Muslims and Mindfulness Training: Teachers’ and Trainees’ Perspectives

Muslims who have taken mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and the teachers who deliver those interventions report initial tensions and worries about whether secular mindfulness conflicts with Islam or Muslim cultures. Over time, many participants found that mindfulness training deepened their spirituality and sense of common humanity, despite a lack of evidence-based guidelines for integrating the two. The study identifies four themes: tensions between mindfulness and Islam or culture; confusion over what is secular versus Islamic; developing trust in the process and teachers; and discoveries of enhanced connectedness and spirituality. Teachers and graduates made evolving assumptions and decisions as they progressed through MBI programs.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Muslims are diverse and growing populations across the world. There is a need, within these populations, for culturally attuned wellness and mental health services. Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) are evidence-based transdiagnostic and cost-effective services that may address such need. This study aimed to explore the experiences of Muslims with MBIs. It is an attempt to investigate how Islam and mainstream mindfulness interventions interact from the perspectives of Muslim graduates and the teachers (Muslims or not) who deliver such interventions to Muslim populations. Method This was an exploratory qualitative study utilizing semi-structured online interviews. Eleven Muslim MBSR/MBCT graduates were interviewed. Nine mindfulness teachers providing services to diverse Muslim populations were also interviewed. Data were analyzed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA). Results Four themes were constructed to capture the experiences of the study participants with mainstream mindfulness training and Islam: (1) Tensions: Will I collide with Islam or the culture?, (2) Unknowns and contradictions: What is secular and what is Islamic?, (3) Trust: Developing belief in others and the process, and (4) Discoveries: Common humanity and deepened spirituality. Conclusions Graduates and Teachers alike faced tensions and worries when navigating Islam and “secular” mindfulness due to lack of evidence-based guidelines and the vastly diverse cultural influences within Muslim populations. Teachers and graduates made assumptions, judgments and decisions that changed and evolved throughout their journeys through MBIs. As they progressed through their training programs, many participants were pleasantly surprised by the enhanced connectedness and spirituality they experienced despite their initial apprehension of the collision between mindfulness and Islam. Preregistration: This study is not preregistered.