What Social Workers Need to Know about Muslims: An Analysis of the Contemporary Social Work Scholarship.

This article examines peer-reviewed English-language social work scholarship on Islam and Muslims published from 2011 to 2021, analyzing 127 articles across 70 journals, with most first authors based in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Major themes identified include the importance of recognizing intracultural diversity among Muslims, the role of faith-based strengths such as mosques and the hijab in well-being, and the impact of sociopolitical stereotypes and biases. The review highlights gaps in the literature, particularly the limited differentiation of sectarian and ideological diversity within Muslim populations and the need for culturally respectful, nuanced approaches in social work practice and research. It concludes by advocating for enhanced cultural competence and humility among social workers to better serve diverse Muslim communities while avoiding overgeneralizations and discriminatory assumptions.