Muslim Americans
The Muslim American identity is complex. Muslim Americans come from a variety of backgrounds that intersect religion, gender, skin color, ethnicity, and language. Nearly 3.5 million Muslims live in the United States, making up 1.1 percent of the total population.
More than 40 percent of Muslim Americans in this country were born and raised in the United States. The other 58 percent are immigrants, often from countries undergoing deep conflict, strife, and instability.
Mental Health Risk Factors
The heightened anti-Muslim rhetoric of our political and social environment has created the phenomenon of irrational fear of Islam and its adherents. Muslims residing in the United States are not immune to these threats. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States rose 91% in the first half of 2017 compared with the same period in 2016. A Pew Research Center analysis of new hate crimes statistics from the FBI found the number of assaults against Muslims in the United States rose significantly between 2015 and 2016, easily surpassing the level of hate crimes against Muslims after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Another Pew Research Center survey conducted in early 2017 found that three-quarters of American Muslim adults say there is “a lot” of discrimination against Muslims in the U.S., a view shared by nearly 7 in 10 adults in the general public. In addition, half of American Muslim adults say that in recent years it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the U.S., with 10% of this group attributing this to discrimination, racism, and prejudice.
Discrimination and Islamaphobia
Oftentimes, Islamophobia adds to already existing layers of trauma, particularly for Muslims who have immigrated to the U.S. seeking safety from conflict-heavy regions of the world.
Muslims often report feeling attacked, isolated, and alienated in the U.S. This affects not only Muslims, but anyone who “appears” or “sounds” Muslim. Muslim women, especially those who wear the Islamic outer Islamic covering, hijab, have become victims of harassment, intimidation, and physical violence. Muslim youth are treated as potential threats and bullied by peers and those in authority, including teachers and professors. Muslim children are more likely to be bullied in school than children of other faiths. A survey by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) reveals that 42% of Muslims with children in K–12 schools report bullying of their children because of their faith. The study concluded that the daily, repetitive harassment Muslims face is the biggest factor contributing to long-term mental health issues in Muslim populations. The younger the age of exposure to harassment, the greater the likelihood of developing depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. The sense of persecution felt by Muslims, particularly youth, can impact self-esteem and identity.
Islamophobia attacks core aspects of Muslim identity–race, religion, and ethnicity—creating toxic and persistent stress that has detrimental and cumulative effects on the physical and mental health of individuals in the community as well as the community as a whole. Faith-based discrimination can deprive Muslims of the health-promoting aspects of social connection and communal solidarity, instead of creating a sense of fear, uncertainty, and insecurity that makes it difficult for American Muslims to develop a healthy communal life.
Generational Trauma
People choose to immigrate to the U.S. for many reasons, but Muslims are often motivated by violence, political or religious persecution, poverty, and other traumatic experiences in their country of origin. These experiences can directly affect mental health, resulting in personal struggles and difficulties for the individual and longer-term impacts that affect the next generation.
Differing Cultural Beliefs
A person born in the U.S. to immigrant parents may experience conflict between the attitudes, beliefs and values of the parents’ culture and those that are more prevalent in the U.S. Parents will often try to preserve their cultural roots through maintaining beliefs and practices from their home country, while their U.S.-born children may separate or dissociate from their parents’ beliefs due to a lack of strong connection to the country of origin or a desire to be “more American.” Because cultural beliefs and practices have deep roots and are often fundamental to a person’s identity, it can be hard to discuss and resolve differing perspectives and viewpoints within the family.
Based on estimates by the Pew Research Center, by 2050 the U.S. Muslim population is projected to be more than 8 million individuals, surpassing Judaism as the second most common faith in the U.S. As Muslims continue to migrate to the U.S. and become a larger and more diverse segment of our population, it is important to understand the internal diversity, experiences and needs of these communities.
Challenges Accessing Health Care
While socially, culturally, and economically diverse, the American Muslim community by and large shares a religious worldview that influences its members’ health-related behaviors and their interactions with the health care system. Despite this, few studies have explored whether American Muslims experience health disparities, or how their beliefs may both hinder and promote health. Researchers with an interest in this topic face immense challenges, including a lack of funding, potential language barriers, and difficulties identifying study samples. Since Muslims are portrayed so negatively in the current political and social environment, many Muslim Americans may not want to discuss mental health issues.
Below are additional statistics from the American Psychiatric Association about discrimination in a health care setting:
- 60% of Muslim Americans reported some level of religious discrimination in 2016, surpassing all other religious groups.
- U.S. born Muslim Americans are more likely than foreign-born Muslim Americans to experience gender, racial, and religious discrimination.
- Nearly one-third of Muslim Americans perceived discrimination in health care settings; being excluded or ignored was the most frequently conveyed type of discrimination.
- Religious discrimination against Muslims is associated with depression, anxiety, subclinical paranoia, and alcohol use.
How to Seek Culturally Competent Care
For mental health providers working with Muslim American or patients, exploring cultural identity may offer important information to tailor their mental health treatment. Culturally sensitive therapeutic interventions could make it easier for Muslim families to discuss mental health problems and accept care.
While we recommend going directly to a mental health professional, a primary care doctor can be a great place to start for an initial assessment or to get a referral for a recommended mental health professional. For example, the Khalil Center, the largest national mental health provider for Muslim faith communities, offers a recommended model for spiritually integrated therapy.
When meeting with a provider, it can be helpful to ask questions to get a sense of their level of cultural awareness. Providers expect and welcome questions from their patients or clients, since this helps them better understand what is important in their treatment. Here are some sample questions:
- Have you treated other Muslim people?
- Have you received training in cultural competence or on Muslim mental health?
- How do you see our cultural backgrounds influencing our communication and my treatment?
- Do you offer forms and medical information in Arabic, Urdu, and Farsi or use official interpreters or language lines when needed?
Whether you seek help from a primary care doctor or a mental health professional, you should finish your sessions with health professionals feeling heard and respected. You may want to ask yourself:
- Did I feel heard? Did I feel my provider understood my concerns?
- Did my provider communicate effectively with me?
- Is my provider willing to integrate my beliefs, practices, identity, and cultural background into my treatment plan?
- Did I feel like I was treated with respect and dignity?
- Do I feel like my provider understands and relates well with me?
If your preferred language is not English, let the office staff know when you schedule your appointment; this will allow them to schedule an interpreter before your visit. When using an interpreter, your mental health provider should:
- Look at you directly when speaking — not communicate only with the interpreter.
- Ask brief questions and communicate short messages to promote effective interpretation and reduce errors.
- Allow enough time for the interpreter to finish the statement and for you to ask questions when you need to.
If you believe that language barriers are negatively affecting your mental health treatment, consider bringing it up to your mental health provider. They may be able to schedule more frequent or longer appointments to allow adequate time for the use of the interpreter.
The relationship and communication between a person and their mental health provider is a key aspect of treatment. It is particularly important for a person to feel that their identity is understood by their provider to receive the best possible support and care.
Additional Resources
ISPU provides educational mental health resources to Muslim American communities to assist with issues involving youth mental health, dealing with bias and bigotry, and links to other Muslim wellness resources.
The Institute for Muslim Mental Health provides resources, a “Find a Therapist” locator, research, and scientific journals.
