Background
A Muslim is a follower of Islam, one of the three monotheistic religions to emerge out of geographic South West Asia. Muslims see themselves as a community of believers that descended from Abraham, whom they consider a prophet, and they profess actual and metaphoric kinship with members of the Jewish and Christian faith. A practicing Muslim follows the teachings of the Qur’an, which include references to people and events in the Old and New Testaments, and tries to emulate things Prophet Mohammad said and did during his lifetime, which were recorded in a set of writings called Hadith. Based on the Qur’an and Hadith, Muslim jurists throughout history established a body of law, called the Shari’a, to which believers turn to settle everyday questions and disputes. A pious Muslim will profess that there is only one God, pray several times daily, fast during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and, if health and income permit it, embark on a pilgrimage to Mecca at least...
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Suggested Readings
Cainkar, L. (2009). Homeland insecurity: The Arab American and Muslim American experience after 9/11. New York: Russell Sage.
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Suggested Resources
Council on American-Islamic Relations. http://www.cair.com
Islamic Society of North America. http://www.isna.net
Muslim Health Network. http://www.muslimhealthnetwork.org/ms.shtml
Muslim Mental Health Inc. http://www.muslimmentalhealth.com
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Volk, L. (2012). Muslim. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_526
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