Muslim Religiosity Research Articles

Religiosity as a Mechanism to Control Delinquent Behaviour of School Students

Delinquent behaviour among school students is a great concern of governments and educational institutions. Although the authorities and civil society organisations have tried to control the growing trend of school violence, antisocial behaviour among students is significantly increasing. The low delinquency rate among school students in Shah Alam, a city closed to the Malaysian capital, inspired the researchers to explore the association between religiosity and delinquent behaviour. The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between religiosity and the delinquent behaviour of school students. This research employed a mixed method to collect the data. An instrument consisting of 101 questions prepared based on the Muslim Religiosity–Personality Inventory (MRPI) was administrated to measure the level of religiosity. A total of 107 secondary school students (58 boys, 49 girls) aged 13 to 14 years participated in the data collection. A semi-structured interview was used to collect the data from four school counsellors and discipline teachers to examine the relationship between religiosity and delinquency. This research found a moderate level of religiosity among students in Shah Alam while having an inverse relationship between religiosity and delinquency. The researchers, therefore, recommend religiosity as a successful mechanism to control delinquency among school students.

The Relationship Between Afterlife Beliefs and Mental Wellbeing Among Jordanian Muslim Youth

Despite the centrality of afterlife reward and punishment beliefs in the religious life of Muslims, few empirical studies have sought to understand how such beliefs affect the psychological state and social behavior of Muslims. Past scant related studies have concluded that these beliefs are unhealthy, because they are positively associated with anxiety and death anxiety. This finding contradicts a central notion in Islamic theology, which states that avoiding afterlife punishment and obtaining afterlife reward is the primary motive for Muslim religiosity. The current study attempts to deepen our understanding of how Islamic afterlife reward and punishment beliefs affect the psychological state of Muslims. The study suggests that the influence of Islamic afterlife beliefs on well-being can be better understood from the perspective of meaning management theory as well as through the eudaimonistic tradition of well-being. This study has two goals: To develop the Islamic Afterlife Reward and Punishment Beliefs (IARPB) scale, and to examine the relationship between IARPB and Muslim religiosity, death anxiety, death acceptance and integrity. Data were collected from Jordanian university students (N = 605). Exploratory and confirmatory analyses support the construct validity of the IARPB Scale. IARPB positively predicted Muslim religiosity, death anxiety, death acceptance, and integrity. Results of ad hoc analysis indicated that IARPB suppresses death anxiety and amplifies death acceptance by increasing Muslim religiosity. In general, the results indicate a positive relationship between IARPB and the psychological state of Muslims. The limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed.

HYBRID YOUNG-MUSLIM: Intersection Manhaj, Political Identity, and Modernity through Social Media

This article analyzes the religious phenomenon of young Muslims who are channeled through social media. Along with the swift currents of modernization, digitalization, and globalization, it is possible to cross subcultures in the dynamics of human life, including in religious matters. On the one hand, in the religious context, there are specific guidelines (manhaj), but on the other hand, they want to maintain their identity as young people. The results of the struggle and synthesis of various elements gave birth to a form of religion called Hybrid Muslim. Forms of religion can be seen from the model of dress and social relations. The influence of religious groups in the construction of Muslim religion in the media is very large. They use a number of strategies to spread their religious understanding so that it fits the character of young Muslims. The manhaj most influential in the construction of Muslim religiosity is manhaj the conservative religious. Nevertheless, young people's religious identity is not eliminated, namely millennial, modern, and Islami.

Relationship of Muslim Religiosity and Death Anxiety with the Mediating Effect of Optimism and Depression Among Cancer Patients in Pakistan.

Optimism and the practice of any religion are known to reduce depression and anxiety in cancer patients. Inthe present study, the specific role of Muslim religiosity, optimism, depression, and death anxiety in cancer patients has been explored. The sample of this study consistedof 200 cancer patients from different hospitals of the districts Faisalabad and Lahore (Pakistan). The sample's average age was 26.6years. Parallel mediation findings show that optimism and depression are significant mediators between Muslim religiosity and death anxiety among cancer patients. Muslim religiosity is positively associated with optimism, and it helps to decrease the level of death anxiety, while depression is negatively associated with Muslim religiosity, and high depression increases the death anxiety level of cancer patients. In conclusion, Muslim religiosity and optimism play significant roles in managing depressive symptoms and death anxiety among cancer patients.

Impact of Perceived Severity of COVID-19 (SARS-COV-2) on Mental Health of University Students of Pakistan: The Mediating Role of Muslim Religiosity.

Background: Perceived severity of COVID-19 (SARS-COV-2) is known to be associated with mental health of people in general and health professionals in particular in Western societies. However, its association with the mental health of students in Pakistan, which is predominantly a Muslim society, remains unclear so far. Moreover, the role of Muslim religiosity for such an association has not yet been investigated. We aimed to examine the association and report findings on the impact of perceived severity on mental health with a sample of students from all five provinces of Pakistan.Methods: We did a cross-sectional online survey from 1,525 Pakistani students in March 2020 using standardized measurement tools. We then determined the prevalence of perceived severity among students and its impact on their mental health. The strength of associations between these variables was estimated using generalized linear models, with appropriate distribution and link functions. Structural equation modeling through SmartPLS (3.0) software was utilized to analyze the results.Findings: The perceived severity of COVID-19 is significantly associated with mental health of Pakistani students, whereas Muslim religiosity is a strong mediator between perceived severity and mental health of Pakistani students.Conclusions: Though the perceived severity of COVID-19 is associated with mental health, this relationship can be better explained by the role of Muslim religiosity. When tested individually, the perceived severity accounted for only 18% variance in mental health that increased up to 57% by the mediating role of Muslim religiosity. This difference clearly indicates the mediating role of Muslim religiosity in the association between perceived severity and mental health for Pakistani students.

Changing the Religiosity of Indonesian Muslims in the New Normal Era

This study examined new religious patterns and behaviours in Indonesian Muslims during the New Normal era. This new religiosity is an impact of government regulations and recommendations from community organisations regarding social and physical distancing restrictions due to the spread of Covid-19. This study used a sociological approach to analyse changes in religious and social behaviour of Indonesian Muslims in public spaces qualitatively. This study found five main aspects that indicate a new form of religiosity for Indonesian Muslims in the New Normal era, namely; a shift in worship practices from a public space to a private space, a decrease in the capacity of the physical space that has an impact on decreasing the routine of worship, the emergence of new challenges for the authorities and public policy to prepare an area for more personal religious activities, the disappearance of symbolic worship practices, and finally, the blurring of abangan Muslim groups based on waqi'iyah (contemporary/contextual) ijtihad. These findings are analysed using the theory of public space from Jurgen Habermas's. This study proposes a new pattern of religiosity for Indonesian Muslims in the New Normal era, i.e., the adjustment of Shari'a by way of independent legal reasoning to maintain a wider maslahat, public welfare.

Muslim religiosity and health outcomes: A cross-sectional study among muslims in Norway

The aim of this study is to address the association between Muslim religiosity and health outcomes, and investigate if religious Muslims are more likely to be of disadvantage of health than non-religious Muslims.A cross-sectional study-design is used with a representative sample of Muslims in Norway including 2661 respondents in age 16 years–74 years from the “The Survey On Living Conditions Among Persons With An Immigrant Background 2016”, conducted by Statistics Norway. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate the relationship between Muslim religiosity and health outcomes. The health outcomes in focus are self-reported health, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, neck and back illnesses, mental health problems, sleeping disorders, consumption of alcohol, and smoking.Association between Muslim religiosity and positive health outcomes were found. Smoking and alcohol consumption were negatively associated with Muslim religiosity.The findings suggest no evidence that religious Muslims are more likely than non-religious Muslims to be of disadvantage of health, and the study do not support the premise that Islam as a barrier to health. In addition, our findings suggest that Muslim religiosity might serve as a resource either predicting better health outcomes or that Muslim religiosity may be a factor that exists if good health is evident. As our findings cannot define any cause-effect relation between Muslim religiosity and health outcomes, given the cross-sectional design of the study, we emphasize the need of further research that investigates how Muslim religiosity is associated to health.

Transformation of Villas to Mosques Social Impact of Islamization On The Government Center of Java In The Late 20th Century

Islamization of Java becomes an actual topic of religious social research because the phenomena not only relate to religious discourse but also other aspects. This research focuses on the Islamization of the government center of Salatiga Central Java. The aims of this study are: to find the academic answer to why Islamization occurred in the government center of Salatiga in Central Java, to find out the Islamization process underway, to describe the dominant factors affecting Islamization, and to describe the impact of Islamization on religious life around the central government. The benefit of this research is to contribute the theories of Islamization of Government center of Java in the late of 20th century. This study is a descriptive research and causality analysis. The events were limited to those of 1985 to 2018. The data were sourced from the archives, inscription, news, interviews, and literature. The results of the study found that the Islamization of the Salatiga government center was carried out because the infrastructure was still European patterned. The actualization of Muslim religiosity was not well supported by this infrastructure. The symbol of Islamization is the transformation of the villa on the west of the city square into a mosque. The Islamization was successful because of the symbiotic factors between political parties, rulers, scholars, Islamic universities, and religious organizations. There was no significant impact yet on the improvement of spiritual and social lives around the government center. This study enriches theories about the symbiotic relations of religions, politics, and social changes in Java in the late 20th century.

RELIGIUSITAS KELAS MENENGAH MUSLIM SURAKARTA ; INTERAKSI DENGAN GLOBALISASI DAN MODERNITAS

The economic growth affects the rise of middle class, includes Muslim class. The increase of the middle-class Moslem affects religiosity in Surakarta City. This study aimed (1) to describe the religiosity of middle class Muslims in Surakarta City as the result of their interaction with globalism and modernism and (2) to identify the factors influencing the religiosity of that class. The study was conducted in Surakarta City using a qualitative approach. Data were collected through Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with 11 informants with various relevant backgrounds. Then those data were analyzed qualitatively and compared to relevant previous studies. The study resulted: (1) Middle-class Muslims in Surakarta City showed their religiosity by following Majelis Taklim that combining spiritual and social activities and it was different to conventional ones. Religiosity was presented in sharia lifestyle. This was confirmed through the middle class’s appearances and preferences on Islamic-labelled products and services. On one hand, the interaction with modernism value and identity as the part of global Islamic ummah raised the spirit to purify Islamic value. Then, it potentially closed the middle class Muslims to radicalism. On the other hand, that interaction possibly trapped middle-class Muslim on the consumptive and hedonistic culture that contradicted to sharia values. (2) The factors that influenced middle-class Muslim’s religiosity were financial stability, appropriate rationalistic ability, and Islamic learning media. Internet and social media provided crucial influences on the religiosity of middle-class Muslims in Surakarta city since they became the important media to understand Islam.

Excluding veiled women from French public space: the emergence of a ‘respectable’ segregation?

ABSTRACT The controversies around Islam in France have given rise to a series of public policies. Such measures have led to an expansion of what is usually referred to as ‘public space’ and a generalization of the principle of ‘neutrality’ which was previously only required of public officials. Limitations on the visibility of Muslim religious practice are intrinsically gendered since the controversies that led to political decisions were aimed at Muslim women, particularly those who wear a marker of Muslim religiosity: the hijab, a garment that covers their head. This article draws on the sociology of public policy to analyse concepts such as ‘laïcité’, ‘dignity’ and ‘fundamental values’ that have been used to legitimize the legal exclusion of veiled women from public space, paradoxically in the name of their emancipation.

Muslim Verbal and Active Prayer (MVAP): Measurement and Psychological Functioning of Supplications in Islam

ABSTRACT Prayer is an important aspect of many religions. Existing measures of prayer have mostly originated from the Christian West and emphasized various “verbal” aspects of making a supplication. An “active” aspect of prayer, in which the supplicants strive for what they pray, has not received sufficient attention despite being crucial to Muslim belief. Based on the Islamic scholar Said Nursi’s conceptualization, the current study developed and validated a 7-item, 2-factor measure of Muslim Verbal and Active Prayer (MVAP). The measure showed good construct validity in two independent Muslim samples (N = 297 and 179) in exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. It demonstrated not only convergent validity, but showed incremental validity predicting religious and psychological adjustment over and above Muslim religiosity and spirituality. In addition, the Muslim prayers invigorated and integrated Muslim religious spirituality in its expression of religious and psychological adjustment. This brief measure has potential to deepen empirical studies of Muslim psychology, and prayer research in general.

The Path Analysis between Spiritual Well- Being and Religiosity Mediated by Mental Health and Grief Severity Fetal or Neonatal Deaths

Background Recently there has been concern about grief following the loss of a child and the factors affecting its severity that have been less addressed in research. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between spiritual well-being, mental health and religiosity and grief severity in women who experienced the fetal or neonatal deaths. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional-analytical study was carried out on 200 women who experienced the perinatal deaths and referred to four hospitals affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. The data were collected using demographic questionnaire, Spiritual well-being scale (SWBS), Perinatal grief scale (PGS), Muslim religiosity scale (MRS), and General healthy questionnaire (GHQ). The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 19. LISREL software version 8.8 was used to test the designed model. Results There was a significant relationship between spiritual well-being level and the grief severity (p <0.001). Also, a significant relationship was observed between religiosity and mental health level and the grief severity (p <0.001). Religiosity has the most negative relationship (β=-0.838), and mental health has the most positive relationship (β=0.33) with the severity of fetal-neonatal grief. Conclusion According to the results, spiritual well-being and religiosity can reduce the grief severity; therefore, it is recommended that the interventional studies should be performed to minimize this problem.

Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Moroccan Arabic Version of the Muslim Belief into Action (BIAC) Scale.

Various approaches have been developed to comprehensively assess multiple dimensions of religiosity. The Belief into Action (BIAC) Scale was developed for this purpose and to evaluate the degree of translation of personal beliefs into real-life actions. The goal of the present study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Moroccan Arabic version of the Muslim BIAC, designed to assess the religiosity of Muslims. This study was conducted in two stages. First, the original version of Muslim BIAC was translated from English to Arabic using a standard forward-backward translation procedure. Second, the Moroccan Arabic version of the Muslim BIAC was administered to a sample of 132 students at Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco (mean age 22.2years). The average score on the BIAC was 46.1 (SD = 17.2). The Cronbach's alpha for internal reliability was 0.81, with alphas for removed items ranging from 0.77 to 0.82. Test-retest reliability by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.87 (95% CI = 0.83-0.91). Discriminant validity indicated relatively weak correlations with depressive symptoms (r = - 0.06) and perceived stress (r = 0.08). The Moroccan Arabic version of the Muslim BIAC is a reliable and valid measure of religious involvement that can be used to assess the relationship between religiosity and health in Moroccan Arabic populations.

The Effect of Muslim Religiosity on Youth Delinquency

Conceptualizing religiosity as a multidimensional construct, this study aimed to investigate the influence of religiosity on youth delinquency. Three dimensions of religiosity—belief about religion, religious practice, and religious social environment—were examined as predictors of delinquency. The survey data collected in 2010 by the Governance of Istanbul, Istanbul Department of Education, and Istanbul Police Department were used. Participants were high school students ( n = 31,272) between 14 and 18 years. Structural equation modeling was used for statistical analysis and hypothesis testing. The study found a relationship between the dimensions of religiosity and delinquency. While dimensions of beliefs about the religion and religious social environment correlate negatively with delinquency, the dimension of religious practices correlates positively with it. Belief about one’s religion was found to be the strongest of the three dimensions. The findings suggested that religion has the potential to reduce the risk of delinquency among youth. Implications for future research and policy makers were also discussed.

The Link between Muslim Religiosity and Negative Attitudes toward the West: An Arab Study

ABSTRACT Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, with Muslims being the majority in 50 countries. The substantial numbers of Muslim immigrants moving to the West and the fact that Muslim values are quite different from the secular system adopted by Europeans and Americans are more reasons why it is imperative to understand their attitudes toward Westerners. The present study examined and analyzed the relationship between two types of Muslim religiosity and prejudice toward the West in an Arab-Muslim context, a region that is dominated by Muslim believers. Further, the study also examined other associated constructs to prejudice on anti-Western attitudes. Religious Fundamentalism (RF) and the intrinsic component of the Intrinsic/Extrinsic (I/E-R) scale were both used to measure Muslim religiosity in an Arab-Muslim sample of 608 participants that were collected from 17 Arab countries. Also, Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Dogmatism (DOG) were included to test their mediated effects on the relationship between Islamic religiosity and anti-Western attitudes. The results indicated that Islamic fundamentalism was the dominant predictor of unfavorable attitudes toward the West, followed by intrinsic Muslim religiosity and dogmatism. The findings also showed that RWA and DOG partially mediated the relationship between intrinsic Muslim religiosity and anti-Western attitudes. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings in an Islamic context.

The Effect of Muslim Religiosity and Innovation Capability on Firm Survival: A Study on Small Enterprises During the Covid-19 Pandemic

&lt;p&gt;This research aimed to examine and analyze the effect of Muslim religiosity and innovation capability on firm survival. Also, this research investigated the moderation role of environmental uncertainty on the effect of Muslim religiosity and innovation capability on firm survival. The study was conducted during the covid-19 pandemic. The analysis unit of this research was the owners of processed food small enterprises fostered by the regional government of Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta. The number of respondents involved in this research was 120 Muslim entrepreneurs. Data were collected using closed questionnaires distributed online, than processed using SEM-WarpPLS. The results showed that the Muslim religiosity and innovation capability significantly affected firm survival. Environmental uncertainty significantly weakened the effect of innovation capability on firm survival. However, environmental uncertainty insignificantly weakened the effect of Muslim religiosity on firm survival. These research results indicate the importance of religious formation for small entrepreneurs in this crisis time. Innovation is also important in increasing the firm survival of small companies during the covid-19 pandemic. &lt;/p&gt;

Factors affecting Muslim non-customers to use Islamic bank: Religiosity, knowledge, and perceived quality

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors influencing the Indonesian Muslim consumer’s intention to use Islamic banks. Methodology – This paper adopts a quantitative approach. The data is collected from online and offline questionnaires. By using a non-probability purposive sampling method, this study limited the respondents to the Muslims who have no Islamic bank account. In total, there are a total of 575 sample respondents. Findings – The results of this study portray that religiosity, knowledge, and perceived quality have a positive and significant effect on customers’ intention to use Islamic bank in Indonesia. Research limitations – After finishing all research processes, the author finds that the indicators to measure Islamic religiosity is not entirely reflected Islamic religiosity from the Indonesian Muslim context. As a consequence, several items must be eliminated from the analysis due to validity issues. The author recommends future researchers to retest the religiosity indicators to find more suitable items in the context of Indonesia Muslim culture. Practical applications – This study provides an insight into the Indonesian Islamic finance industry as a basic formulation in designing, developing, and appropriate strategies to promote Islamic banking. Social applications – This study not only helps Islamic financial sector in designing, developing, and promoting Islamic banking in Indonesia but also offers new insights concerning Indonesian Muslim religiosity, knowledge on Islamic banks, and their perception of quality toward Islamic banks. Originality – This study uses an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explain the intention to use Islamic banks. In the model, religiosity, knowledge, and perceived quality is simultaneously tested to complement the TPB.

Are Birds of a Feather Praying Together? Assessing Friends’ Influence on Muslim Youths’ Religiosity in Germany

Muslim religiosity is often portrayed as a barrier to integration into secular societies, especially in Europe. Scholars suggest that religiously segregated networks reinforce Muslims’ religiosity and religious identification, but solid evidence is scarce. Based on longitudinal German data, we examined whether friendship networks influence Muslim youths’ religiosity. Using stochastic actor-oriented models, we also assessed whether religiosity in turn relates to friendship choices. We found that higher shares of Muslim friends neither increase Muslim youths’ religious identification nor their frequency of prayer, but they are associated with more frequent mosque attendance. Furthermore, Muslim youths assimilated their Muslim friends’ mosque attendance and frequency of prayer. Friends’ actual religious practices, rather than shared group membership, thus seems to shape individual religiosity. Finally, religiosity does not hamper interreligious friendships; it was unrelated to friendship choices. Results are similar for Christian youths, suggesting that these patterns are not unique to Muslims.

Muslim Tourist Religiosity, Perceived Values, Satisfaction, and Loyalty

This study investigates the relationships among Muslim tourists' perceived values, satisfaction, loyalty, and the moderating effect of religiosity. These relationships are explored with a sample of 396 Ghanaian Muslim tourists visiting Larabanga Mosque. Structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis were used to explore the relationships and the moderating effect of the studied variables. The results revealed that perceived values of Muslim had positive effects on tourist satisfaction and tourist satisfaction had a positive influence on loyalty. However, quality and social values had negative effects on satisfaction. In addition, the significant moderating effect of Muslim religiosity on the relationship between perceived value and tourist satisfaction was established. The results of the study validate the viability of Islamic tourism practices that would build positive intention to revisit or recommend destinations among potential Muslim tourists for future Islamic tourism market. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are also discussed.

In an Ottoman Holy Land: The Hajj and the Road from Damascus, 1500–1800

In an Ottoman Holy Land: The Hajj and the Road from Damascus, 1500–1800