Substance use within the American Muslim community presents unique challenges influenced by cultural, religious, and social factors. Research indicates that while Muslim Americans may report lower overall substance use compared to the general population, acculturation and the stress of navigating dual identities can increase the risk of substance use. A study found that 46.6% of American Muslim college students reported alcohol use in the past year, with religiosity and parental disapproval serving as protective factors [2]​​. Additionally, qualitative studies highlight that substance use is often hidden due to the stigma surrounding it within Muslim communities [1, 2]​. Addressing these issues requires culturally sensitive prevention and treatment programs that take into account the diverse backgrounds and specific needs of American Muslims [1, 2]​.

This is a multiyear project that involves building a community of experts and developing recovery interventions that are religiously/culturally appropriate and clinically sound. As one part of the project, our goal was to create a recovery resource guide that Muslims in different cities can use as part of their recovery journey. This recovery guide was informed by 20 interviews we did with community organizers, health workers, imams, and spiritual healers from cities across the US. These individuals were involved in offering recovery services to the Muslim community, with some of them having gone through the recovery process themselves. We followed these interviews with two online workshops with seven of the interviewees to think through the format and content of the resource guide. 

We used the data from the workshops to design a recovery playbook that outlines the Islamic principles and steps towards recovery. The first draft of the playbook is available to download below.