CULTURE PROFILE| << | CHAPTER |
| MUSLIM
REFUGEES
IN THE UNITED STATES
CULTURE PROFILE |
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CONTENTS | PREFACE | INTRODUCTION | CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3 | CHAPTER 4 | CHAPTER 5 | CONCLUSION | GLOSSARY | REFERENCES and RESOURCES | APPENDIX | ORDER A PRINT COPY | ||||
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Preface This booklet is a basic introduction to the worldview of Muslim peoples as manifested in their religion and culture. It is designed primarily for service providers and others assisting Muslim refugees in their new communities in the United States. This guide differs from the others in the Cultural Orientation Resource (COR) Center series. Each of the previously published guides has focused on a population of a specific national origin: Afghans, Bosnians, Cubans, Haitians, Somalis, Iraqi Kurds, Iraqis, Montagnards, and Somali Bantus. This guide, by contrast, focuses on people from many parts of the world who are distinguished by their adherence to Islam. This guide therefore seeks to address the multifaceted situations that result from the combination of a shared belief system and a diversity of cultural backgrounds. This guide also encourages service providers to build relationships with mosques and Islamic community organizations that may have programs to support Muslim refugees and immigrants. Existing Islamic communities are an essential resource for newcomers, providing assistance of many kinds and examples of successful adaptation to life in a new environment. Service providers are encouraged to become familiar with these local resources and partner with them to enhance the effectiveness of resettlement agencies’ services. The principal writers of this guide are Dr. Patricia Maloof and Dr. Fariyal Ross-Sheriff. Dr. Maloof is a medical anthropologist who has worked with refugees in the U.S. for 20 years in the areas of administration and program management, counseling, education, employment, and health. Formerly the Director of Refugee Programs with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, she is a trainer for medical interpreters with the Northern Virginia Area Health Education Center, and a part-time faculty member in the Department of Anthropology at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Currently, she is directing a health survey of Kurdish and Iraqi Arab refugees in the United States. Dr. Ross-Sheriff is a professor and director of the doctoral program in social work at Howard University in Washington, DC. Her area of specialization is displaced populations, including international refugees as well as homeless persons and disaster victims in the United States. She has worked extensively with refugees in Pakistan to examine the challenges facing refugees and service providers, and in Afghanistan to facilitate the repatriation and resettlement of refugees. In addition, she has conducted research on the role of women in the repatriation process, and has provided training for service providers assisting refugees in countries of first asylum and immigrants to the United States. The section on Muslims in the United States was written by Dr. Ali Asani, professor of the practice of Indo-Muslim languages and culture at Harvard University. A scholar of Muslim literatures and cultures, he teaches courses on Islam in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh; Islamic mysticism; and Islamic civilizations around the world. He also offers instruction in various South Asian and African languages. Many people read and commented on drafts of the manuscript. In particular, we would like to thank Miriam Burt, Anne Costello, and Dora Johnson, Center for Applied Linguistics; Omar Bin Abdullah, Editor, Islamic Horizons; Mariam Mehdi, International Catholic Migration Commission, Pakistan; Pindie Stephen and Ali Abdi, International Organization for Migration, Kenya; Yvonne Haddad, Georgetown University; Hanan Bedri, Ethiopian Community Development Council; Jane Bloom, RefugeeWorks; Sister Gail Desmond, OSB; Colleen Mahar-Piersma, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB); Lisa Raffonelli, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR); Myrna Ann Adkins, Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning; members of the Cultural Orientation Work Group; and Kelly Gauger, Program Officer in the Admissions Office at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. We would also like to thank Sanja Bebic, director of the COR Center, for her assistance with many aspects of this project. Finally, we would like to thank the Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration, U.S. Department of State, whose support made this guide possible. Deborah Kennedy, Editor |
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The Cultural Orientation Project--http://www.culturalorientation.net,
for more information contact sanja@cal.org |