By

Questions about your personal conversion experience may come in many forms: “So, what’s your story?”; “Why did you convert?”; and “…can I ask you a question?” These among many others provide a cue for you to share your own story of conversion.

As converts (aka, reverts), we are asked to tell and re-tell the story of our journey to Islam. Not only is this task often fatiguing, but it can also be difficult to pinpoint what factors were most significant in our decisions to convert. When I recount the story of my own conversion, I recognize that I relay different aspects of the same story depending on my audience and the time allotted (i.e., the short version or the long version). But what story do we tell when others are not around—what really matters?

My personal journey to shahadah (testimony of faith) was long and a bit complicated, with multiple factors contributing to my choice to convert. Following this complex experience, I find that connecting with my original motivations for converting helps me to remember the reasons I originally fell in love with Islam, restoring my faith if I ever feel overwhelmed by my life as a convert.

When listening to others who have embraced Islam recount their stories of conversion, I have observed many similarities as well as vast differences. My passion for scientific inquiry coupled with my desire to help others through my clinical psychology skills inspired me to further explore this topic. As a scientist, these differences fascinate me. As a clinician, I want to help people tell their stories in a way that can be therapeutic.

In order to gather more information more about this topic, I am further developing a conversion questionnaire that can potentially be used by mental health professionals (e.g., counselors, psychologists, social workers) who work with converts. I am hopeful that this questionnaire will be a tool for converts to gain insight into their own motivations for converting as well as help mental health professionals better understand the Muslim conversion experience. When used in a clinical setting, I believe that this questionnaire can assist a convert in understanding their reasons for converting while also serving as a clinical tool for his or her therapist so that this topic can be adequately addressed in therapy, if necessary.

As a part of this project, I would like to invite converts over the age of 18 from the United States to participate in this online study. The questionnaire will likely take approximately 15 minutes to complete. There are no known risks to participating in this research study. Participation will, however, likely add to the scientific understanding of why individuals convert to Islam and may benefit Muslim converts seeking psychotherapy. All data will be collected anonymously and answers cannot be linked to individuals, email addresses, or IP addresses. Participants will have the opportunity to enter a drawing for a $50 Amazon.com gift card at the end of the study when they will be asked to provide their email address through a separate link (solely so the winner may receive the gift card). More detailed information about the study will be provided through the study’s website (see link below).

Link to the Survey: https://xavier.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0e4SVDpNAacqNP7

Video Description of Study:

This doctoral dissertation is being conducted under the supervision of Dr. John J. Barrett. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Holly Ait Taouit, M.A. or John J. Barrett, Ph.D. Questions about the rights of research participants should be directed to Xavier University’s Institutional Review Board.

Holly Ait Taouit is a psychologist-in-training and convert to Islam. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Sociology, a Master’s Degree in Psychology, and is currently a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology at Xavier University. She converted to Islam in September of 2011 during her graduate studies and has had a long-vested interest in religion and spirituality. Her clinical interests include geropsychology, health psychology, psychology in primary care, and the integration of spirituality and mental health. She is currently completing her clinical internship and intends to graduate with her Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) degree in May of 2016.

In Light of October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month

By Sarah Jukaku

As Muslims we know that modesty, both outward and inward, is an important part of our religion. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “Every faith has an innate character. The character of Islam is modesty.” (Malik) But what does this mean when it comes to our interactions with our doctors? And what impact might it be having on our health?

Many of us have had discussions with Muslim friends and colleagues about uncomfortable experiences at the doctor, or about the Islamic rulings regarding certain behaviors related to medical care in Islam. For me, these discussions sparked an interest in how interpretations of modesty may influence a Muslim woman’s health behaviors. For my thesis in Sociology, I created a 96-question survey and asked over 250 Muslim women on MSA and mosque mailing lists across the Midwest about their attitudes toward modesty, religion, health attitudes and behaviors. Specifically, I focused on attitudes and behaviors related to sexual health and exercise.

Although some similar work has been done in this area, the few studies conducted had a small number of respondents, all of whom had immigrated to the US. In my work, I was interested in studying how religiosity affects modesty on a population level and how this may be influencing health behaviors and attitudes, especially for non-immigrant Muslim women.

First, I used my survey to assess if the personal beliefs and medical encounters regarding modesty that were experienced by my friends and I were felt by the majority. Although only God can be the judge of what is in a person’s heart, in conducting this research I was forced to come up with a quantitative method to measure the survey respondents’ religiosity and modesty. I found that women who fell in the highest modesty category were significantly more likely to indicate that if they felt uncomfortable during a medical exam, it was for religious reasons over anything else.

Furthermore, they were more likely to report preferences for providers who were female and Muslim, which is likely based in the opinion of the majority of Islamic scholars on this issue. Many of the women in the highest modesty group also reported feeling bothered if they requested a female physician at a visit to the doctor and received a male one instead, with many of them further indicating that they would not continue the exam with a male physician.

Finally, the results of the study also suggested that more modest women were more likely to report that they felt uncomfortable in co-ed exercise facilities, and that they felt that their interpretations of modesty made it more difficult for them to work out and stay in shape.

Although the results of my study may seem like common sense to a Muslim audience, to a non-Muslim audience these results are surprising. Many of my colleagues and professors were shocked that the majority of the women that I surveyed were highly educated, had health insurance, and were mostly born in the US. Because many Americans are unaware of the preferences of the average Muslim female patient, it is important that this information be made available to the health care community. I hope that this study will spark further research in the area, including comparative studies between Muslim and non-Muslim women’s health behaviors to assess if the above results really are unique to Muslimahs. Furthermore, from the results of my study related to health attitudes and awareness, it seemed that there was some confusion about the importance of certain health behaviors and the Islamic rulings surrounding how to go about doing them, with culture as well as exposure to health and/or Islamic education likely to have been involved in influencing some of these responses.

Therefore, it is important that we as a community have a forum where our leaders can educate women in the community on Islamic rulings related to health, advising us on what to do in medical situations that Muslims in the west commonly find themselves in. Furthermore, it may also be valuable to have a discussion as a community about whether or not we should allow our young women to attend sexual health education courses in school so that they can be educated on healthy behaviors. Alternatively it may also be helpful for the Muslim community itself to offer courses in areas such as these—perhaps in the safe mother-daughter format that many churches offer—so that young people can feel that they have someone to talk to about sensitive issues such as these.

Finally, another important finding in my study was that most of the women did not exercise regularly. Many of us know that our body is an amanah (trust) given to us by God and that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ took part and excelled in activities such as wrestling and archery, and it is therefore imperative that leaders in our community discuss the importance of physical fitness, helping Muslim women to find opportunities to stay active in environments that are in sync with Islamic rulings.

Ibn Mas`ud used to say:

I swear by Allah, besides whom there is no other diety, no chapter of the Qur’an has been revealed except that I know where it was revealed. No verse from the Book of Allah has been revealed except that I know why it was revealed. Yet if I knew of anyone more learned than me in the Book of Allah, I would make every effort to reach him.

… A man traveled from Kufa to Syria to ask Abu Darda’ about the validity of an oath he had taken. Also, Sa`id ibn Jubayr traveled from Kufa to Makkah to ask Ibn `Abbas about the explanation of a single verse in the Qur’an. Hasan Al-Basri traveled to Kufa to ask Ka`b ibn `Ujra about the atonement for al-adha [during the pilgrimage].¹

No “Blind Faith”

Caring to find the answer is part of sincerity in the deen (religion). How often have we discussed “controversial” issues like al-hudud (punishments specified in Shari`ah), socio-economic systems in Islam, women’s rights and gender roles, and heard discontentment in one of our brothers’ or sisters’ tone? For various reasons, they still had questions as the issue was not clear or did not satisfy their sense of justice.

Unfortunately, many of the youth find themselves poorly equipped to face the attacks on Islam in the media and the world of Western academia. Much of the rhetoric and generalizations leave burning questions unanswered.

Or are they truly unanswered?

In the last two years, I have attended various conferences, lectures and workshops. In each, I was blessed to hear answers to all the burning questions I heard in prior discussions. Sadly, however, the individuals who needed to hear the answer most were nowhere to be found. They would often miss the program because they did not expect to learn anything new.

Disillusionment.

The early Muslim generations modeled deep faith and optimism during periods of doubt. They ensured that the doubt was only temporary as they actively sought the answers to put their hearts and minds at ease.

Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah), the Muslim community is blessed with many scholars and da`iyahs, and in a time when communication was never easier, we have no excuses to leave unanswered questions that cast doubt in our hearts.

Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala – Glory be unto Him) rewards the determination to “invite to Allah’s way with baseerah [insight]” (12:108) by guiding us further and granting us taqwa.

“And those who are guided – He increases them in guidance and gives them their righteousness.” (47:17)

The determination to find answers reflects commitment to pleasing Allah (swt), learning the truth, believing in it fully and implementing it with baseerah. Out of Allah’s mercy, He guides the questioner to the answer and additional, beneficial knowledge and grants him/her the tool to ultimately win: taqwa.

And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger and fears Allah and is conscious of Him – it is those who are the attainers. (24:52)