Dialogical Narrative analysis on Islam in British Muslim Women's stories of Domestic Abuse

Domestic abuse is a human rights issue that has negative consequences for both individuals and wider society, including the cost to the economy and its impact on physical and mental health. Although numerous studies have been conducted on domestic abuse, there remains a dearth of academic literature focusing on the stories of Muslim women living in the UK. Furthermore, Muslims living in the West face inequalities, discrimination, and Islamophobia, all of which are likely to impact domestic abuse survivors. To explore how narratives on Islam are used to construct stories of domestic abuse, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five British Muslim women of South Asian descent. A dialogical narrative analysis underpinned by a social constructionist framework was employed to analyse the qualitative data. The findings highlight the way participants constructed narratives on ‘real Islam’ and ‘cultural Islam’, whereby the former is the antithesis to domestic abuse, while most participants perceived ‘cultural Islam’ and the concept of ‘honour’ and shame as explanations for their partners’ abuse. Narratives on Islam, as an instrument of abuse as well as a coping strategy, support previous research on this topic. Moreover, the findings illustrate how participants constructed counter- narratives on Islamophobia. A critical evaluation of the study is also presented, followed by a consideration of the implications for clinical practice, service providers, the field of counselling psychology, and further research.