Islamic epistemology in conducting insider research on spiritual abuse in Muslim communities in the UK

Adam, M and Chowdhury, R ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5974-7190, 2026. Islamic epistemology in conducting insider research on spiritual abuse in Muslim communities in the UK. Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religions, 27, pp. 18-48. ISSN 2516-6379

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Abstract

This paper navigates the ethical challenges of conducting sensitive research on abuse and misuse of religious authority in Muslim communities in the UK. It highlights how abuse, including coercive control and physical and sexual abuse, under the banner of the spiritual, is often concealed and censored. Drawing from the authors’ research initiatives, the paper examines the ethical tightrope of researchers positioning themselves as ‘trustworthy insiders’ while addressing these sensitive issues. It balances the need to shed light on these harms without demonising the religion or causing additional harm to vulnerable individuals and communities. Methodologically, the paper endorses a decolonised grassroots approach through community research initiatives like Sacred (body:mind:space), aiming to build trust and collaboration from the ground up, whilst ensuring epistemologies are rooted within the Islamic tradition. We outline four key principles to this approach as tawḥīd (Oneness of God); justice and anti- oppression as an Islamic ethical imperative; activism as a Qur’anic mandate of ‘enjoining good and forbidding evil,' and shūrā (collective consultation). This paper contributes to the discourse on decolonial approaches towards research when considering sensitive topics within faith communities.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religions
Creators:	Adam, M. and Chowdhury, R.
Publisher:	Equinox Publishing
Date:	5 March 2026
Volume:	27
ISSN:	2516-6379
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1558/jbasr.33218 DOI 2531284 Other
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Melissa Cornwell
Date Added:	23 Mar 2026 10:45
Last Modified:	23 Mar 2026 10:45
Related URLs:	Publisher
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/55452

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