Abdullahi Barise

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Critical Social Work

Publication Date

3-3-2005

Abstract

Social work knowledge and skills are socially constructed. Professional social work was initiated in the Western world in the early twentieth century on the basis of a secular, euro-centric worldview (Graham, 2002, 2005). Thus, social work is shaped by the European and North American (hereafter the West) socio-cultural contexts in which it originates (Payne, 1997). However, multicultural sensitivity has been a value held by the social work profession for decades (e.g., Latting, 1990). Additionally, as professional social work is internationalised, its indigenisation has been gaining more acceptance lately world wide (Hokenstad, Khinduka, & Midgley, 1992; Hokenstad, Midgley, 1997). As well, as more and more models of social work emphasize the importance of understanding clients’ worldview for effective social work, integration of spirituality in social work is increasingly being called for. As Van Hook, Hugen, and Aguira put it, “as wholistic, empowerment-focused, and culturally appropriate approaches to social work practice become more widely adopted, the ability to integrate spirituality and religion into practice will become a critical professional skill.” (2001, p. 3). However, since Islam is a complete way of life, spirituality is viewed in Islam as uniquely comprehensive (e.g., Abdalati, 1986; Barise & France, 2004; Haneef, 1999; Lahkim, Barise, & Boukhobza, 2004; Zaid & Barise, 2004).

ISSN

1543-9372

Publisher

University of Windsor Leddy Library

Volume

6

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Indexed in Scopus

no

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series

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