Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

When Trauma and Citizenship Intersect: British Muslims Volunteering for Mental Health Services

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Muslim Volunteering in the West

Part of the book series: New Directions in Islam ((NDI))

  • 300 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter focuses on young British Muslim in London who volunteered for a community mental health helpline. Based on the analysis of biographical stories, this micro-sociological work demonstrates that Muslim volunteers directly or indirectly exposed to experiences of trauma, such as racism or Islamophobia, develop an active practice of citizenship. Reading situations of intersectional trauma through the prism of faith, religious ethics, and practices, they consider it to be their responsibility as a citizen to care for the vulnerable in the society. Equipping volunteers with a range of skills, their civic experiences also shape the subjects’ personal and professional trajectories after their engagement for the mental health helpline ended; many of them have developed critical artistic practices or set up community initiatives around contemporary social issues

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Culture-sensitive mental health services are designed to take into account the cultural or religious background of beneficiaries. Some of these services, when adapted for Muslims for example, offer beneficiaries to consult a Muslim therapist, to access services in other languages (Arabic, Urdu, or Bangla), or to see non-Muslim therapists trained in respecting religious or cultural sensitivities.

  2. 2.

    https://www.rethink.org/search?s=sahayak.

  3. 3.

    https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/our-policy-work/equality-human-rights/our-work-with-muslim-communities/.

  4. 4.

    https://www.myh.org.uk/faqs. All subsequently presented information on the MYH was obtained through direct interviews with the MYH managers in October 2018.

  5. 5.

    Participants’ real names have been replaced by pseudonyms, and any data allowing the identification of the subjects have been changed.

  6. 6.

    Sadaqa , often translated as an act of charity in English, is a voluntary and non-obligatory act of worship.

  7. 7.

    From kismat (destiny), meaning here going with the flow and believing that friendships are the result of the divine will.

References

  • Abu-Ras, W. (2003). Barriers to Services for Arab Immigrant Battered Women in a Detroit Suburb. Social Work Research and Evaluation, 3(4), 49–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adler, R., & Goggin, J. (2005). What Do We Mean By ‘Civic Engagement’? Journal of Transformative Education, 3(3), 236–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amath, N. (2015). The Phenomenology of Community Activism: Muslim Civil Society Organisations in Australia. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amer, M. M. (2005). Arab American Mental Health in the Post September 11 Era: Acculturation, Stress, and Coping. Dissertation (online). Retrieved March 16, 2019, from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6b27/5983c5658b167d38cd8961d3bdfcebdd5129.pdf

  • Barylo, W. (2017a). Young Muslim Change-Makers. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Barylo, W. (2017b). Islam as a Matrix: Young Muslim Volunteers Blurring the Lines Between Mundane and Sacred. Method and Theory in the Study of Religion, 29(2), 181–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caillé, A. (2009). Théorie Anti-Utilitariste de l’Action et du Sujet [Anti-utilitarian Theory of Action and Subject]. Paris: La Découverte.

    Google Scholar 

  • Care Quality Commission (2011). National Mental Health Development Unit, Count Me In Census 2010. April 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2019, from https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/count_me_in_2010_final_tagged.pdf

  • Cefaï, D. (2007). Pourquoi se Mobilise-t-on? Les Théories de l’Action Collective. Paris: La Découverte.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chakraborty, A., & McKenzie, K. (2002). Does Racial Discrimination Cause Mental Illness? The British Journal of Psychiatry, 180(6), 475–477.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chanial, P. (2003). La culture primaire de la démocratie : Communautés locales, publics démocratiques et associations. In D. Cefaï & D. Pasquier (Eds.), Les Sens du public. Publics politiques, publics médiatiques (pp. 269–289). Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chidester, D. (2005). Authentic Fakes: Religion and Popular American Culture. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, P. A. B. (1994). Citizenship: A Reader. London: Pluto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clifford, J. (1992). Travelling Cultures. In L. Grossberg, C. Nelson, & P. Treichler (Eds.), Cultural Studies (pp. 96–116). New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Day, M. (2010). How to Keep It Real. Method & Theory in the Study of Religion, 22(3), 272–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dein, S., & Illaiee, A. (2013). Jinn and Mental Health: Looking at Jinn Possession in Modern Psychiatric Practice. The Psychiatrist, 37(9), 290–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Descola, P. (2005). Par-delà nature et culture. Paris: Gallimard.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emden, C. J., & Midgley, D. (Eds.). (2012). Changing Perceptions of the Public Sphere. New York, NY: Berghahn Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fadil, N. (2006). We Should be Walking Qurans: The Making of an Islamic Political Subject. In G. Jonker & V. Amiraux (Eds.), Politics of Visibility. Young Muslims in European Public Spaces (pp. 53–78). Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Göle, N. (2005). Interpénétrations. L’Islam et l’Europe. Paris: Galaade.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas, J. (1978 [1962]). L’espace public: archéologie de la publicité comme dimension constitutive de la société bourgeoise (De Launay, J. B., Trans.) [The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere]. Paris: Payot.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halman, L. (2003). Volunteering, Democracy, and Democratic Values. In P. Dekker & L. Halman (Eds.), The Values of Volunteering Cross-Cultural Perspectives (pp. 179–198). New York, NY: Kluwer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hoskins, B., & Mascherini, M. (2009). Measuring Active Citizenship Through the Development of a Composite Indicator. Social Indicators Research, 90(3), 459–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, Z. (2006). Attitudes Toward Counseling and Alternative Support Among Muslims in Toledo, Ohio. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 1(1), 21–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kunst, J. R., Sam, D. L., & Ulleberg, P. (2012). Perceived Islamophobia: Scale development and Validation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 37(2), 225–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lim, A., Hoek, H. W., Ghane, S., Deen, M., & Blom, J. D. (2018). The Attribution of Mental Health Problems to Jinn: An Explorative Study in a Transcultural Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic. Frontiers in Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00089.

  • Mauss, M. (2007 [1924]). Essai sur le don [Essay on Gift]. Paris: Presses Universitaires France.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAndrew, S., & Voas, D. (2014). Immigrant Generation, Religiosity and Civic Engagement in Britain. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 37(1), 99–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morin, E. (1977). La Méthode: La nature de la Nature. Paris: Seuil.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morin, E. (1986). La Méthode: La vie de la Vie. Paris: Seuil.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mouffe, C. (1992). Dimensions of Radical Democracy: Pluralism, Citizenship, Community. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mustafa, A. (2016). Active Citizenship, Dissent and Civic Consciousness: Young Muslims Redefining Citizenship on Their Own Terms. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, 23(4), 454–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Loughlin, B., & Gillespie, M. (2012). Dissenting Citizenship? Young People and Political Participation in the Media-Security Nexus. Parliamentary Affairs, 65(1), 115–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Office for National Statistics (ONS). (2012). Religion in England and Wales 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2019, from http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/articles/religioninenglandandwales2011/2012-12-11

  • Owen, D., & Rehman, H. (2013). Mental Health Survey of Ethnic Minorities. Ethnos. Retrieved March 16, 2019, from https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/sites/default/files/TTC_Final%20Report_ETHNOS_summary_0.pdf

  • Pędziwiatr, K. (2010). The New Muslim Elites in European Cities: Religion and Active Social Citizenship Amongst Young Organized Muslims in Brussels and London. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peucker, M. (2018). On the (In)Compatibility of Islamic Religiosity and Citizenship in Western Democracies: The Role of Religion for Muslims’ Civic and Political Engagement. Politics and Religion, 11(3), 553–575.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pocock, J. G. A. (1998). The Ideal of Citizenship Since Classical Times. Queen’s Quarterly, 99(1), 33–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. D. (1993). What Makes Democracy Work? National Civic Review, 82(2), 101–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rival, M. (2008). Associations et entrepreneuriat institutionnel. In C. Hoarau & J.-L. Laville (Eds.), La gouvernance des associations (pp. 215–225). Paris: Eres.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roose, J., & Harris, A. (2015). Muslim Citizenship in Everyday Australian Civic Spaces. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 36(4), 468–486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tweed, T. A. (2006). Crossing and Dwelling: A Theory of Religion. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Vergani, M., Johns, A., Lobo, M., & Mansouri, F. (2017). Examining Islamic Religiosity and Civic Engagement in Melbourne. Journal of Sociology, 53(1), 63–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Warwick University, Coventry, UK

    William Barylo

Authors
  1. William Barylo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to William Barylo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Mario Peucker

  2. University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    Merve Reyhan Kayikci

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Barylo, W. (2020). When Trauma and Citizenship Intersect: British Muslims Volunteering for Mental Health Services. In: Peucker, M., Kayikci, M. (eds) Muslim Volunteering in the West. New Directions in Islam. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26057-6_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26057-6_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-26056-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-26057-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation