The Lived Experiences of Immigrant Arab Muslim Women in the United States

174 Pages·2017·0.43 MB·English

University of New Orleans
The Lived Experiences of Immigrant Arab Muslim Women in the United States: Implications for
Counselors and Other Helping Professionals

A Dissertation

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the
University of New Orleans
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy
In
Counselor Education

by

Iman En-Nabut

B.S., Tulane University, 2000
M.Ed., University of New Orleans, 2003

May 2007
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I want to thank Allah (God) for making this possible. I never really
thought I would see this day come. I want to thank my parents, Abdel Raheem Nabut and Wafa
Nabut for always being there for me and always supporting and guiding me, even in the hardest
of moments. I want to thank them for going to Office Depot in the middle of the night or without
prior notice, just to meet a deadline, and for never complaining about it. I only wish to be as
successful a parent as you two have been to me. I love you and appreciate you more than you
will ever know. A great big thank you goes out to you, mom and dad.
Although they may never realize it or even expect it, my brothers have truly been an
inspiration. Mohamed Waquad Nabut and Mohamed Yosri Nabut, I want to thank you for always
taking an interest in everything I do. Although I viewed it as annoying at the time, your
persistence is truly what got me to this day.
I extend a warm gratitude to Zusel and my two beautiful nephews (known as “Haboobie”
and “Abud”). Although I missed out on a few special occasions with you because I had to
interview or revise and edit, you were always positive and uplifting. You never forgot about your
“Aunt E.” Thank you!
It goes without saying that there is much appreciation for my dissertation committee. I
thank you for your support and insistence that “we get it right.” Dr. Barbara Herlihy, Dr. Zarus
Watson, and Dr. Louis Paradise, I thank you dearly for your patience, guidance, encouragement,
and willingness to see this project to completion. I extend a special gratitude to you all for
sincerely expressing an interest in the subject matter, and when others doubted, you stayed by
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my side. Thank you for allowing me to study a group that I was truly interested in learning more
about.
A warm thank you to all my participants in the study who welcomed me into their
lives/homes to share their life experiences, hopes, and the challenges they faced. I understand it
was difficult to do, and I am forever grateful. Thank you for placing your trust in me.
I appreciate all my friends and colleagues who encouraged and supported me in my
educational pursuits. Without their support in times of hardship and agony, this would not have
been possible. A huge thank you goes out to Theresa Phillips, Kristy Brumfield, Sundy Barjon,
Tameka Bob, and Dawn Ironside. I thank you for the times we complained and questioned, but
kept the race.
Merlyna, Barbara, Jenny, Carla, Selina, and Connie at St. Rose Elementary, I want to
thank you for always supporting me. A special thank you to Kevin Barney for always assuming
it [Ph.D. process] was going to my head. If I did not care to finish before, you made me want to
finish it even more. Thank you for allowing me to prove you wrong.
Finally, I owe this journey to Dr. Danny Roussel. As I completed my Master’s degree, I
was mentored by Dr. Danny Roussel. I was fortunate to take several classes with Dr. Roussel. He
motivated me and encouraged me to apply to the doctoral program and had complete faith in my
abilities as a professional counselor and a counselor educator.
The journey at the University of New Orleans has been long, one that enriched me with
challenges from many wonderful people. There were times when I considered giving up, but
there was always encouragement from my friends to stay the course. I say thank you to all of
you. You know who you are.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………………...vii
LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………...….viii
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………...ix
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………..1
Purpose of the Study……………………………………………………………………… 2
Rationale for the Study…………………………………………………………………….5
Conceptual Framework…………………………………………………………………….5
The Research Questions……………………………………………………………………8
Method……………………………………………………………………………………..9
Role of the Researcher………………………………………………………………..9
Participants…………………………………………………………………………..10
Data Collection……………………………………....……………………………...12
Data Analysis………………………………………………………………………..13
Limitations………………………………………………………………………………..14
Definitions of Terms……………………………………………………………………...14

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………...16
Organization of Chapter…………………………………………………………………..16
Arab Immigrants………………………………………………………………………….16
Islam…………………………………………………………………………………17
Muslims in the U.S………………………………………………………………….22
Arab Muslim women………………………………………………………………..23
Anecdotal stories……………………………………………………………………23
Enas…………………………………………………………………………………23
Shereen and Jumana………………………………………………………………...24
Heba…………………………………………………………………………………25
Multiple Cultural Identities of Arab Muslim Women……………………………………30
Feministic Theory…………………………………………………………………...31
Womanism…………………………………………………………………………..32
Multicultural Competence and Ethical Counseling Practice……………………………..33
Rose…………………………………………………………………………………33
ACA code of ethics…………………………………………………………………34
Relevant Research Studies………………………………………………………..………36
Counselor’s Limited Knowledge……………………………………………………37
Qualitative Studies…………………………………………………………………..37
Quantitative Studies…………………………………………………………………37
Why Study Arab Muslim women?.............................................................................40
Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………….40

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………….41
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….41
Rationale for the Use of a Qualitative Approach…………………………………………41
Why van Manen’s Approach?............................................................................................42
Research Questions……………………………………………………………………….43
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Sampling………………………………………………………………………………….43
Participants……………………………………………………………………………….44
Data Collection…………………………………………………………………………...46
Demographic Questionnaires………………………………………………………..46
Observations……………………………………………………………………...…46
Interviews……………………………………………………………………………47
Data Analysis and Coding……………………………………………………………..…49
Role of the Researcher……………………………………………………………………50
Assumptions………………………………………………………………………………52
Trustworthiness…………………………………………………………………………...52
Summary………………………………………………………………………………….53

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS………………………………………………………………54
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………54
Descriptions of the Study Participants……………………………………………………55
Demographic and Individual Profiles of Participants…………………………………….57
Table 1…………………………………………………………………………………57
Maiba (Palestine)…………………………………………………………...………58
Zeina (Iraq)…………………………………………………………………...…….60
Samia (Palestine)………………………………………………………………...…63
Manza (Egypt)……………………………………………………………………...65
Aysha (Palestine).......................................................................................................66
Fatmeh (Palestine) …………………………………………………………………67
Data collection and Analysis Procedures…………………………………………………69
Emergent Themes (Figure 1)…………………………………………………………..73
Gender and Class……………………………………………………………………75
Gender Roles………………………………………………………………………...78
Family Support...……………………………………………………………………83
Religion……………………………………………………………………………..84
Adaptation/Alienation………………………………………………………………90
Participants’ descriptions of their struggles (Table 2)……………………………………98
Support, finding a voice, and Counseling………………………………………………..98
Participants’ views on seeking Counseling (Table 3)…………………………………..100
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………102

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION…………………………………………………………….104
Introduction……………………………………………………………………...………104
Discussion………………………………………………………………………….……105
The Findings Suggest……………………………………………………………………105
Gender Roles: Stressors of differing expectations…………………………………106
Lack of Family Support/Communication………………………………………….108
Religion: Modernity vs. Tradition…………………………………………………109
Major decisions: hijab, raising children, and maintaining Arabic………………110
What does it all mean?......................................................................................................113
Feminist perspective……………………………………………………………….113
Limitations…………………………………………………………………………...…114
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Implications for counselors, counselor educators, and the counseling profession……...115
Future Research/Recommendations……………………………………………………..118
Final Thoughts…………………………………………………………………………..119

REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………..…122

APPENDICES……………………………………………………………… ………………...133
Appendix A: Demographic Questionnaire………….…...………………………………133
Appendix B: Interview Protocol for Round one………………………………… ……..134
Appendix C: Consent Form……………………………………………………………..135
Appendix D: Institutional Review Board Approval...…………………………………..137
Appendix E: Sample Interview with Zeina ……………………………………………..138

VITA…………………………………………………………………………………………...164

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Demographic and Individual Profiles of Participants…………………………………..58

Table 2: Participants’ descriptions of their struggles in the United States………………………98

Table 3: Participants’ views on seeking Counseling………………………………………...…100

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1: Emergent Themes……………………………………………………………………74

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ABSTRACT

As the demographic landscape of the United States continues to change, counselors along
with other helping professionals are going to be challenged to find ways to meet the varying
personal, social, and academic needs of an increasingly multiracial, multi-religious, and
multicultural population. This study was an attempt to document and explain through an
ethnographic study the experiences of six immigrant Arab Muslim women, ranging in age from
21 to 35, living in the United States. Data were gathered in the participants’ natural setting,
utilizing ethnographic interviews. The general research question was “What are the lived
experiences of immigrant Arab Muslim women in the United States?” Secondary questions were:
(a) How do Arab American Muslim women perceive themselves culturally?
(b) How do Arab American Muslim women describe their specific cultural experiences?
(c) What barriers, if any, do Arab American Muslim women experience in their daily lives?
(d) What do Arab American Muslim women describe as their support system?
And, (e) What are Arab American Muslim women’s viewpoints on seeking counseling?
The findings reveal that the six immigrant Arab Muslim women participants have
difficulty assimilating in a society that differs in values and beliefs from their culture of origin.
From a multicultural and feminist point of view, I found that the experiences of the Muslim
women can lead to a counseling curriculum that educates and informs in-coming counselors and
encourages the seasoned mental health professionals to target their services toward this group.
Support from friends and family or lack there of, played a major role in the women’s integration.
By learning about the experiences in their day to day lives, what they need, how they feel and
react to those experiences, counselors and other helping professionals are more informed and
better equipped to recruit, retain, and assist Arab American Muslim women in counseling.
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