Social Work And The House Of Islam Analysis

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Reaction: Social Work and The House of Islam
This paper will be a personal reflection on the fact, credibility, reaction to, and application of David Hodge’s article, Social Work and the House of Islam: Orienting Practitioners to the Beliefs and Values of Muslims in the United States.
Fact
This article began by describing the different branches of Islam. The Sunni Muslims are the most common sect, followed by the Shiites. The author drew a comparison to help understand the difference between the two main sects of the faith. Sunni Muslims generally consider their relationship with their god to be personal, like that of the Protestant. Most Shiite Muslims relate more to the hierarchy of authority described by Catholics. There is a third branch, …show more content…

They are shahada, zakat, shalat, sawm, and hajj. Shahada refers to the belief in a single omnipotent God whose messenger is Mohammed. Zakat is their daily prayers. Shalat is charity and giving to the community. Sawm is fasting through the month of Ramadan. Hajj is a pilgrimage to the holy city. Other important values are modesty and community. Family and God are the center of everything.
Credibility
Overall, the article seems to be credible. The author is a professor at a university and has written several other works. His sources are easily identifiable and the bibliography is thorough. The comparisons, practice suggestions, and explanations all seem clear and relevant. The article does not seem to have been written with any agenda or goal other than social work …show more content…

This was very helpful, especially when talking about the role of women in society. To know that women in both cultures can see the other as oppressed helped to challenge any ethnocentric views that may have influenced me. It is so easy to have a gut reaction based on stories of extremism, but the article said that often veils are often seen as a sort of freedom. It talked about a woman who saw it as a way to be valued for her work instead of her image.
Another area I greatly appreciated was the discussion of community. The family unit is important and roles of marriage are to complement each other. The husband (or oldest man present) is the head of household. There is a great emphasis on success of extended family and larger groups. In practice settings, this could mean a lot of work to integrate other people into the therapeutic process. The Islamic Society of North America is a resource that I did not know about. I also didn’t know that Imams are Muslim spiritual leaders available for consultation. This knowledge has a lot of practice implications.

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