Spirituality vis-à-vis Muslim Filipino families: Implications for social work intervention

Introduction

Following the interest generated by 11 September 2001, also known as 9/11 (where terrorists crashed an airplane in downtown New York and elsewhere), it has become apparent that spirituality is critical to social work intervention with Muslim clientele and their families (Baum & Ramon, 2010; Crabtree, 2007). Documentation and anecdotal accounts of Muslim spirituality offer considerable evidence to substantiate that claim. Following terrorist destruction in New York City and Washington, DC, political pundits of every type have found solace in renewed appreciation for patriotism and calls to military action. Amid such fervor, social work intervention will require a more comprehensive approach to Muslim issues. Such an approach is compulsory if social work is to remain viable and loyal to its Code of Ethics (Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 1991). Furthermore, despite the events in New York and Washington, including commercial aircraft being used as missiles to assault non-military targets, social work is not unaffected. In the aftermath of these violent events is a concern for social workers’ ability to conduct ethical and effective intervention with the Muslim population. Failure on the part of social workers will have the potential to exacerbate political repercussions and reflect negatively on the profession in toto.

Political repercussions resulting from the events of 9/11 can potentially dampen enthusiasm for the incorporation of spirituality into social work practice. Such dampening effects will disserve intervention with Muslim families who may find themselves the clients of non-Muslim and/or in the case of immigrants, Western service providers. Without exception, the incorporation of Islamic as opposed to non-Muslim spirituality is a necessity of intervention for well-meaning non-Muslim social workers who may lack either the knowledge or motivation to apply it (Hodge, 2000). Thus, within society – despite rhetoric to the contrary – Islamic spirituality for Muslim clients is a prerequisite to therapeutic intervention services. Although the social work literature acknowledges spirituality among the list of resources, amidst the prioritization of more traditional social issues Islamic spirituality may have been all but trivialized (Callaghan & Schnell, 2009). A greater focus on the significance of said spirituality would enable social workers to intervene on behalf of Muslim clients efficiently and without incident. Instead, social work has relied too heavily upon non-spiritual techniques or non-Muslim traditions both of which are less relevant to Muslims. As a result, rather than asking how they might incorporate Islamic spirituality, social workers may pose nebulous questions such as: ‘What are the deficits of Muslim clients?’ or ‘In what ways can Muslims adjust to Judeo-Christian traditions?’

Conscientious social workers would be remiss to exclude a critical aspect of life from intervention when it is essential. Spirituality may enhance the therapeutic potential of family values, family belief systems, and family traditions that are otherwise inaccessible by non-sectarian, non-spiritual methods (Arberry, 2008). Furthermore, Islamic spirituality for Muslim clients may contain coping mechanisms that enable them to confront and overcome the many challenges of daily life when immersed in a Christian/Western social environment (Arberry, 2008). In an effort to educate and contribute to the effectiveness of social work intervention, this article has four objectives: 1) to provide a beginning introduction to history of the Muslim Filipino population; 2) to provide a brief definitive account of Islamic spirituality; 3) to provide a Filipina case study; and 4) to detail some of the implications of spirituality for Filipino and/or Muslim clients.

History of the Muslim Filipino population

Muslim Filipinos represent approximately 5 percent of the Philippine population (Dolan, 1991). As such they are the most significant minority in the islands nation. Racially they are diverse but of predominantly Asian descent and cannot be differentiated from the mainstream population aside from their religious traditions. In the 1970s aftermath of political turmoil the Filipino Muslim population known as Moro increasingly identified with Muslim communities around the world including Malaysia, Indonesia, Libya, and the various Middle Eastern countries (Arcilla, 1998). Tensions between Muslims and the Christian Filipino mainstream have been persistent, based upon accusations of economic neglect and societal prejudice against them.

Prior to the 1970s, and unlike Muslims in other areas of the world, Muslims in the Philippines have been less allied with one another preferring instead to emphasize their separate identities which has facilitated years of subgroup conflict. Not only do Filipino Muslims differ by language, etc., but additionally by political structures and Islamic traditions. The Tausugs, for example, were the first Muslims in the Philippines and have criticized the Yakan and Bajau peoples for not being true Muslims (Arcilla, 1998). Such criticisms were eventually subjugated by a shared historical experience relative to culture, social traditions, and legal practices.

Islamic spirituality

Among the various Muslim populations, Islamic spirituality is fundamental (Crisp, 2008). Any attempts on the part of social workers to define the concept of ‘spirituality’ relative to intervention will be fraught with formidable challenges. However, an appropriate genesis is contained in the root words for ‘spirit’. In Latin, the term spiritus conveys breath, courage, vigor, or life. According to Philip Sheldrake (1992), spiritus was an effort to translate a Greek noun pneuma into English and which appeared in the Pauline letters of the Holy Bible. Similar to its Hebrew counterpart, ruach, pneuma means ‘wind’, ‘breath’, ‘life’, and ‘spirit’ (Delbane & Montgomery, 1981; Roth, 1990). The fact that ‘spirit’ is so intimately associated with life is reflected in a definition of the tenth edition of Webster’s collegiate dictionary (Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1993): ‘an animating or vital principle held to give life to physical organisms’ (p. 1134). While the term ‘spirit’ implies physical vitality in ‘breath’, it is in fact essential to much more than respiration. According to Rudolph Otto (1958), ‘spirit’ also pertains to ‘the holy’. In such a context, ‘spirituality’ refers to the human search for purpose and meaning in life. Much to the dismay of some, the aforementioned concept of ‘spirituality’ does not necessarily pertain to the existence of a Supreme Being or a higher source of power. However, germane to Islamic spirituality among Muslims in the Philippines and elsewhere is their unwavering belief in the religion of Islam.

The term Islam was derived from the triliteral Arabic root ‘S-L-M’, consisting of three letters and especially of three consonants (Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1993). Among other things, the S-L-M means peace, purity, submission, and obedience (Abdulati, 2002). In a more succinct reference, Islam is submission to the Will of God and obedience to His law. The relevance between the literal and religious context of Islam illustrates a salient connection. Hence, it is only by submission to God’s Will and obedience to His law that believers can achieve peace and everlasting purity manifested through Islam.

The primary literature of Islam is found in the Koran, which contains the exact words of God as revealed to the Angel Gabriel and conveyed by the prophet Muhammad (Arberry, 2008). Upon learning of the Koran, Muslims believe that Muhammad then memorized its words and instructed his companions. During the life of Muhammad, scribes recorded the words as revealed to him and found in the Koran. Believers contend that the Koran is a compilation of verbatim quotes that have not changed over centuries. It serves as a guide as to how Muslims should live their lives and provides a reference for faith and spirituality. The issues addressed in the Koran are critical for all of humanity including: wisdom, beliefs, worship, and law. Most importantly, the Koran, for those who follow Islam, pertains to the relationship between God and His creatures. Subsequently, it imparts directives for a just society, proper human relationships, and equal divisions of power (Abdulati, 2002).

Those who follow Islam believe that submission and obedience to the Will of God ensure peace and harmony. Doing so accommodates peace among men and peace between man and God. It will also facilitate a harmonious connection between man and nature. Through Islam, all worldly phenomena – including men – are subject to God’s law. Accordingly, the entirety of physical existence is subject to God’s law, which Muslims believe is in a state of Islam. Therefore, the physical universe does not exist of its own accord. It has no inherent will of its own other than the Will of God to which it is inclined to submit. Man, on the other hand, is unique. As an intelligent being, he alone is endowed with the ability of making choices. The ability to make choices via intelligence means that man can submit to or stray from the Will of God. When he chooses submission, he will be in harmony with all elements of the universe. When he chooses to stray he will be out of synch with the Will of God and suffer the consequences in various pathologies (Abdulati, 2002; Frame, 2003). Muslims who find themselves submerged in Christian and/or Western social environments encounter challenges to their Islamic spirituality and psychological well-being similar to the following Filipina case study.

A Filipina case study

The psychological well-being of Filipino Muslims is contingent upon access to their Islamic spirituality. Filipino families who follow Islam believe that submission and obedience of daughters to the Will of God is not irrelevant to family esteem. Knowing this, social workers who provide intervention to Muslim clients can bring about desired changes expeditiously. It is not compulsory that they endorse client belief systems, but they should acknowledge such systems as applicable to the client’s frame of reference as in the case of Juvy.

Juvy X is a 17-year-old female Muslim student from a small village in Mindano, Philippines. She left her village for the first time in her life at 17 years of age to attend a Christian college in Manila. She was the only Muslim student on its campus among a population of approximately 4500 Roman Catholics. Her family preferred she not attend such a college but Juvy insisted because it had the best medical school in the Philippines. Wanting to become a doctor to provide medical care for her village, the school offered her a full scholarship. Because Juvy’s parents were poor and the village needed a doctor, her father and extended family members agreed under protest to allow her to enroll.

Toward the end of her first semester Juvy became increasingly overwhelmed with stress. Without any family to turn to for support at such a distance from her small village she made an appointment to see the campus social worker at school named Sue B. By the time she met with Sue B the stress had become pathological to her psychological well-being, causing her to lose interest in her classes as her grades declined significantly. She had no access to Islamic clergy who might invigorate her spirituality and thus felt a lack of direction and purpose in her life. Juvy was most concerned about feeling estranged from her family as she had never been away from home for any extended period of time in her life.

When they met Juvy reported to the social worker that she was an only child, and, being away at college, had no access to support systems normally provided by her extended family of aunts, uncles, nephews, etc. To fit in among classmates at school Juvy reported to Sue B that she sought refuge at the weekend campus parties and sporting events of her Christian friends which everyone attended. By end of the first month at school submerged in such a social environment Juvy no longer covered her hair and neglected many of her Islamic traditions which she never had in the village. Her daily reading of the Koran had been reduced to once or twice a week depending on her social activities. Time progressed and by December most of her attention was focused on the upcoming Christmas holidays about which her Christian friends talked constantly. Juvy eventually realized that she was going astray from her spiritual obligations as her father had warned. She confided to Sue B that a sense of guilt about her religious traditions had left her sad, emotionally stressed, and that she ‘couldn’t escape the bloz [blahs]’ (colloquial language meaning depression).

The campus social worker whom Juvy saw was a Christian who knew about Filipino Muslims but had never seen them on campus. While she lacked experience Sue B was sensitive to the spiritual needs of Muslim students so she asked Juvy about the sources of support she had at school. Sue B also inquired from Juvy about any spiritual connections to Islam in the Manila community at large that might be applicable during such a depressing and stressful time such as the Christmas holidays. Juvy reported to the social worker that she had been reared in a traditional Islamic family, but felt that she could not adhere to some of the beliefs such as Ramadan, especially during the Christmas season because her Christian school did not provide the opportunity. Consequently, Juvy reported that she had spent the first months of her time at school ‘not being a good Muslim’. This bothered her and caused tension with her father who would have preferred she not attend a Christian college. Juvy also told Sue B that she was curious about Christian spirituality, but that by tradition such curiosity might lead to the ultimate insult to her father, family and Islamic village community. She was amenable to any suggestions Sue B might have about how to embark on an intellectual journey without compromising her Islamic spirituality. She said she did not want to convert to Christianity, but that she wanted to do something to reinvigorate her belief in Islam.

Upon their second session Sue B provided Juvy with information about how to meet people in the Manila Muslim community and advised her to keep a journal of her encounters. Juvy indicated that she was ready to try her suggestions if they could help her spiritually. After meeting with the social worker, Juvy purchased a book for maintaining a journal from the school bookstore and the following weekend attended a community event on the spiritual challenges of the medical profession.

While school was closed for the Christmas holidays Juvy did not go home but stayed with a Muslim family of a Filipina student she had met at the medical conference. She kept detailed notes about her activities which made reference to a large number of Islamic traditions she had previously neglected. Adherence to Islam seemed much easier in an Islamic spiritual environment provided by the family of her Filipina Muslim friend.

By the beginning of her spring semester at school, Juvy reported to Sue B that she was no longer feeling as depressed and that she was excited to have met several other Filipina Muslim students introduced to her by the friend she’d met at the conference and at whose home she stayed during the Christmas holidays. They were all accessible as they too were attending college in the area. Being older students, Juvy’s Muslim friends had had similar experiences as she had and were helpful in their advice. Juvy felt a sense of family toward these students who enabled rejuvenation of her Islamic spirituality as they often prayed and read the Koran together.

In a non-Muslim or Christian environment, many Filipinos such as Juvy, who are both young and away from family for the first time, feel similarly depressed about neglecting their Islamic traditions in an effort to conform to a Christian social environment. The students Juvy met were able to reinforce Islamic spirituality in one another and absolve themselves of any impending guilt. Juvy soon joined a local mosque in a small village nearby and reported to Sue B that her advice was just what she needed to feel spiritual again (personal interview, 3 July 2009). Her depression dissipated and her grades returned to what they had been before becoming stressed. Informing her father of her experience in letters home, Juvy had repaired the family damage brought by temporary estrangement from her Islamic spirituality.

The aforementioned case study is a dramatic illustration of three key issues for the conduct of social work intervention. They include the following: an Islamic support system; reinforcement of spiritual identity; and a family experience provided by accessible individuals available for guidance.

Implications of spirituality for Filipino and/or Muslim clients

The implications of spirituality for social work intervention include the need for practitioners to acknowledge and, when appropriate via Islamic traditions, to apply values, belief systems, and other culturally specific criteria. Sensitive social work practice may be inclined to do so but normally operates via a non-sectarian model. Spiritually sensitive social work practice enriches as per the specific values, belief systems and cultural criteria it applies and thus reinforces spiritual identity. While there does exist some differentiation between culture and religion, culture for Muslims operates in the context of religion and thus Islam arguably takes precedence.

Relative to the aforementioned case study the social worker effectively intervened by referring the Muslim client to an Islamic support system. Muslims submerged in a predominantly Christian social environment for the first time have special mental health needs that require experience and guidance to successfully navigate. Youthful Filipinas, in particular, whose experience with independence is limited, may become overwhelmed by responsibilities previously the domain of their familial support systems. The Islamic support system provided in the aforementioned case study amounted to a therapeutic family experience to the client which significantly reduced her level of stress. The Islamic spiritual support system also provided the social worker with alternatives to bring about desired changes or in this case, coping mechanisms. It was not compulsory that the Christian social worker endorse the client’s belief system or other aspects of his/her spirituality, but he/she acknowledged such a system by arranging for spiritually relevant social support.

Especially for Filipinas where Islam is the spiritual tradition, reverence for the patriarch, as well as concern for the family’s status, provides a strong sense of solidarity and loyalty (Wasfi, 1964). Hence, social workers must know that individual family members are not free to live independently even when away from home. They are required to consider family in each of their life decisions as prescribed by the Koran (Arcilla, 1998). By attending a Christian college which the father did not fully endorse strained the familial constellation of the client unnecessarily. That strain provided a feedback loop which caused the client stress. The support system conferred with while the client was away at college reduced family tensions in its suggestion of the client’s spiritual activity which pleased the patriarch. The Koran, being the direct instruction from God, means that family members are required to respect the patriarch by fulfilling rules of required behavior. The client’s curiosity about Christianity and delight in Christian holidays and other school activities alone was enough family stress to cause disjuncture because as a faithful Muslim personal preference could not take priority. A Muslim’s ability to adhere to spiritual directives reflects not so much upon them personally but upon the family in particular the patriarch and its kinship network. In fact as per Islamic spirituality, patriarchs are esteemed members of the family. Their superior status may cause conflict in non-Muslim social work settings. In fact, said status means that the patriarch has the right of final decision for all members of the family which may conflict with Western and/or Christian values. However, unless influenced by traditional Christian norms, stress levels may not increase for Filipina Muslim clients.

Conclusion

From the perspective of a social worker, there are several reasons why they might consider the incorporation of Islamic spirituality during intervention with Filipina Muslim clients. First, the effects of spirituality are well known and are likely to enable intervention with such clients (Mattson, 2005). Second, the term ‘spirituality’, for some social workers, conjures up images of legal conflicts (legal charges of promoting sectarianism by a profession which values diversity) with the potential to charge emotions; when associated with stereotypes the term encourages knee-jerk condemnation of an entire religious group, their social structure, lifestyle, and other aspects of their being (Bar-Tal & Labin, 2001). The outcome may impair the ability of such groups to sustain themselves in a Christian and/or Western social environment unless more rational factions prevail. Third, Islamic spirituality as pertains to Filipinos at home or Muslim Filipino immigrants must be viewed separate and apart from the legal process. To do otherwise will bias intervention, thus rendering social work less potent in its ability to accommodate Muslim clients.

Beyond legal conflicts, the most efficient means of enabling intervention with Muslim clients is for social workers to become more educated about Islam and its significance to Muslim spirituality. Education relative to spirituality and Islam together will enable intervention (Al-Krenawi & Graham, 2000). Social workers who are so enabled will be in a better position to learn and assist Muslim clients in sustaining themselves. Furthermore, social workers who help reinforce respect for immigrant Muslim populations build the self-esteem of younger family members. This will assist the group's ability to survive both in a predominantly non-Muslim homeland, on college campuses in big cities and in Western nations.

Filipino immigration to Western nations has been active since the conclusion of the Spanish–American War. Contrary to assumption, while most Filipino natives and immigrants are Asian they are not an Asian monolith of Christian Roman Catholics. A significant number belong to racial, ethnic and religious orders not readily apparent. In the Philippines the racial natives include Arabs and Negritos. As pertains to religion, Islam in particular is predominant in the southern Philippines where tensions between Muslims and Christians may be more pronounced. Furthermore, Muslim immigrants who settle in Western nations include Latinos, Europeans, Africans, and Caribbeans whose cultural and Islamic spiritual traditions may vary. When these immigrants settle in Western nations where Christianity is the tradition, uninformed social workers may be less prepared to acknowledge their existence or intervene appropriately. Therefore social workers who intervene on behalf of Muslim clients should cultivate working relationships with Islamic clergy which is as critical as understanding their Islamic spirituality. If direct access to clergy is not possible Islamic peers such as students in the case study can play an invaluable support function. Their support can prove useful in the clarification of traditional norms, the facilitation of referrals to other service providers and networking with same otherwise a less likely intervention by non-Muslim social workers.

Spiritual support systems can be mutually beneficial to the extent that both community and social workers are empowered by the information that is exchanged. Said exchange may accommodate future intervention by non-Muslim social workers attempting to intervene on behalf of Muslim clientele. Furthermore, while some Muslim students such as Juvy may prefer assistance from Islamic personnel if available, others may be uncomfortable or self-conscious about expressing family concerns to Islamic members of a small village or otherwise tight-knit community. Under such circumstances, the availability of non-Muslim and/or Christian social workers might prove invaluable. What is more, the availability of non-Muslim social workers will be particularly helpful if in fact the spiritual system (Islam) is the focus of the client’s concern. The social worker will allow clients like Juvy who was curious about Christianity to explore spiritual alternatives within the context of a spiritually neutral social work environment.

Equally important for Western social workers is to become informed about the significance of Islamic spirituality among Filipinos and other Muslim clientele. One approach to being informed is to create tolerant environments by the building of bridges between Muslim and non-Muslim communities, bridges beyond what is professionally necessary. The focus should be on Islamic traditions, rather than on terrorist acts associated with any one member(s) of Islamic society. Community action groups and youth projects, which familiarize the otherwise unfamiliar, have the potential to validate social work as a legitimate helping profession among Muslims who might not otherwise seek intervention services (Santamour, 2007).

Due to the potential for harmful value judgments and legal repercussions brought by spirituality, it is critical that social workers exercise caution when incorporating spirituality into their intervention strategies. From a traditional Christian perspective, some aspects of Islam and other manifestations of non-Christian spirituality might appear abnormal and indeed dysfunctional. For example, among certain Christian sects is the phenomenon of ‘speaking in tongues’, where church-goers slip into a trance-like state and begin to verbalize in an unfamiliar language (Gilbert, 2000). In the not too distant past, such persons would have been diagnosed as psychotic and prescribed psychotropic medication. In fact, among these Christian sects, speaking in tongues is not regarded as psychotic or abnormal. Indeed, it is perceived by them as a gift from God. Thus, for legal as well as practice reasons, non-Muslim social workers should resist the inclination to label spiritual phenomena simply because it is unfamiliar and/or not Christian in origin. Furthermore, social workers who serve Muslim clients and their families should also be cognizant of their own belief systems and what that conveys to the client (Gilbert, 2000). Their position on Islamic spirituality is not irrelevant to setting the tone of the practice environment (Gilbert, 2000). From those who endorse Islam to those who reject it, there will be an impact in a myriad of ways.

Lastly, the ability of Christian and/or non-Muslim social workers to accurately perceive, conceptualize, and interact with Muslim clients is a necessity in a rapidly changing and complex world. In order to enhance harmony and reduce the threats of terrorism, social workers and other concerned citizens should acknowledge that all groups have assets, capacities, and strengths that should be reinforced despite the heinous acts committed by a relative few (Sontag, 2001). Since many of these assets such as cultural technologies are derived from cultural legacies, social workers should increase their cultural knowledge base considerably. Otherwise, their lack of education could contribute to the extinction of an irreplaceable component of mankind, which might prove antidotal to violence and terrorism worldwide. Furthermore, at a time of increased contacts between the world’s various populations, social workers are confronted by issues and perspectives that did not require intellectual consideration in the past (Shatz, 2001). They are thus challenged to develop creative strategies less confined to bias. Additionally, journal editors, book publishers and other affiliates of the ‘fact’ manufacture industry must be actively receptive to the consideration of alternative views. That consideration must remain consistent and viable without interruption from unpredictable events to sustain the integrity and prestige of the social work profession in toto.