Religion As a Source of Strength for Recently Resettled Refugees from Syria

Background and Purpose: The recent Syrian refugee crisis has resulted in the mass exodus of over four million refugees from Syria since 2011.  Resettlement efforts have focused largely on European nations who initially opened their borders to vast numbers of these refugees, about ¾ of whom are women and children.  The United States has accepted approximately 18,000 Syrian refugees since 2011, when the crisis began, though over 13,000 of these were resettled in FY 2016.  Over 95% of the refugees from Syria who have resettled in the United States are Muslim.  The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the role of the Islamic faith in contributing to resiliency among recently resettled refugees from Syria.

Methods: Ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Syrian adults who had arrived in the United States between three months and two years prior to the study.  The sample was predominantly female (8 women; 2 men), and participants ranged in age from 18 to 50, with a median age of 36 years.  The interview guide elicited responses from participants about their faith, religious identity, and coping strategies before, during, and after resettlement.  Interviews were conducted by a researcher who identifies as Muslim and with the assistance of an Arabic interpreter who was familiar to the community of participants.  Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim.  A grounded theory approach guided the initial coding process, followed by the development of axial codes and the extraction of themes.

Results:  Findings emphasized the primary role of the Islamic faith in the lives of participants.  For participants in this study, identifying as Muslim was an essential part of their identity and served as a source of comfort, strength, pride, and humility.  Many attributed their survival to God’s protection, and saw their safe arrival in the United States as fulfillment of His promise to them for their faithfulness. Another theme involved post-resettlement challenges faced by refugees.  For these participants, adjusting to new cultural norms, particularly expectations related to gender, dress, and education proved difficult.  Parents in the study also expressed fears that their children would lose their connection to their culture and would grow up to devalue the Islamic faith and traditional religious practices due to their exposure to American values which they viewed less strict regarding dress, alcohol consumption, and faith practices.

Conclusion and Implications:  The findings of this study speak to the important role that religion may play in contributing to the wellness, resilience, and empowerment of refugees.  Faced with overwhelming atrocities, refugees must find a source of inner strength to overcome trauma and tragedy on their resettlement journey.  Understanding the important role that the Islamic faith can have in providing a source of comfort, strength, and empowerment for Syrian refugees, and working to build infrastructure to support and sustain these faith traditions is an essential component of refugee resettlement in the United States.