Sacred BMS CIC

14/05/2026

23/04/2026

Beyond Silence: Addressing Child Sexual Abuse in Muslim Contexts

In Conversation with Dr Mariam Sheibani & Dr Rahmanara Chowdhury

Monday 11 May | 7–9pm (UK)

Online

£10 I tinyurl.com/beyondsilencecsa

Join us for a thoughtful and necessary conversation on how Muslim communities can move beyond silence to address child sexual abuse with accountability, and collective responsibility.

Dr Mariam Sheibani
Scholar | Founder & Director, Maʿruf Commons | Assistant Professor of Islamic Thought, Brandeis University

Dr Rahmanara Chowdhury
Chartered Psychologist | Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology, Nottingham Trent University

12/04/2026

*Spiritual Abuse, Mental Health & Spirituality in the Muslim Context - CONTRIBUTORS*

*Exploiting Faith: A Legal Perspective on Spiritual Abuse - Shaimaa AlMukhtar*

*Biography*

Shaimaa AlMukhtar is an associate solicitor at Leigh Day representing survivors of sexual, emotional and spiritual abuse. She acts for individuals bringing claims against both perpetrators who abused positions of power and institutions that failed to protect children
from harm. Her work spans cases involving abuse in education, boarding schools, sports, religious settings and within families.

Before joining Leigh Day, Shaimaa worked on domestic violence issues, immigration detention in the UK and cases involving trafficked women unlawfully detained overseas. She has held roles in several charities and NGOs, including the King’s Trust, Bail for Immigration Detainees and Reprieve. Shaimaa holds an undergraduate degree in Politics with Management from Queen Mary University of London and an MSc in International Management (Middle East and North Africa) from SOAS. She later completed the Graduate Diploma in Law and Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice with distinction.

There's still time to join this online conference. Register here: https: tinyurl.com/spiritualabuse2026

12/04/2026

*Spiritual Abuse, Mental Health & Spirituality in the Muslim Context - CONTRIBUTORS*

*Al sonoro rugir del cañón: Spiritual Abuse, Transnational Imam Networks, and Institutional Vacuum* - Dr Katie Careaga & Esmeralda M. Neyoy

*Biographies*

*Katie Careaga,* PhD, MPH, is a Muslim anthropologist, sociocultural epidemiologist, and community advocate whose work centres gender, migration, and cross-border health in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands. She earned her PhD in Social Sciences from El Colegio de Sonora as a Fulbright-García Robles Scholar, conducting dissertation research on Mexican women’s vulnerability and agency in the Altar migration corridor. Her embrace of Islam grew from a lifelong commitment to social justice; the faith’s emphasis on dignity, truth, and mujadilah - speaking firmly against harm - continues to guide and energize her community action. She has collaborated with Indigenous groups and border communities for more than two decades and is the founder of SW Sisterhood, a Tucson-based cross-border Muslim women’s initiative dedicated to safety, healing, and survivor-led advocacy. Her current work documents Muslim borderlands history, approaches to Islamically-informed intercultural education, and women’s experiences of spiritual abuse within transnational religious networks across Arizona and Sonora.

*Esmeralda M. Neyoy* is a Mexican Muslim woman with a psychosocial disability and ancestral ties to the Southern O’odham (Tepehuana) and Yoreme (Mayo) Indigenous communities. She is a mother, doula, and breastfeeding consultant dedicated to preventing obstetric violence and advancing the rights, dignity, and wellbeing of women and children in Sonora. Since embracing Islam in 2018, she and her family have witnessed patterns of psychological harm, discrimination, and misuse of religious texts. As a Mexican convert, she has faced belittling and exclusion and has advocated for more inclusive, culturally grounded, and Spanish-accessible religious spaces. Her experiences have prompted her ongoing commitment to documenting these experiences and supporting safer, more accountable Muslim community spaces in northern Mexico.

There's still time to join this onl

12/04/2026

*Spiritual Abuse, Mental Health & Spirituality in the Muslim Context - CONTRIBUTORS*

*The Scholar Culture & Hermeneutics of Authority -*
Dr Jolel Miah & Afsan Redwan

*Biographies*

*Dr Jolel Miah* is a Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology at the University of Westminster and a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)-registered Health Psychologist. His work explores the intersections of faith, identity, and psychological wellbeing, with a focus on how cultural and spiritual frameworks shape lived experiences of trauma, resilience, and recovery. Dr Miah’s research draws on both community-based methodologies and psychological perspectives, bridging academic inquiry with applied practice in mental-health contexts. He has contributed to projects addressing men’s mental health, racialised stress, and faith-sensitive therapeutic practice, and regularly collaborates with organisations seeking to develop culturally attuned approaches to counselling and pastoral care. His teaching and supervision centre on reflective practice, ethics, and the decolonisation of psychological knowledge, aiming to cultivate practitioners who can engage compassionately and critically with diverse communities.

*Afsan Redwan* is an FE leader and a doctoral researcher at Cardiff University, where his work examines English Qur’an Translation-Commentaries through the lens of disciplinary literacy and hermeneutics. His academic and professional practice converge around education, theology, and community development, focusing on how interpretive authority, inclusivity, and wellbeing intersect within Muslim and educational spaces. Afsan has led strategic initiatives in teaching, learning, and pastoral development across the Further Education sector, championing equitable access and faith-sensitive support for young people. His broader research interests include scriptural pedagogy, trauma-informed education, and the social psychology of belief, positioning him at the intersection of scholarship and applied leadership. Through writing, training, and curriculum design, he aims to cultivate reflective educators and spiritually literate practitioners capable of bridging intellectual, ethical, and c

11/04/2026

Spiritual Abuse, Mental Health & Spirituality in the Muslim Context - CONTRIBUTORS

"They Use Religion Like a Stick to Beat You With”
British Muslims’ Lived Experiences of Spiritual Abuse Within Interpersonal Relationships - Dr Fatima Elashry

Dr Fatima Elashry is a Specialist Clinical Psychologist currently working in a Specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in London.

She has over seven years of experience across NHS settings, including a specialist trauma clinic supporting people with histories of abuse and complex trauma. Through her clinical work, she has observed how spirituality is often overlooked in mainstream mental health care.

This inspired her doctoral research exploring Muslims’ lived experiences of spiritual abuse and their experiences of mental health services. Fatima is passionate about working with grassroots, community-based organisations to provide trauma-informed, culturally, and faith-sensitive approaches.

She believes in the power of community, the decolonisation of mental health care, and Islamic and indigenous ways of healing.

There's still time to join this online conference. Register here: tinyurl.com/spiritualabuse2026

11/04/2026

Spiritual Abuse, Mental Health & Spirituality in the Muslim Context - CONTRIBUTORS

Reclaiming Rahma: Spiritual Harm, Healing, and Mercy-Centred Parenting in Muslim Homes - Ibrahim Long

Ibrahim Long, MSW, MA, GCIC, is a Muslim chaplain, registered social worker, and educator whose work centres on spiritually integrated care, mental health, and community advocacy.

Clinically trained in spiritual care and counselling, he brings over a decade of chaplaincy experience supporting youth and families across educational, healthcare, and community-based settings.

His approach integrates Islamic spiritual frameworks with trauma-informed, strengths-based, and evidence-informed practices.

Ibrahim’s work has appeared in the Journal of Muslim Mental Health, Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling, Journal of Islamic Faith and Practice, and edited volumes including Mantle of Mercy: Islamic Chaplaincy in North America.

He currently serves as Youth Wellness Manager and Chaplain at IslamicFamily and is a Sessional Instructor in Social Work and Child and Youth Care at NorQuest College.

There's still time to join this online conference. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/spiritual-abuse-mental-health-spirituality-in-the-muslim-context-tickets-1981476208680?aff=oddtdtcreator


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11/04/2026

Spiritual Abuse, Mental Health & Spirituality in the Muslim Context - CONTRIBUTORS

Christianised Piety? Gender, Whiteness, and the Making of the ‘Ideal’ Muslim Woman - Dr Qudra Goodall

I am a social anthropologist specialising in Muslim self-formation, lived Islam, and the intersections of gender, race and belonging in contemporary Britain.

My PhD research explored British convert communities and how religious selves are shaped through embodied practice, relational life, and moral transformation. I bridge academic scholarship with applied impact, currently leading a Knowledge Transfer Partnership project between the University of East Anglia (UEA), Innovate UK, and Groundwork East, to develop a federation-wide community engagement model.

I have a BA (Hons) in International Politics and Modern Languages (Aberystwyth) and a Research Masters in International Development (UEA) and contributed to the British Muslim Values Project (UEA/BBC) by producing a film on British converts. My work spans ethnographic research and organisational practice, with expertise in knowledge exchange, participatory methods and creating socially grounded, meaningful impact that connects communities, institutions, and policy.

There's still time to join this online conference. Register here: https://lnkd.in/e4aX8qGv

29/10/2025

Sacred (body:mind:space), in collaboration with The Hurma Project, is excited to announce Spiritual Abuse, Mental Health, and Spirituality in the Muslim Context:

A Research and Action Exchange Conference, taking place online on Wednesday 15th April 2026.

This conference is a space where research meets resistance and collective change.

Call for Papers
Opens: 3rd October 2025
Deadline: 3rd November 2025

Further details, including themes and submission guidelines can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/researchforimpact

Please send abstracts (max 300 words) and a short biography to: [email protected]
Registration: Details to follow.

Hurma Project