Introduction

The Muslims and Healing project examines how the beliefs, values and heritage of the Islamic tradition influence the health-related worldviews, decisions and practices of Muslims.  Historians of religion know that the contributions of Muslim scientists and clinicians to modern biomedicine around the world have added to both the rich heritage of Islamic medical science and the complementary use of  “prophetic” and “spiritual” healing practices in Muslim communities.  Social scientists have studied the integration of Yunani, Ayurvedic, and various traditional medicines into an Islamic symbolic framework.  Some medical scholarship has addressed the health effects of pivotal Islamic religious practices, as well as health conditions and medical procedures that affect a Muslim’s ability to perform them.  More recent works have sought to provide health professionals with generalized “cultural competence” education in caring for Muslim patients.

This section of the Boston Healing Landscape Project web site provides resources related to these different issues and topics. It also provides resources related to the lived experiences and voices of ordinary Muslims, particularly those in the United States, who make daily choices about how to apply their faith, practice, and religious law to interpret, prevent, treat, and accommodate illness, disability, and suffering.