When West Encounter Islam: A Social Work Perspective

Social work is a discipline that has evolved to include a wide range of theories, approaches, and practices. In the early-to-mid-twentieth century, western social work models were introduced to MENA (Middle East/North Africa) countries as part of colonialist efforts. However, these efforts were largely unsuccessful, due to the lack of consideration given to the importance of indigenous/local knowledge and significant phenomena like globalization and modernization. In recent years, there has been a growing need to provide culturally competent social work services to the large and growing Muslim population worldwide. As a result, there have been more authentic attempts to construct glocal models of social work intervention that draw on Islamic principles and practices. This article proposes a way to Islamize social work by building on the work of medical anthropologist Kleinman and expanding the notions of the indigenization and authentization of social work.