Resources

Sacred Trust, Silent Wounds: An Exploration of the Experiences and Understanding of Abuse in Scottish Muslim Communities (2024)

Our community-based research report explores the scope of abuse in Scottish Muslim communities, focusing on community knowledge, barriers to reporting, and experiences of support.

Spiritual Abuse in the Muslim Context: A Collection of Conference Papers on Reclaiming Sacred Knowledge and Resisting Harm through Collective Liberation (2025)

This volume brings together contributions from the Spiritual Abuse in the Muslim Context Conference 2025, featuring papers from each of the keynote speakers at the event.

In Conversation Series

Safeguarding and Muslim Spaces: In Conversation with Shaykh Amer Jamil

Understanding and Addressing Abuse in Muslim Communities: In Conversation with Shaykh Amer Jamil & Dr Rahmanara Chowdhury

‘Spiritual Abuse in the Muslim Context’ Conference 2025 Keynotes

Building Community Toolboxes: Practical Strategies for Prevention and Intervention - Mihad Fahmy

Navigating Authority and Ethical Scholarship: Reconciling Tensions Between Reverence, Ego, and Power - Shaykh Amer Jamil

The Benefits of Collective Action in Strengthening Muslim Community Accountability - Professor Ingrid Mattson

When Forgiveness Harms: The Principles of Sacred Law and the Ethics of Counselling in Cases of Spiritual Abuse - Shaykh Idris Watts

Policy and Rights-Based Submissions

Adam, M. & Chowdhury, R. (2024). A joint submission with Scottish civil society to the United Nations Human Rights Committee on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 139th Session, focusing on Violence Against Women and Girls. Glasgow: Sacred (body:mind:space) in collaboration with Scottish civil society organisations.
Available at: ICCPR Submission PDF

Essential Academic Reading on Spiritual Abuse within Muslim Communities by Muslim Academics

Adam, M. and Chowdhury, R. (2025) ‘Islamic epistemology in conducting insider research on spiritual abuse in Muslim communities in the UK’, Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religions, 26, pp. 1–31. Available at: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/jbasr.33218

Chowdhury, R. (2016) Qawwamoon: Protectors and Maintainers. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.

Chowdhury, R. (2023) ‘The Role of Religion in Domestic Violence and Abuse in UK Muslim Communities’, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, rwad008. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/ojlr/article/12/2/178/7225338

Chowdhury, R. (2025) ‘Insider Research into Abuse in Muslim Communities’, in Woodhead, L., Cadman, L. and Graham, N. (eds.) Messy Methods in Researching Religion, pp. 66-75. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Messy_Methods_in_Researching_Religion/YO5TEQAAQBAJ? hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=woodhead+chowdhury+insider+research&pg=PA66&printsec=frontcover

Chowdhury, R. and Hannan, R. (2025) ‘Developments in the Field of Understanding Spiritual Abuse within Muslim Contexts’, in Stiebert, J. (ed.) Abuse in World Religions, Volume One. Routledge Focus series Rape Culture, Religion and the Bible. Available at: https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/103322/9781040410905.pdf?sequence=1#page=70

Chowdhury, R., Winder, B., Blagden, N. and Mulla, F. (2021) ‘“I thought in order to get to God I had to win their approval”: a qualitative analysis of the experiences of Muslim victims abused by religious authority figures’, Journal of Sexual Aggression. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2021.1943023

Hannah, R. and Chowdhury, R. (2025) ‘Dynamic Resistance to Spiritual Abuse: Strategies and Innovations in Muslim Contexts’, in Stiebert, J. (ed.) Abuse in World Religions, Volume Two. Routledge Focus series Rape Culture, Religion and the Bible. (Forthcoming).

Mulla, F. and Chowdhury, R. (2024) ‘Surviving Sexual Abuse Cloaked in Spiritual Abuse’, in Sexual Crime: Victims and Survivors, pp. 247-266. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Nsour, R. (2022) ‘My Reflections on Spiritual Abuse’, Journal of Islamic Faith and Practice, 4(1), pp. 129–146. Available at: https://doi.org/10.18060/26552

Complementary Resources from Muslim-Led Initiatives

The Hurma Project offers a wide range of resources - academic articles, community toolkits, podcasts, and theological reflections - focused on preventing spiritual abuse and promoting ethical leadership in Muslim spaces. Explore their full library at hurmaproject.com.

In Shaykh’s Clothing provides educational resources, articles, and case-based reflections addressing spiritual abuse, religious authority, and harm in Muslim communities. Explore their work at inshaykhsclothing.com.