Items

• Interview
  Ibrahim (name changed for confidential reasons) is a second generation Moroccan American. He was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, but moved back to Morocco at age three (2002) and spent the next four years of his life there with his brother. In Morocco he attended Quranic school before moving back to the United States where he spent the rest of his education in public schools. After graduating from Whittier Regional Technical Vocational High School, Ibrahim, encouraged by his father went on to study mechanical engineering at the University of Massachusetts (Lowell). Later transferring to Northern Essex Community College to pursue an exclusively self-motivated major in business. As Ibrahim grew older, his early religious influence was challenged by his newly accepted American sense of rebellion, forcing inconsistency within his identity. This internal conflict promoted feelings of confusion and curiosity, pushing the need for research across several religions, finally arriving at the hardworking, determined, and free-spirited identity he holds today. Although this was a tough time in his life, he no longer feels victimized by stereotypes regarding Muslim men and expressed great appreciation for his American heritage as it allows him to chase the “American Dream”.
• Interview
  A 62-year-old woman born in Palestine and immigrated first to Ohio, then to Wisconsin. She takes care of her husband who suffered from a subdural hematoma around three years ago. She feels like her Muslim community supports the two of them, but when she really needs help, she can only rely on her children. They attend social events at Sakina Center, where she feels more interviewees may be found. She states that she thinks women with a difference in ability would be treated much differently than a man with the same difference, and that women would be viewed as less marriageable. In terms of support, she wishes that there was someone she could talk to about hard life choices, such as when and if she should put her husband into a nursing facility. She finds strength through her faith and hopes that the future generation has an easier time than she has had.
• Interview
  This respondent was born in Rock Island, Illinois in 1998 to two Pakistani immigrants. She was raised in the Quad Cities, primarily in Moline Illinois. She plans on being a 2020 Augustana College graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and Public Health. Alongside that, she was married over the course of 2018 and 2019 to a Pakistani Muslim man. She identifies as a Pakistani Muslim American woman and is very closely connected to her faith. Growing up, she struggled with the attention wearing the hijab brought in her small, rural town upbringing. She also struggled with being a minority and drew support from her similarly marginalized Muslim friends. While she has recently moved to Iowa City to pursue her master’s degree with her husband, she is still close to her roots and visits home often. She is a prime example of accepting the struggles that being a Muslim in the States brings and taking it all in stride.
• Interview
  The respondent is a psychologist with a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology who has been working in this profession for about 25 years. He has not observed discrimination based on differences in ability, but rather, it would be the stigma attached to the Muslim faith, Muslim practices. The Muslim communities he has worked with range from those who have been in the U.S. for quite a while to recent immigrants from the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia (including immigrants from Myanmar). He discussed the suffering experienced by these groups and made observations of similarities and differences among the groups. With regard to people with ability differences, he discussed how we can overcome the perceived differences in ability and turn that into an advantage, interpersonally. He explained the importance of providers’ role in making sure that person is living to their optimal level. He discussed some of the biggest challenges for providers: 1) Language. Getting someone who is fluent in Arabic and making sure that the client has somebody who understands their dialect, their conversation; getting people who can translate properly for us. 2) Transportation. Many of our clients, including those with ability differences, need transportation so they can have access to medical services. In terms of additional support or changes in attitude that are needed, the respondent replied that he would start with education. “…if folks who have been educating, formulating the brains of new providers in the field, firing up the engine of excitement to serve, and really seeing that those who come to serve — whether they are journalists or social workers, doctors, nurses, translators, whatever profession that person is bringing to the table — they are bringing up the motivation to serve the person regardless of their background. Regardless of the prejudices that may be there. And most importantly for the provider to understand their own biases and make sure they are not a part, and do not linger in service delivery.” Secondly, creating opportunity. “Creating opportunity for those that may be disadvantaged but deserve the chance to be heard, to express themselves, as we know that folks who have differences in abilities end up having barriers to access. Access to care, but also access to having a chance in life.”
• Interview
  The respondent is a licensed clinical psychologist and assistant director of the clinic where he works. He has been working with Muslim caregivers/individuals with ability differences for about seven years. He shared some of the challenges their patients report in the clinical setting. The biggest challenge is getting support, sensitivity, and understanding from their loved ones. The other challenge is acceptance of the individual, because they have so many other strengths. For example, when someone learns you’re depressed or have anxiety, there's often automatically a stigma and people start judging others. The respondent also discussed challenges they face as a provider of care. These include lack of resources and being stretched too thin with waiting lists. Everyone should have access to quality care and counselling as preventative care in addition to reactive care. Other challenges are not having enough therapists who can offer spiritually integrated psychotherapy, not having enough “brown” therapists in general, and the need for more education and awareness. We need resources for providers, especially more centralized resources for providers, including how to get find someone to consult with. Yet, he also reported that awareness of mental health has increased in the last few years, which offers us hope. Lastly, he identified several resources that AMWRRI’s might want to include in its webpage.
• Interview
  Noman Hussain is a 30 year old Muslim born Indian male who was born and raised in Chicago. He memorized the Quran at 12 years old, then flew to South Africa for a total 8 year course program to studying Arabic, history, jurisprudence and all of the sciences of Islam. He then came back to America at age 20 to start teaching and has been an Imam for eight years now, four served at Masjid al Huda and now four+ at the ISM Brookfield masjid. He dedicated his everyday life to serve the masjid and community. His job requires him to always be available. Leading prayers, offering counseling, hosting and planning events, performing Nikkahs and much more has committed him fully to his community. Noman believes their Masjid is doing a great job and will still continue to try to accommodate the needs of their community members to the best of their ability.
• Interview
  Mr. Sameer Ali is a 2014 college graduate of Stanford University. He is an Imam and Chaplain at Marquette University. He is from India but grew up in New Jersey where most of his family still resides today. Growing up with two siblings, Mr. Ali identifies mostly as American and acknowledges that people culturally similar have different experiences. When not serving as a Chaplain, Mr. Ali serves as an Imam where his duties include delivering sermons, counseling, performing religious rituals, and being available as a pastoral minister to his community. At his Mosque, Mr. Ali serves to make participation easy for all by providing wheelchair accessibility to the disabled and aims to be open and accepting to all who come to worship. To those experiencing hardships or relationship struggles, Mr. Ali makes time to sit down and listen to his people. It is important to him to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of his community members. Mr. Ali is proud that America is a country based on immigrants and is a nation built on preserving the liberty of those with unique religions and countries.
• Interview
  The respondent is in the age range of 25-34 years old and is currently living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He first came to the United States about 10 years ago to pursue higher education and job opportunities; he currently works in a professional position. The respondent has three children who are an infant and two four-year-old twins – a son and a daughter. In this interview, the respondent discusses the history and impact of his daughter’s differences of ability on his family. The respondent’s daughter was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and a mixed receptive-expressive language disorder at a young age, and has great difficulty communicating with others. The respondent describes his struggles in balancing supporting his family with caring for his daughter and talks about how his family works together to support her and fulfill her needs. The respondent also emphasizes how awareness is the most fundamental resource needed to combat stigmatization, which applies to Mosques as well as society in general. He highlights various organizations that have helped him as a father and caregiver. He also explained that more could be done to educate the caregivers on what they need to do and what not to do.
• Interview
  The respondent is a professional counselor in the Greater Milwaukee area. She treats depression, anxiety, trauma, and PTSD, and works with a variety of populations, including the city’s Muslim refugee population. In this interview, she discusses the challenges that refugees face when coming to Milwaukee and evaluates the various resources needed to combat the stigma of disability in the refugee community and Milwaukee in general. She emphasizes the importance of initiating dialogue and helping people feel comfortable in seeking help and talking about whatever issues they may have.
• Interview
  The organization works with Mosques nationally and internationally to make them accessible to individuals with disabilities. The organization also has an established volunteer respite program that pairs volunteer respite workers with individuals and families that need extra support. Additional services are provided: • Certification program for Mosques • Weekend school classes, which are being held in 12 programs nation wide • Care givers and sibling support • Prayer accommodations so family can attend • Respite program online- training • Quran that is in braille • Connect people with interpreters • Major conventions • Special education services and care
• Interview
  The respondent is a Jordanian woman who immigrated to the U.S. with her husband in the mid- 1990s. After several years of being in the U.S., they returned to Jordan. They re-immigrated to the U.S. around 2017. They have several adult children and one child who is under nine years old. One of her adult children has epilepsy and an intellectual ability difference. In the interview, the respondent compares how ability differences are handled in the U.S. and Jordan. She made several recommendations for change in the Muslim community, schools, and health care. She also noted the importance of culture in explaining stigma and prejudice that people with ability differences face. She cautioned against attributing such behaviors to Islam. She also explained the importance of the family’s (especially parents’) acceptance of the ability difference and making the issue public, rather than hiding it in secrecy.
• Interview
  The respondent is 55-64 years old and immigrated to the U.S. from Palestine in the late 1970s. He is a husband and a father to several adult male and female children. One of his sons suffers from schizophrenia, which runs in his family. The interviewee shares many of the challenges that he and his family face, including financially funding his son, lack of success in getting his son to follow through with treatment, caring for not only his son but his son’s wife who also has mental health issues, and family tension. He discussed the challenges he and his family face, which prevent them from socializing and being open in the Muslim community, as they fear the judgment and stigma that might come with the truth. He identified several key needs, such as: information on resources; emotional support; changes in the law regarding HIPPA and getting medical help for adult children with mental illness who don’t want it; better education on the issue in the Muslim community; and more openness, understanding and sympathy from the Muslim community. The respondent also discussed his son’s strengths, especially his big heart, sweet character, honesty, and commitment/compassion for his wife.
• Interview
  The respondent is a Syrian woman currently living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has an advanced degree. She has several family members who have been diagnosed with serious mental conditions, including her daughter. In the interview, the respondent discusses the impact of mental illness on her family’s life. She describes the stigma surrounding mental disabilities in comparison to physical disabilities as well as what she perceives as a generational difference in openness when talking about disability and illness. She also compares the degrees of acceptance of differences in ability in the United States and Middle Eastern countries. She expresses her concerns regarding the potential dangers of medications when treating mental illnesses, and stresses the importance of trying alternative methods to improve one’s wellbeing. She also described the power of her faith to deal with traumatic events and other obstacles.
• Interview
  This respondent was born in Indonesia and immigrated to the United States rather recently. She is the caretaker to her ten-year-old son who has selective mutism. During the interview she talks about the long and confusing road to a diagnosis, inability to afford an evaluation, and bullying that her son experiences. She also discussed the ethnic/cultural/nationalistic divisions within Mosques, which can be obstacles in finding community across these divides.
• Interview
  This married mother of three children, who emigrated from Bangladesh, is a caretaker for her adult son who has Cerebral Palsy and Autism Spectrum Disorder. She and her family recently moved to Milwaukee and have been struggling to find programing for their son. She also discusses topics such her responsibilities as a caregiver, community response, her believed reasoning for her son’s disability, and her fears for the future.
• Interview
  Mother of son with cerebral palsy talks about her immigration here, problems with her ex-husband and other son, a lack of support from her community, and an incident at the daycare where her son was allegedly sexually assaulted. She also discussed severe economic issues she experienced once she immigrated and before she found employment. She hopes that education within the Muslim community can help people learn to be more accepting, although she does not think change will come in her lifetime. One of her biggest needs at this point is respite care and transportation for her son. She also worries that recent immigrants do not know about resources that are available, Pakistan
• Interview
  The respondent was born in Wisconsin and has an older sister with a Mild Cognitive Impairment. She states the Muslim community believes differences in ability or disabilities are tests from God. She has witnessed her sister face a few hardships with bullying, watching siblings surpass the levels she can achieve, and changes in routines including going to family parties or having no one available to bring her to activities. She also states that she thinks both genders experience the same types of attitudes associated with disabilities, but was thoughtful at the question. She also shared her respite care and babysitting experiences dealing with people who were insensitive to disabilities, and believes that people should have opportunities not only to learn about them, but interact with people with a disability.
• Interview
  The respondent was born in Illinois and her parents immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan in the 1990’s. She has two children under six years old – one boy and one girl. Her husband works full-time. She is the primary caretaker of her son who is on the spectrum of autism. This interview touches on the particularities of her son’s needs at home and at school as well as distancing and educating family on what having this specific disability means. At the end, the interviewee compares religious and gender differences in a cultural lens.
• Interview
  Mother of a child with a type of dwarfism talks about her struggles going back and forth between states for surgeries, therapies, and all the associated financial burdens. She shares her son’s experiences in achieving so much, yet closing himself off from the world. Currently she works in special education and has great sympathy and compassion towards children with autism spectrum disorder and how they should be treated. She described a very profound experience that gave her strength as a mother of a child with an ability difference and as a teacher of children with special needs: “God gave me a child and not anyone could just take care of that kind of child. So God chose me to take care of that kind of child, so I will take care of that one. So that gave me a lot of strength.”
• Interview
  The respondent is a Pakistani woman who was born in England and moved to the United States in 2014. She suffers from schizophrenia and depression. Several years ago she had physical disabilities such as leg and arm shakes, and learning disabilities and the sudden loss of speech and memory. In the interview, she discusses how she overcame some of her speech, memory, and learning disabilities and how she is trying to treat her other conditions as well. She discussed how her many conditions have impacted her family, her life, and her financial situation. She also discusses her life in America and her interactions and involvement within the Muslim community.
• Interview
  Mother of adult child with a visual impairment due to neurological factors. She believes that the education of teachers as well as students would be helpful to those with disabilities. She discusses the social impact the visual impairment had on her son and her ideas for creating a network for children in the next generation. She also has stated that families can be more protective of daughters with differences in ability and keep them closer to home.
• Interview
  The mother of an adult daughter with cognitive delay speaks about her experiences in the schools and Muslim community. Originally from Chicago, she moved to Milwaukee in the late-1980s. She wishes that she had been more aware of the resources that are available, rather than her assuming that programs didn’t apply to her. She suggested that perhaps the experts could be more proactive in letting their clients know what is available. She expressed belief that her role is to be the sole caregiver, which leads to difficulties for her to ask for help. She also suggested that healthcare providers, teachers and others who work with special needs, could be better informed/educated on the religion of Islam and how its religious values are different regarding transitioning into daycares and adult care facilities and things like that. She discussed stigmas/prejudices in the Muslim community regarding people with ability differences.
• Interview
  This American-Palestinian mother cares for her two children, a daughter and son, who are both diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She shared a lot of her personal experiences of raising children with disabilities within the Muslim community. She was happy that she is beginning to see positive change and acceptance towards individuals with disabilities within the Muslim community but believes there is a lot more room to grow and offers some ideas on future changes. She also provides insight on what it is like raising a female Muslim daughter with a disability in comparison to raising a son with a disability.
• Interview
  The respondent is a Syrian man from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is a small business-owner, teaches at a local university/college, and is currently completing a PhD. He has a teenage child and two other children who are young adults (one is a female who suffers from high anxiety). He also discussed his own sports-related injury. He offered perspectives on how these issues are treated in the United States and Middle East. Although he had never witnessed discrimination against himself or his family related to differences in ability, he noted the importance of giving as much care as you can, and how in predominantly Muslim countries care towards differences in ability is not publicly displayed. He describes care as a strongly familial practice, but he emphasizes that people need to understand the stresses that other people endure in order to better accommodate their needs.
• Interview
  The respondent is a Palestinian-American woman who was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a college graduate who was diagnosed with anxiety, depression and PTSD a few years ago. In the Interview, Respondent discusses how her condition has impacted her throughout the past few years and how her mental health has really deteriorated, impacting her personal relationships in life. She discusses the type of support, or lack of, from the community and those around her and gives insight on what she feels can change within the community to really help others like herself. She discusses future goals and striving to branch out of Milwaukee, and the integrated and familiar, yet toxic, community she grew up in. Respondent describes her biggest struggles dealing with mental health issues, bringing awareness to members of the community, and encouraging others to go into professions that can help the youth in the community, specifically those undergoing mental health related issues.