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Although Islam is the world’s second-largest religion, there continues to be misconceptions and an overall lack of awareness regarding the religious and social worlds that make up the global Muslim community. This is particularly concerning when examining notions of mental ill-health, where a lack of cultural awareness, understanding, and sensitivity can impede adequate treatment. As a global religion, Islam is practiced within various cultural milieus, and, given the centrality of faith amongst Muslim communities, a conflation of religion and culture can occur when attempting to understand mental health paradigms. Whilst much of the discourse regarding Muslim mental health centres on cultural formulations, this article discusses how, historically, conceptualisations relating to medicine and mental health were ensconced within the particular medical paradigm of the day. Specifically, it considers the frameworks within which mental health and illness were understood within the medieval Muslim medical tradition and their relevance to contemporary debates in psychology and psychiatry. In sum, this paper seeks to demonstrate that cultural formulations of mental illness, often viewed as “Islamic”, are distinct from historical Islamic approaches to mental health which employed contemporaneous medical discourse and which act as the reference marker for the emergent revivalist Islamic psychology movement seen today.

Populist media depictions of Islam as being at odds with the West in a ‘clash of civilizations’ have caused young Muslims living in Western contexts to feel increasingly pressured to establish their identity and allegiances. Whilst some may become apologetic, others may distinctively assert their religious identity as a sense of pride and celebrated difference (Jaspal, 2010; Mawani, 2006). Indeed, for young Muslims, religious identity is often intertwined with nationalistic and cultural identities (Anwar, 1998; Jaspal and Coyle, 2010; Mukadam 2003; Modood et al., 1997) which can impact acculturation. Given the diversity amongst the Muslim traditions, different Muslim migrant communities may experience acculturation differently. This paper examines the impacts of acculturation and identity amongst Isma’ili Muslim youth in Australia. Research on the global Ismai’ili community has primarily focused on the historical and sociological aspects of migration of the diasporic and post-diasporic communities, the ‘first and second-generation immigrants,in the Euro-American context (Mukadam and Mawani, 2006; Mukadam and Mawani, 2009; Nanji, 1983; Nanji, 1986). This study is the first to examine the self-identified socially and geographically isolated community in Australia, and how constructs of ethnicity, identity, nationality, religion, culture, and symbolic meaning-making are formulated amongst the growing youth population. The study also examines how these diasporic and post-diasporic youth relate to each other and develop salient features of their identity—how religious, cultural, and social factors influence construction of community-making within this religious and ethnic minority, and similarities, and differences, in these views amongst youth from the same ethno-cultural group but with different migratory histories. Building on the work of Moosa-Mitha (2009) and Mukadam and Mawani (2009), this study will demonstrate how religion and identity take on multiple meanings within the Australian Isma’ili context and shed light on the self-sufficiency of this community despite self-identified geographic and social isolation.

The religio-cultural community of migrants from minority ethnic backgrounds often plays a strong role in their post-migration adaptation. While religion itself has been said to play an important role in construction of resilience (Abdel-Khalak, 2007; Moreira-Almeida, A., Neto, F.L., & Koenig, 2006; Bhugra, 2004; Davydov, D.M., Stewart, R., Ritchie, K., & Chaudieu, I., 2010, Dein, 2010), the social support network created through involvement in a religious community may also protect against development of mental health conditions (Pumariega, A., Rothe, & Pumariega, J., 2005; Bhugra et al, 2004; Dew et al, 2008).This is particularly relevant for immigrant communities who may encounter threats to mental health due to the migratory experience (Pumariega, A., Rothe, & Pumariega, J.,, 2005; Jibeen & Khalid, 2010). Much work has looked at the case of refugees and mental health outcomes and resiliencies (ie: Watters, 2001), yet little at the post-migratory experience on mental health for young immigrants, who often migrate for economic and educational opportunities, and the second-generation, who may encounter cultural and acculturative challenges (Pumariega, A., Rothe, & Pumariega, J., 2005; Bhugra et al, 2004). This is striking given the many changing life circumstances facing youth and the potentiality of development of mental health conditions (Bhugra, 2004; Patel, Flisher, Hetrick., & McGlory, 2007). Thus, it becomes important to examine the resiliencies of these recent-immigrant and second-generation youth and their strategies for mental well-being. This paper examines the case of the diasporic and post-diasporic Ismaili Muslim youth in Australia, the so-called recent and second-generation immigrant. It illustrates how they respond to mental health challenges encountered in the migratory experience, and examines the role of their faith-based community in the development of their mental health resiliencies. It builds upon the work of Moosa-Mitha (2009), in her study of Canadian Muslim immigrant youth, particularly engaging with her themes of “visibility” and “voice”, to showcase how Australian Muslim youth utilize concepts such as engagement with their faith and civic participation to develop positive mental health resiliencies when engaging with contemporary threats to mental health encountered through the migratory and acculturative experience.

Little is known about the impacts of migration, adjustment, and acculturation on mental health, particularly amongst South Asian Muslim diasporic and post-diasporic youth. Though they may encounter mental health challenges, it is unknown how they frame these conditions - to what extent are their views influenced by traditional cultural or secular bio-medical attitudes towards mental illnesses? Notions of stigma, shame, and honour are considered strong reasons for the under-representation of South Asian in mental health services. This exploratory study investigated how South Asian Ismaili Muslim youth in Australia perceive concepts surrounding mental health and mental illness. A mixed-methods design, involving questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, was employed to compare the views of those youth born in Australia with youth recently migrated. Respondents’ definitions of mental health were often found to be conflated with mental illness or intellectual disabilities, although Australian-born respondents were more likely to acknowledge the nature-nurture debate. Whilst Australian-born youth were more likely to recognize various mental illnesses, there was no significant difference in both groups’ recognition of stress, anxiety, and depression. Although recent immigrants were more likely to say supernatural powers had an impact on mental illness, all respondents believed mental illnesses were treatable. Both groups were equally likely to have heard about mental health issues from a variety of sources and indicated they would turn to mental health professionals for assistance, although Australian-born youth were more likely to turn to their families. Unlike the literature, results suggest that while youth may not recognize mental illnesses, particularly immigrants, they know where to go and are willing to use Ismaili community services for mental health issues assuming concerns of trust and confidentiality are met. Youth also indicated a need for increased awareness of mental health issues, tied in with discussion of contemporary issues faced by Australian Ismaili youth.