Free Will and Predestination in Islamic Thought, Case Study Example

Majority of the Arabs belong to the Islamic religion, which is the official religion in all the Muslim countries in the World. As a result, most of the Arab Americans, especially the immigrants subscribe to the Islam religion. In this religion, they worship Allah, with their Sabbath day being on Friday. They also follow the requirements of pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. Most of the Arabs in the USA since 1995 are highly educated professionals and can communicate in English language eloquently.  Recent immigrants have varying levels of literacy depending on the education they had received in their former countries. However, English language is a common second language for majority of the Arabs; hence most of them can communicate in English. Most of the adult Arab Americans work in managerial, professional, technical and sales departments. Arab Americans work in the private sector and government offices. Arab Americans have a median annual income of $56,433 which is slightly higher that of Native Americans (Demographics, 2015).

The Said family is a typical Arab family with their subscription to Islam. However, the level of education among the members adults as the neither the mother nor the mother has joined college. Consequently, the family’s financial capability is lower than the average income of Arab Americans. Additionally, the Said family can communicate in English language to some extent though they are not very eloquent.

To create a good rapport with Ms Ayesha and her family, it would be important to consider language capabilities and the cultural background of the family. Firstly, the nurse should appreciate the culture of the family. Thus, they should avoid attempts to touch members of the opposite sex, as this is prohibited by the culture. Additionally, they should start discussing issues that fall under the context of medical care for Ms Ayesha. While communicating with them, the nurse should talk loudly and should address each person with a title as this is highly encouraged in Arabic communities. The nurse should avoid any attempts to force Ms Ayesha to consult with him, if the is a man.

The fact that Ms Ayesha’s husband and mother-in-law are responding to questions addressed to her can be interpreted on a cultural context. In typical Arabic families, the father has a lot of influence especially in formal arrangements (Rodhan, 2012). In this case, the Mr. Said is executing his task of representing the family and making decisions on its behalf. On the other hand, Ms Ayesha is honoring her cultural requirement f submitting to her husband especially in formal and business activities. Additionally, the mother-in-law assumes the role of family adviser and is expected to know more about feminism more than the husband. Mr. Said’s mother is an instrumental figure in the family, as she expected to know more about the Arabic culture more than anyone in the room.

The role of the husband under the Arabic culture is the main reason why Mr. Said insists that the nurse should add her more blankets and inject her with a sedative. Under the Arabic culture, the man of the family is responsible for the well being of each member of the family. Thus, Mr. Said insists on this to make sure that his wife is warm and gets enough sleep without being disturbed by the pain. Notably, this is an extension of his house roles to the hospital. Additionally, asking to see the physician proves his distrust on the nurse and promotion of his ego; an expected characteristic of Arabic men.

During the month Ramadan, Muslims are expected to abstain from eating, drinking all types of drinks, and engaging in all sexual activities including marital sex during daytime hours. This is a religious requirement, which all Muslims are required to follow during this period. However, exceptions are given to the sick Muslims. Any person who experiences any form of sickness during the month of Ramadan is not mandated to fast (Taylor and Harding, 2003). In this case, Ms Ayesha may be one of the extreme Muslims who must observe the Ramadan whatsoever. Therefore, it is expected that she will pose a challenge when she fasts under medication. To deal with this problem, the nurse should contact the husband a local Muslim leader to convince her on the need to take her meals as suggested by the nurse for the betterment of her health.

The concept of predestination as it applies to the Muslims in Arabic countries also applies to the Arabs Americans. Predestination is a belief among the Muslims that the fate of human beings is divinely determined by Allah way before the person is born (Cillis, 2013). In burial and benevolent, this belief helps to console the people by making them believe that death of person was the will of God. They believe that it is Allah who chooses to bring a person to the world, and He is the one who wishes to take him from the world. With that conviction, they are able to accept death and process their grief successfully.

In Islam religion, only reversible forms of birth control are acceptable. However, they are only acceptable when the life of the mother is a risk, child bearing is too frequent, and when there is a possibility of financial hardships. Abortion is acceptable only in instances where the mother is at risk of losing or endangering her life. Infertility treatments are acceptable within the religion. Autopsy is highly prohibited as the people regard this as disrespect to the body of the deceased. Organ donation and transplant is acceptable because it is an effort to promote humanity.

According to Arab Americans, nurses should be conversant with the cultural practices and requirements of Arabs. This aims at making them appreciate them and observe the culture of Arab Americans when they visit the hospitals where they work. Notably, it will help them to avoid breaching or attempting to breach their culture as this embarrasses them. The roles of Arabs and America nurses vary in the requirements that that they are expected to observe. American nurses are expected to learn the culture, and practice it when handling an Arab American. On the other hand, Arabic nurses are already conversant with the Arabic culture and can practice it anytime without pressure.

Arab Americans are not likely to disclose some illnesses because they are prohibited by the Islam religion, while others are attached to stigmatization from the society. For example, a lot of people believe that disclosing that they are suffering from cancer or psychiatric disorders will expose them from stigma from the society to the extent that people will reject them; hence lacking friends and spouses. Additionally, nurses and physicians are prohibited from communication serious medical conditions to the patients because they will diminish their hope. Diseases such as psychiatric illnesses subject the person to intense stigma as people think that the person has been possessed by evil spirits.

References

Cillis, M. (2013). Free will and predestination in Islamic thought: Theoretical constructs in the works of Avicenna, Ghazali and Ibn Arabi. London: Routledge.

Taylor, K., & Harding, G. (2003). Pharmacy Practice. New York, NY: CRC Press.

Rodhan, N. (2012). The role of the Arab-Islamic world in the rise of the west: Implications for  contemporary trans-cultural relations. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Demographics. (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2015, from <http://www.aaiusa.org/pages/demographics/>.