Family members, friends, relatives, co-religionists, and co-nationals are natural helpers who provide emotional support, share resources, help with problem solving in accustomed ways, and interact in a familiar language.

CHAPTER 5
Social Support Networks

For many refugees to the United States, the formal support system that includes employment counseling and job development, English as a second language classes, skills training, health screening, and other remedial, educational, counseling, and advocacy services is complemented and augmented by informal supports within the refugees’ communities. In the case of Muslim refugees, informal support comes from relatives, friends, and co-nationals, and also from community-based services developed by mosques and Islamic organizations in many larger cities.

Family members, friends, relatives, co-religionists, and co-nationals are natural helpers who provide emotional support, share resources, help with problem solving in accustomed ways, and interact in a familiar language. Many refugees are cut off from their natural networks and feel isolated, but this problem may be especially intense for Muslim refugees in the United States because of the extent of the cultural differences from their countries of origin. When family members are not available, service providers may help refugees find extended relatives, co-nationals, and refugees with similar cultural and religious backgrounds and experiences who may serve as “fictive kin” during the initial stages of resettlement.

Mutual Assistance Associations (MAAs), which are run by and for refugees, also have been effective in contributing to the successful resettlement of refugees. The MAAs that exist within Muslim ethnic communities can form a bridge because they are non-profit agencies that are funded with federal, state, and/or local funds and work effectively at the grassroots level in assisting with the integration of refugees into the local communities.

Islamic countries provide first asylum to over half the refugees around the world. Islamic laws of asylum are similar to contemporary refugee laws, and embedded within the cultural context of the Islamic communities in the United States. Thus Islamic organizations have emerged as a source of significant support for the resettlement of refugees, and service providers can turn to Muslim community leadership and congregations to provide social support for Muslim refugee individuals and families adapting to life in the United States. Islamic organizations and community leaders can serve as a source of support for newly arrived refugees, support resettlement agency personnel serving Muslims, and mediate in cases of challenge and conflict. Islamic organizations can serve as bridges between the new and the old for the refugees.

Islamic communities have established mosques in major metropolitan areas in the United States. These serve as “community centers, bringing people together for prayer, religious instruction, marriages, and funerals and for general activities such as dinners and bake sales” (Abu-Laban, 1991, p. 15). Nyang (1999) has documented the evolution in U.S. Islamic communities of formal and informal institutions aimed at providing support services for both indigenous and immigrant Muslims. These social and cultural programs at local mosques include gatherings for elderly and women, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, youth summer camps organized at regional levels, and chapters of Islamic student associations at a large number of universities around the country. These groups can be a source of great social and emotional support to Muslim refugee families. They can provide a sense of belonging as well as a set of resources to enable Muslim refugees to manage crises, stress, and life transitions using mechanisms that are familiar and likely to provide comfort.

Leaders from local Islamic communities can refer Muslim refugees to regional and national level organizations that bring youth and young adults together to foster a positive Muslim American identity. Additionally, they can provide insights into and support for solutions of problems that require a nuanced understanding of religion and culture.

Service providers can use Islamic community services in many practical ways. Local communities may have networks of volunteer Muslim doctors who treat Muslim and non-Muslim patients at no or low cost. Islamic community center personnel can augment the work of resettlement agencies to help refugees find employment, provide information on where other Muslims live, make recommendations and referrals for housing and culturally sensitive educational and health services, and provide overall support to facilitate their successful adaptation to life in America while maintaining their religious and cultural heritage.

Resettlement offices can reach out to local mosques and Islamic schools and look for ways to collaborate on projects that will strengthen the resettlement network and provide a more coordinated support system for newly arriving refugees. The most effective support for refugees occurs when resettlement office staff and leaders of Islamic community organizations know one another and work together on a regular basis, rather than waiting until a crisis (individual, community, or worldwide) needs to be addressed.

The Cultural Orientation Project--http://www.culturalorientation.net, for more information contact sanja@cal.org
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