download and print (listed below). He has also written A Guide About Muslims to Half Way Houses that could be useful to other Imams and Chaplains.
www.al-manhaj.c o m (Salafi Society of North America) The Difference Between Advising and Condemning
http://www.islam-qa.com/Books/seyam/english.shtml
70 Matters Relating to FastingGuarding the Tongue
Sufficiency in Creed
Session 5: Extending the Impact of Chaplains to Community and Society
Speakers: Rami Nashishibi and Jamil Wright
Please note: some information about the speakers and IMAN in this report was obtained on the organization’s website: http://www.imancentral.org/
Rami Nashashibi is the Executive Director and one of the original founding members of IMAN, the Inner-city Muslim Action Network, located in Chicago. He is currently a Sociology PhD candidate at the University of Chicago and an adjunct professor teaching in the sociology department at St Xavier University. He is a recipient of the Davis Putter Student Activist Grant and lectures frequently on a range of topics relating to Islam, Muslims and community activism.
Br. Rami started by recognizing some of the local Chicago Muslims participating in the conference with whom he works such as Khalid Bilal and Julien Abdurahim. Due to many years of unpaid work as Imams at Cook County Jail, the nation’s largest city jail complex, illustrate a problem. Muslim chaplain positions at the county level are often unpaid or even totally absent creating a deficit in the larger system by under providing badly needed services.
Rami stressed that the social service, activist perspective to address the systemic problems facing inner cities is what his organization IMAN is all about. Key focus on coalition building with similar organizations is necessary because Muslims collectively have not yet created organized help for the poor and disadvantaged in this country.
He related examples from the life of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) on the importance of a social justice model we need to emulate. Examples included the character of “Al Amin”, his participation in placing the black stone at the Kaaba and in the treaty of just trade in Makkah before revelation confirming his prophethood. The lesson to his companions and to us today is that even before Islamic issues became apparent through wahy, addressing inequities in Makkah deserved serious action and merited the prophet’s (pbuh) attention and follow through.
The city of Chicago’s Cook County Jail is unfortunately a growing and sprawling institution on Chicago’s South Side. Over the years a large percent of the detainees at the jail complex and through street affiliations have come to identify themselves as Muslims. This reality is an opportunity for Muslim organizations to provide educational and outreach efforts, which can have a very powerful and positive impact on this population.
Developing a comprehensive set of referrals to outside resources for detainees/inmates is one documented (NEA?) project needed to help with re-entry into society. Rami said IMAN is working with others, such as the Developing Justice Coalition (coordinated by Rev. Patricia Watkins) to do this work, because networking is necessary to address societal problems of such a huge scale.
The Developing Justice Coalition addresses problems like recidivism and trouble getting jobs after jail time. To do this it lobbied senators and congressmen to pass legislation concealing and expunging the records of misdemeanor crimes in order to help those ex-offenders obtain jobs and discontinue criminal lifestyles.
Muslim communities still have a lot of skepticism about working with these populations and “chaplains are really the gatekeepers” to this relationship. “We have to encourage the spirit of committing to community”, Rami advised, and fulfill this great opportunity to create positive relationships.
Jamil Wright, Jail Outreach Coordinator for IMAN, spoke next. Jamil is a graduate of Carl Sandburg College, where he obtained his Bachelors degree in Business Administration in 1991. Jamil has over 11 years experience working as a social worker in the inner city. A certified literacy trainer, Jamil has remained dedicated to working to help alleviate some of the symptoms of poverty on Chicago Southside and has been working with IMAN since 1998.
Br. Jamil started by saying that he is committed to this cause because he is emotionally tied to work in jails. He gave insight into the mindset of many of inmates who sometimes believe there will be a “paradise island’” of Muslim people ready to receive them upon their release. He compared the stress and culture shock of incarceration to the experience of “losing limbs”. In other words, adjustment is needed to help clients reorient back to free society. In order for chaplains to help clients reorient, we who are charged to prepare them need support in order to avoid becoming overwhelmed ourselves.
Br. Jamil gave Qur’anic context to our mission of helping marginalized prisoners. An ayah in Sura Balad, (The City 90: 13) says the path of virtue is ‘freeing the bondsman.” In order for chaplains/imams to do this work, he highlighted 4 points:
1. To be realistic advocates for the success of ex-offenders. He gave an example of Sears calling and offering 10 jobs to ex-offenders. A realistic advocate has to ask his/herself, do we have 10 candidates whom we know is ready to perform well at this job?
2. Prepare people for leadership roles. The leader is like a farmer, and must nurture more help because in the case of the jail populations, “we are the last line of defense”.
3. We must advocate for more enlightened institutional support. As an ex-offender himself, Br. Jamil recalled his crushed emotions after being taken off the Ramadan list, due to medication he needed to take after having a tooth pulled. Chaplains need to be aware of the emotional needs of the clients in jail and not undervalue their issues. “Islam is often the only thing they’ve got!”
4. To tell the stories to the media of how Islam reduces recidivism.
In a lively question & answer period that followed lunch, one participant, an exoffender asked: “To what extent do you need my participation?” Both Rami and Jamil responded about ex-offenders needing proper training before becoming volunteers. But the importance of ex-offenders in program development is paramount. For example, the discussion turned to the issue of why a life of criminal activity was hard to change. Br. Jamil said a good question to ask while mentoring offenders is, “What were the things that gained you respect in the street?” Equally important, after hearing the shocking answers to that question—like lying, stealing, having illicit sex—is NOT to put them down immediately with expressions of “haram”! The next step of examining why these activities brought respect on the street contains the root issues that need to be addressed.
Another issue brought up in the session was the importance of inmate buy-in with the Islamic studies curriculum. Street organizations are coming up with materials for curriculum that may be problematic, yet chaplains must work with their clients cooperatively. This communication gap is affecting many Muslim chaplains in jails/prisons. Ex-offender input as well as the advice of seasoned chaplains and academicians working together will produce curricula with the best fit for prisons and jails.
Session 6 & 7: Introduction to Spiritual Counseling & Diagnostic Tools to Spiritual Counseling
Speaker: Sr. ShahinaSiddiqui
Sr. Shahina Siddiqui is Executive Director of The Islamic Social Services Association of the United States and Canada (ISSA), an organization that provides workshops, literature and training on social service issues. Shahina Siddiqui is a leading Muslim social worker based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and is the co-ordinator for community relations for the Manitoba Islamic Association and the Senior Director of the Canadian division of the Council on American Islamic Relations .
Sr. Shahina presented her workshop titled “Spiritual Counseling” with PowerPoint presentations over 2 sessions, breaking for dinner between the above titled topics.
Introduction: What is Spiritual Counseling?
Sr. Shahina’s description of Islamic spiritual counseling is a “change in perception or change in cognitive pattern.”
She mentioned 4 basic principles behind Islamic spiritual counseling:
1. providing context
2. forming perspective
3. fostering hope and providing motivation
4. nurturing and healing
Ayah in parenthesis from the Qur’an are textual support for the principles
Regular prayer provides context every time
We are created anxious
Sura Al ‘Asr—why we counsel
Diagnostic tool for context of a healthy human: 70: 19-29
Foundation of Islamic Counseling vs. Western CounselingSr. Shahina talked about the Muslim approach as one of “reliance on God, not resignation”. Unlike the western model of counseling, Islamic spiritual counseling involves God. “It’s not merely talk, it’s God talk.”
Composite of healthy personality in the QuranSr. Shahina said that a “sociopath is a broken spirit”. The model of the healthy human personality found in many ayat of the Qur’an and many ahadith for us to use as source material for self-reflection. The counselor can ask the client: “Would Allah be happy with what you’ve done?”
Diagnostic Tools and Using the Islamic Principles of CounselingThe healthy human model (70: 9-29)
God-centered questions, i.e. “Would Allah be happy with what you’ve done?”
Sharing circles, as aboriginal people of America have used for healing.
Stories of the Prophet (pbuh)
Intake questionnaires to assess common cognitive disorders
Respect for privacy (for example with sexual issues) by having client write it down rather than verbalize difficult subjects
Open and close counseling session with du’a for the healing power of prayer
Have Qur’an on the table at counseling session
Set session around prayer time and have families pray together
Teach tasbih for anxiety disorders
Grief: “After hardship comes ease…” (94: 1-8) Revealed when Prophet (pbuh) was feeling low
Take life inventory. Have client make list of what’s good (only for non-clinical depression). After each good item, write, “al hamdulilah”.
Do not dwell on “why me” or consider life’s’ trials “punishment” “No burden greater…” (2: 233)
Avoid ridicule (49: 11)
Avoid conspiracy theories (14: 4)
Overlook faults (2: 233)
Ascertain the facts (49: 6)
Counselor must close the door on suspicion as forbidden (49: 12)
Resist arrogance (4: 36)
Direct client to give charity (specify for them) in case of extreme wrong (32: 22)
Obsessive-compulsive (3: 54)
Shaitan is enemy (17: 53)
Life is temporary (4:77)
Incest and extreme trauma—write everything down to Allah, then burn paper or take to beach to wash away
Psychological impact of fasting as a therapeutic tool
Use sajdah as position to unload
Fajr prayer time closest to creator (17: 78)
Tahajjud (extra night prayers) extra help (17: 79)
Session 8: Building a Successful Muslim Chaplains’
Association Speaker: The Reverend Doris Woodruff-Filbey
Rev. Doris Woodruff-Filbey is the Director of the Religious Services and Community Involvement Program for the Indiana State Department of Corrections. She is also past president of the American Correctional Chaplains Association, a national a network of pastoral care personnel in corrections. She graciously traveled to Chicago to present an overview on how to start a national chaplains’ organization.
Rev. Woodruff-Filbey started by stressing the importance of chaplain endorsement in any of the varied applications of chaplains’ employment. An endorsing agent, she said, helps support the chaplain and also ties the chaplain to the faith community.
She polled the participants as to the needs and problems Muslim chaplains face.
Rev. Woodruff-Filbey then referred to the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) of 2000. This is a federal statute that protects the freedom of religious practice, often in land use and prison contexts and is an effective tool in protecting the religious rights of prison and jail inmates .
Rev. Woodruff-Filbey listed 3 ways in which a chaplain organization can help with some of the barriers to effective chaplaincy:
1. Provide training and certification courses
2. Develop educational materials to share
3. Provide a group forum for stronger advocacy position with hiring institutions
There are a number of established national organizations for chaplains in the US:
Association of Professional Chaplains (APC)
www.professionalchaplains.org
The American Correctional Association (ACA) under which is the American Correctional Chaplains’ Association (ACCA)
Council on Ministry in Specialized Settings (COMISS)
These and other organization certify, accredit and endorse chaplains and programs to help them function appropriately and within the proper institutional parameters. In return, institutions look to these organizations for the best candidates for jobs and for educational and training updates to ensure proper job performance.
After the overview Rev. Woodruff-Filbey polled the participants on what might be the pros and cons of certifying chaplains through an endorsing agency like the organizations listed above:
Pro Con
Meet Certification levels of national organization Too stringent for members
Can mobilize resources right away Higher standards- all Muslim group
Recruit and inform widely Broad acceptance by Muslims
Establish equivalencies Enter as professional organization (?)
Mutual support among chaplains
Rev. Woodruff-Filbey then passed out an evaluation survey for responding to the session that she said we could utilize for our own development.
Session 9: Working with African-American Muslims: Considerations for Muslim Chaplains
Speaker: Aneesah Nadir MSW, PhD
Dr. Aneesah Nadir is Assistant Professor of Social Work at Arizona State University. Her overarching research interest is related to cultural diversity and religion and spirituality. Her primary focus is on Muslim Life in America. Dr. Nadir also serves as the president of the Islamic Social Services Association, an association of Muslims in the field of Human Services that has produced a number of manuals that promote awareness about social welfare concerns among Muslims in America.
Dr. Nadir started her academic presentation by identifying the lens through which she sees the subject matter: namely that of a 30-year convert/revert to Islam, an African-American woman, and a social worker.
The rationale behind her presentation to the Muslim chaplains’ conference included the facts that African-American Muslims make up 42% of the Muslim population in America, and they represent a significant portion of the prison population, military personnel, patients in hospitals, students in universities.
The stated objectives of Dr. Nadir’s presentation were to describe the diversity within the African-American community, and to identify socio-cultural issues in this distinct community in order to help Muslim chaplains serve these clients.
Dr. Nadir used Abdul-Adil’s 2003 inclusive definition of African-American Muslims as “ descendants of …the African Diaspora…(whose) immediate ancestry can be traced to the indigenous African population in the US…and (whose) voluntary self-identification includes declaring “African-American” as their race/ethnicity and “Islam” as their religion”
Elaborating on the social phenomenon of ‘naming’, Dr. Nadir listed the various names used to describe this racial/ethnic group: African-American, Blackamerican, Black American, and Afro American.
She expanded on the diverse attributes of the socio-cultural characteristics found within the African-American, stressing the full range of possibilities in areas such as religious practice, marital status, family dynamics and income.
Dr. Nadir then presented a valuable and detailed overview of historical highlights from a socio-cultural perspective. This approach is especially relevant from the counselor’s point of view in that the Muslim chaplain must approach the client with knowledge and compassion for the best outcome in spiritual counseling.
Referencing the works of Rashid (1999), Quick (1996), Nyang(1999), Turner (1997), and Haddad (1986), Dr. Nadir sketched some of the major figures and events in African Muslim history and the Americas. She used the important figures of 10-30% of the total African slave population in the Americas were Muslim referenced by Nyang (1999), Quick (1997) and Diouf (1998). A lesser known opinion quoted was Austin’s (1989), 7-8% of the West Africans enslaved in America from the 17th – 19th centuries were Muslims.
Among the many negative social consequences of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, such as family break up and dislocation, Dr. Nadir pointed out that fictive kinships among African Americans today are a surviving legacy developed as a coping mechanism.
Of interest to Muslim chaplains in particular were references to Dr. Hakim Jackson’s 2005, title, Islam and the Black American: Looking for the Third Resurrection. Dr. Nadir used Jackson’s list of “Six major Sunni Groups Today” among African-Americans: the Salafi movement, Dar al Islam, The American Society of Muslims (now known as Mosque Cares due to another group competing for the name), Jama’at Al Tabligh, Sufi groups, and independents.
Additional communities include: Nation of Islam, Five Percenters, Shia tradition, Ahmadiyyah tradition, and others.
For the African-American Muslim, Islam has been a source of strength, identity, affirmation and liberation, to name several of the key values Dr. Nadir listed in her talk. Throughout its history in the Americas, Islam has been a means to organized resistance of racism, discrimination and oppression. These values and a strong sense of connection among members of the African American community led Dr. Nadir’s son to coin his own metaphor describing the Muslim convert as someone “trying on clothes”.
A long list of socioeconomic challenges facing the African-American Muslim population include poverty, (the Bagby mosque study quoted 26% poverty), unemployment and underemployment, residuals of alcoholism and sexual behaviors, marital and family issues, unequal justice in the court system, and interfaith conflicts with family members. The risk of ostracizing family members through conversion to Islam and difficulty socializing with immigrant Muslims, often put African American Muslims at great risk due to lack of support. Young African American men are especially prone to be estranged from community when they don’t fit into the larger American society or into the immigrant Muslim community.
Dr. Nadir stressed that a major factor in the success of counseling African American Muslim clients is that of trust. If the counselor is not culturally competent regarding African American values, the services will likely be ineffective. Different levels of sensitivity are also needed depending on how long the client has been Muslim.
The institutionalized mentality of long-term prison inmates coupled with a lack of Muslim support services has resulted in failure for many African American Muslims upon reentry into society. Ex-offenders have even been known to commit crimes again in order to return to a prison community where they feel more Islamic brotherhood than they did in the free society.
Dr. Nadir discussed the differing models of counseling in order to understand what Muslim chaplains should be attempting to work towards. The medical-deficit model, a popular model, is used to define what is ‘wrong’ with the client. Yet this model does not provide a way for the African American Muslims to measure up to the norm of a dominant society or even the Muslim community.
Empowerment models are perhaps better suited to the problems and challenges enumerated in Dr. Nadir’s presentation. Strengths rather than weaknesses need to be pointed out in order to build up the confidence needed to overcome socioeconomic obstacles.
Dr. Nadir encouraged the chaplains to consider the many factors discussed such as the unique history of African Americans, and the scarcity of services available to help this group as Muslims.
An important question Dr. Nadir asked was, “Can those of other backgrounds work with African American Muslims?” In fact, she asserted, there is a moral and professional responsibility to do so. Yet Muslim chaplains must be prepared to acknowledge privilege and oppression of the dominant culture and systemic racism if they are to gain the trust of working with these clients and empower them to strive to be better. Those who work with African American Muslims must continually assess themselves to maintain a helpful outlook.
The needs of these clients, Dr. Nadir concluded, are access to social welfare and mental health services that are both religiously and culturally sensitive. Empowerment and advocacy to address social justice issues as well as economic development and legal advocacy are equally important.
Research areas to explore with regard to African American Muslims are: women, youth and popular culture, children of converts, men, and best practices regarding social intervention with this community.
Dr. Nadir’s programs and materials at Islamic Social Services Association are located at:
ISSA-USA: www.issa.org
ISSA-Canada: www.issaservices.com
• ISSA-US
Session 10: Counseling Immigrants
Speaker: Shahina Siddiqui
Sr. Shahina started her session on counseling immigrants by estimating that 6-7,000,000 Muslims reside in the US and 600,000 in Canada, a large percentage of them being immigrants. She believes that understanding the immigrant Muslim experience requires understanding the colonized experience, as many of the countries from which immigrant Muslims have come from have only recently been freed from colonization.
The immigrant mentality is often a transient mentality because the first generation immigrant has to make a difficult transition from the home country to the new country. If the immigrants were refugees there are even greater obstacles to adaptation because of the following stresses:
1) They had no choice
2) War, civil war, ethnic cleansing
3) Trauma
4) Torture
5) Camps
6) Survival
The impact of the 9/11 backlash exacerbates these difficulties. The counselor should know that there is no timetable for trauma counseling. Post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) often sets in after 2 years folllowing the trauma event. The common response to PTSD is for the victim to withdraw from others just when the victim needs a community to help him/her open up.
The elements of colonization of a people include:
1. domination
2. superiority
3. control
4. power
5. social
6. cultural
7. missionary strategies
Present day strategies of neocolonialism that can happen in this country include:
1. demonization
2. de-humanization
3. Islamophobia-which is becoming systemic through measures like the Patriot Act, the No-Fly list and security measures that single religious /ethnic groups out
4. Group guilt
5. Racial/religious profiling
The impact of a culture of hate can lead to the following responses:
1. denial
2. fear
3. suppressed anger
4. guilt
5. helplessness
6. desire to move back to country of origin
7. isolation
8. assimilation
A counselor dealing with an immigrant client can expect them to:
1. deny
2. deflect
3. be defensive
4. distract from real issue
5. have unhealthy dependency
Spiritual Counselor know-how with problems
1. victimization—client feels they are victimized--Islam discourages victim mentality
2. vent-- client wants to vent--Counselor helps to solve, not just vent
3. validate--client wants Islamic validation for problems, excuses
4. values--counselor encourages Islamic values
Client’s Baggage to expect:
1. suspicion
2. ethnocentrism
3. racism-- common among immigrants, a serious cancer—African/Arab, Pakistani/Arab, etc
4. conspiracy—combat with ayah, “Let them plot and plan…I am planning too”
5. internal conflict
6. unresolved tension
7. hyper-religiosity
Client’s biases:
1. see counselor as western concept
2. more open to mediation and arbitration than counseling
3. gender bias –in mediation, such as marriage counseling is ok
4. wants spiritual validation
Counselor needs:
1. to be trained professionally
2. get involved with the community
Extra Lunch Session: Chief Chaplain Susan Van Baalen, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Chaplain Board member Abu Ishaq Abdul Hafiz, a supervisory chaplain for the BOP currently at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, CA and the Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island introduced Sr. Susan. He described her first as a long-time supporter of Muslim Chaplains in the Bureau of Prisons.
(*biographical info below from Siena Heights University web-site news release on life-time achievers: http://www.sienahts.edu/storys/honorary.htm)
Sr. Susan Van Baalen, an Adrian Dominican Sister since 1959, first worked as a volunteer reading and math teacher to inmates of the Cook County Jail, in Chicago. The experience led to a whole new career. Beginning as a correctional field chaplain, first in a women's state penitentiary and then in a federal medical center, she helped prisoners and their families on their spiritual journeys as well as ministering to corrections professionals. She subsequently accepted increasingly responsible positions within the federal prison system, becoming Chief of Chaplains for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 1996.
In that position today she continues to dignify the human spirit by developing national policy, assisting 232 field chaplains in 93 federal prisons, and working with the ecclesiastical representatives of more than 35 different faiths to coordinate religious programs and protect the religious rights of 100,000 inmates. She has lectured extensively and is the author of several monographs on pastoral care for women prisoners.
Chief Chaplain Van Baalen began her talk reflecting on the recent BOP all-staff training held in Denver, CO this past year and the progress she has seen with Muslims in the federal prison system since her career as Chief Chaplain began. She recalled an earlier time when prison staff might ask, “Are you Ramadaning?” unable to articulate an unfamiliar faith practice in order to interact with its members. She also remembered the year when ISNA Secretary General Dr. Sayyid Syeed took the time to invite her personally “ to learn the Islamic greeting, ‘as-salaamu alaikum’”. She saw his gesture as a welcoming sign—“of being invited in”.
In her history with ISNA, going back to 1995 when she attended the Muslims in American Prisons conference over the July 4 holiday, she has appreciated the richness of the Muslim American community. As a member of a religious community herself for 45 years, she is comfortable with aspects that our religions share, like modest dress. Sr. Susan respectfully wore an attractive purple headscarf to address our conference. Throughout her career in prison ministry, she said, she has worked hard to protect the religious rights of all people, including Muslims, starting in the 1980’s and ‘90’s.
Chief Chaplain Van Baalen told the Muslim chaplains that she has studied Islam in order to support Muslim inmates. Using her own example she encouraged Muslim chaplains, who work in pluralistic environments, to “study other religions in order to accommodate” clients of other faiths. She remarked that “ as chaplains, it’s our duty to care”--to appreciate the journey of another faith practitioner, even if their journey is different from ours.
Some of the problems that she sees in the prison setting with Muslim chaplains stem from Muslims being allowed to be “just Muslims”. Chief Chaplain Van Baalen argues that we must be team players. We must be able to greet people of other faiths, and show the magnanimity that a chaplain working in a multi-faith environment must display.
Diversity within Islam is another area that Muslim chaplain must accommodate, she said. She has been disappointed by the vilification of sufi and shia Muslims by some sunni Imams/chaplains. She mentioned some problems in the prison setting when sunnis rejected and threw away sufi and shiite educational materials in their prisons without considering their responsibility to represent individual Muslims who may identify with these historical groups. She advised us not to “presume every Muslim journey is the same as yours”.
Chief Chaplain Van Baalen reiterated the fact heard before in our conference that chaplains are often misunderstood. She encouraged us to fight the tendency to isolate ourselves and enumerated 3 roles that we must play in order to do avoid isolation:
1. We must “participate in God’s work for justice and peace”.
2. “We have to be prophets who speak truth to power”—her use of the word prophets meant not in the same sense as Muslims would use it—but explained as people who speak out.
3. speak out to government, “we must be outraged about injustice” and “when you see something that is not right-- name it.”
4. speak out to our communities, to “tell the truth to community”. In re-entry issues, she said, “we can’t find Muslims available to mentor, or volunteer, or to contract for service.”
5. We must “be the presence of the holy”, for example, when a correctional officer apologizes to us for swearing in front of us, we are representing faith in God.
Chaplain Van Baalen mentioned that there are 10,000 Muslim inmates incarcerated in the federal system, with 10 Muslim chaplains serving that population. 300 female Muslims are located in 5 prisons and 10 satellite camps with the primary goal of keeping them close to their families. 90% of the federal Muslim inmates are converts to Islam. 500 are of Middle Eastern/African origin.
No Muslim chaplains have been hired in the BOP since 9/11, the main reason being that the federal process of hiring is so lengthy, according to Van Baalen. Candidates often find other work before the process is complete. She also stated that the “FBI is urging every state, federal and county correctional institution to have Muslim chaplains” to meet the growing need.
Chief Chaplain Susan Van Baalen concluded by announcing that new educational materials produced with assistance of Muslim chaplains in the BOP are available for distribution. One 31- minute video produced to teach the prison convert about what to expect when coming to a masjid, includes both a storefront street mosque and a large immigrant-built mosque.
There is also a set of 60 sermons, a study guide for taleem, and a glossary of Islamic terminology. These materials are available free to those who will offer written feedback after viewing them. A helpful Website mentioned by Chief Chaplain Van Baalen is that of the National Institute of Corrections. See: http://www.nicic.org/
Session 11: Muslim Chaplains in the Health Care System
Speakers: The Reverend George Fitzgerald, Sr. Rabia Terri Harris & Sr. Doha Hamza
The Reverend Dr. C. George Fitzgerald, Director of Spiritual Care Services at Stanford University Medical Center in San Francisco, CA spoke first in this session. Rev. Dr. Fitzgerald has been a hospital chaplain for 40 years and graciously shared his knowledge and experience with Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), an important program he supervises at Stanford Medical Center.
The Rev. Dr. Fitzgerald is a member of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE), a national organization with 2,600 members, over 350 accredited centers around the US, and 600 certified faculty members. CPE students come from many different faith traditions -- Protestant, Roman Catholic, Judaism, Islam, Orthodox Christian, Native American religions and Buddhism – to train for work in hospitals, universities, the military, prisons and other institutions. (More information about ACPE, including a list of accredited centers, can be found on their Website: http://www.acpe.edu/)
Rev. Fitzgerald gave a brief overview of the history of CPE, which was first organized in 1925 at the Massachusetts General Hospital by Dr. Richard Cabot, a pioneering physician looking for ways to improve medical care. Dr. Cabot’s medical interests ranged from clinical research and medical diagnostics to hospital social work, medical ethics, and the interface between medicine and religion. His book, The Art of Ministry to the Sick, emphasized the social ethic in medicine of which Clinical Pastoral Education is a direct result.
Using his program at Stanford as an example, Rev. Dr. Fitzgerald explained that the three levels of a Clinical Pastoral Education program to be completed in order are:
1. Level I: To teach both lay leaders and clergy about spirituality and healing
Two 11-week units are required to fulfill this level. The student at this level develops listening skills, learns to be able to function in a high tech medical center with emphasis on crisis, death and dying, and understanding the patient’s experience. On-call chaplain’s training is included at this level.
2. Level 2 CPE: To certify students to be able to be hired as professional chaplains
Two units of CPE training in addition to the first level training. Students learn the hospital environment from the administrative perspective, work on spiritual care projects and must complete100 hours of scheduled interaction with patients. Classes are small (3-6 students), equally male/female and religiously diverse to fulfill the intended formation of a heterogeneous group.
3. Supervisory CPE : To train and certify supervisors who will train chaplains
To achieve this level, students must complete 300 hours of direct clinical interaction with patients. Students have access to the patient’s medical chart making them a genuine part of the health care team.
A single unit of CPE training can be accomplished over two 11-12 week training sessions in the summer. An alternative full-time schedule could complete 3-4 consecutive units in one year. Schedules and costs will vary from center to center across the US, but at the Stanford Medical Center, Rev. Fitzgerald said one summer course is $500.00. This is time intensive and expensive education, so the student must plan carefully for this program. Stipends are generally available at the second and supervisory levels, but also vary from center to center.
Jobs and institutions require varying numbers of CPE units for qualification. For example, many seminaries for ordination now require one CPE unit. The American Professional Chaplains Association (APC) is Rev. Fitzgerald’s organization of choice and this national chaplains’ endorsing body requires 4 units of CPE and ordination from the candidate’s faith group in order to get endorsement through them. For more info on APC see their Website @ http://www.professionalchaplains.org/
Rev. Fitzgerald asked how many of the Muslim chaplains present at the conference had gone through CPE training. Seven of the conference participants responding were CPE grads: Dawud Agbere, Abdul Rasheed Muhammad, Maryam Funches, Yahya Hendi, Saif Ul-Islam, Rabia Terri Harris and Doha Hamza.
Sr. Rabia Terri Harris, spoke next on Muslim chaplains in the Health Care Field. Aside from her very busy activist career, Sr. Rabia currently serves as a Muslim chaplain at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ. Sr. Rabia Harris is founder and coordinator of the Muslim Peace Fellowship and serves as associate editor of Fellowship magazine, the bimonthly publication of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the oldest, largest, interfaith peace and justice organization in the world. Harris graduated from Princeton University in Religion in 1978 and received her graduate degree from Columbia University in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures in 1985. She has published translations of several key medieval Arabic religious texts. She is a senior member of the Jerrahi Order, a three-hundred-year-old Muslim religious sodality headquartered in Istanbul. (This bio taken from the Rockridge Institute Website: http://forum.rockridgeinstitute.org/?q=dialogue05/hosts )Sr. Rabia’s engaging personal presentation began with the direct question, “…what is a Muslim chaplain?” She framed the issue of defining this new profession so that the Muslim community at large might begin to understand the unique nature of this job and its value.
In the hospital setting, Sr. Rabia explained, the patient primarily needs the chaplain to listen, not preach or give expert opinion. This aspect may be overlooked if the chaplain is not trained to understand the boundaries of working in a pluralistic environment.
The CPE training was instrumental in helping Sr. Rabia define her own ‘learning contract”, at first a puzzling task. Later she found this approach to be fundamentally sound in order to explore her own expectations of Muslim service to humanity.
Sr. Rabia described CPE training as “experience-based, or process education…a form of meticulous self-examination that turns group and individual attention to what do I really feel and believe, rather than what I’m supposed to feel and believe, or wish I did.” This process of education overseen by a competent supervisor will not only force the student to examine their own characteristics, principles and even resistance to spiritual growth, but can help the student to become more trusting of their faith values in order to better serve the needs of others.
Sr. Rabia’s account of CPE training, which included over 700 intense encounters with hospital patients, illustrates the difficult but important process of learning, “Where am I with God, in this actual state of mine?” She assures us that the benefits of examining this question will serve to help the Muslim chaplain sit with and help patients, as well as heal the chaplain him/herself.
Sr. Doha Hamza was the third and final presenter in the session on Muslim Chaplains in the Health Care System. Sr. Doha studied in the CPE program at Stanford University Medical Center directed by Rev. Dr. Fitzgerald. She then became the coordinator of Muslim volunteers with Spiritual Care Services at Stanford and has worked in this capacity since June 2001.
In 2004 alone, Sr. Doha served 343 Muslim patients as a volunteer on-call Muslim chaplain. The Rev. Dr. Fitzgerald highly praised Sr. Doha for her abilities and told the conference that he has relied on her to train staff at the Stanford Medical Center regarding the needs of Muslim patients. She has produced handout literature including end-of-life documents and burial/supplication guides that she shared with the chaplains at the conference.
Sr. Doha produced and presented a creative and helpful Power point presentation, entitled, “Challenges with Muslim Patients and Their Families” for the Muslim chaplain’s conference.
Sr. Doha’s original approach to understanding the complexities of the chaplain’s role in the hospital setting started with a “silly question”: “ What do the following have in common?
A bridge, an author, a guide, a leader, an undercover agent, a gymnastics player, a problem solver.” She then proceeded to show how a chaplain plays each of these roles in order to help the patient and his/her family through the hospital experience.
Sr. Doha identified two factors in the hospital setting that may differ from other settings a Muslim chaplain may work in. The first is the fact that the chaplain will be dealing with not only the patient themselves, but also their family members. The second is the time factor. The average stay for a patient is 4 days—a relatively brief yet concentrated period on contact.
To illustrate how a chaplain works like an undercover agent, Sr. Doha explained that to the Muslim patient and their family, the Muslim chaplain’s role would be a mystery, as they are not usually familiar with why a chaplain would be there (or what a Muslim chaplain is). She illustrated through her graphic presentation the numerous personnel involved in patient care to help us understand why the patient could easily be confused.
As for the problem solver, Sr. Doha pointed out that cultural and language barriers are frequently obstacles to good interaction and communication between patients and the health care system. Muslim chaplains can help in this area.
As the gymnastics player, the Muslim chaplain must be flexible enough to deal with the variety of spiritual levels found even within the same families. The example she gave was with helping a Muslim through the final stages of her mother’s death. As a chaplain she asked, “what would your mother like?” rather than giving a set formula for this particular women to follow.
As a guide, the Muslim chaplain may be called upon to give direction on what is religiously correct to do in the patient’s decision making process, such as in controversial treatment plans or withdrawal of life support. In this difficult area Sr. Doha recommends the need for a Muslim scholar hotline to provide relevant and practical support for the Muslim hospital chaplain. A documentary film produced at Stanford entitled, “Hold Your Breath”, and examines the role of the imam in the end-of-life issue, recommended by Sr. Doha.
As the bridge, the Muslim chaplain serves as a link between the medical team, patient and family. And as author, the Muslim chaplain may have to produce literature to help patients and staff as Sr. Doha has done with her funeral guide and other documents.
As leader, Sr. Doha said she realized that the need for education on health care issues in Muslim communities was great, so the Muslim chaplain will naturally lead it. Education about patients’ rights and responsibilities, end-of-life issues, the hospital setting and the different health care providers involved in a patient care can be presented at a “health night” seminar in Islamic Centers and masaajid.
The final and most important role the Muslim chaplain will play, according to Sr. Doha, is that of a human. She defined that human as “a genuinely kind and noble person who extends a helping hand to fellow human beings at times of crisis and great personal reflection”.
Final Session: Appointing a Steering Committee Moderator: Dr. Louay Safi, Executive Director, ILDCIn a final session of the ISNA Leadership Development Center sponsored Muslim Chaplains’ Conference, the consensus among the participants was to continue the discussions and work together on ideas generated in this meeting. Dr. Louay Safi, Executive Director of ILDC suggested that the group select a steering committee that would plan next year’s conference and move forward with plans for the future.
The group present at the final session tentatively agreed that the days prior to ISNA’s main conference during the Labor Day weekend were a good time to convene, although there may be problems in the future years due to the start of Ramadan. Another disadvantage to this time of year that was expressed was its close proximity to the start of fall semester, making it difficult for university chaplains to attend.
A 7 member steering committee was suggested and includes the following:
1. State Prison Representative--Sr. Mumina Kowalski ( SCI Muncy, PA)
2. County Jail Representative—Br. Khalid Bilal (Cook County Jail, Chicago, IL)
3. Fed. Bureau of Prisons Representative—Br. Abu Ishaq Abdul Hafiz (FCI Terminal Island, CA)
4. Armed Forces Representative—Br. Khalid Shabazz (currently stationed at Columbia, SC)
5. Health Care Representative—Sr. Maryam Funches (currently working on doctorate/pastoral community counseling, CPE graduate from NIH and Johns Hopkins)
6. University Representative—To be appointed **
7. Volunteer Chaplain Representative—Sr. Doha Hamza (Stanford Medical Center, CA)
In order for this steering committee to work together effectively, it was suggested that a list-serv be set up to facilitate correspondence. A separate list-serv could be utilized for the general membership. Dr. Jimmy Jones offered his help setting up the lists.
**Sohaib Sultan, Chaplain at Trinity College in Hartford, CT and graduate of Hartford Seminary was mentioned as a possible candidate.
This concludes the report on the Aug. 30- Sept.1, 2005 Muslim Chaplains’ Conference held in Rosemont, IL sponsored by ILDC.
This report was written by Mumina Kowalski.
Please report any additions or corrections to this report to: mumina79@hotmail.com and nadia@isna.net