Muslims entered the United Kingdom (UK) in the sixteenth century through the slave trade (Knott, 2018) and established their first purpose-built mosque in the nineteenth century. The Office of National Statistics has estimated Muslims to be around 4.5% of the UK population (Office of National Statistics, 2018), representing the largest minoritized group in England and Wales (Office of National Statistics, 2020). Around 70% of UK Muslims are of Asian ethnicities and 46% of them reside in England’s 10% most deprived local authority districts (The Muslim Council of Britain, 2015). The Muslim population is considerably younger than the general population; this constitutes both a challenge and hope for integration and socioeconomic growth (The Muslim Council of Britain, 2015, 2018).
Muslims globally and in the UK are a heterogeneous population. Being a Muslim constitutes a continuum ranging from a fundamental self-defining identity to one of many socially imposed identities. Muslim communities are highly patriarchal with strong emphasis on collective cultural values like family, interdependence, conformity, honor, and respect (Ahmed & Amer, 2012; Dwairy, 1998; Sue & Sue, 2016). These cultural dimensions may support well-being and serve as protective factors for some and may also be sources of distress especially for those at the bottom of the patriarchal hierarchy like women, children, and young adults (Ali, 2019).
UK Muslims in general, and South Asian Muslims in particular, are deemed less likely to access mental health services (Abrar & Hargreaves, 2023; Alam, 2023; Pilkington et al., 2012). This is attributed to shame (Pilkington et al., 2012), stigma (Musbahi et al., 2022), mistrust in government and service providers (Aked, 2022; Byrne et al., 2017), misconceptions and superstitions regarding mental illness (Dein, 2013), and potential language and accessibility barriers (Bhavsar et al., 2019; Williams et al., 1997). Research has also shown that Muslim faith leaders and healers in the UK have a significant role in addressing mental health issues within their congregations (Hussain & Dein, 2018; Meran & Mason, 2019). This suggests that culturally attuned, community-based well-being interventions may be best suited to reach wider sectors of the Muslim population in the UK.
Mindfulness has its roots in many Eastern spiritual and contemplative practices. In early Buddhism, mindfulness is one of the eightfold pathways to “liberation” — freedom of the mind from suffering caused “delusion” (Anālayo, 2020). Mindful meditation is envisioned as training for maintaining and strengthening one’s attention so that the skill is used to contemplate interdependence, impermanency, and compassion as gateways to liberation, fearlessness, and great compassion at a later stage (Hanh, 2008). Mindfulness is considered as one of the faculties leading to wisdom and awakening (Anālayo, 2003).
In the late twentieth century, Jon Kabat-Zinn introduced the West to an “abridged” secular version of the Buddhist mindfulness as a therapeutic intervention (Kabat-Zinn, 1990, 2003, 2011). Since then, there has been an exponentially growing interest in mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) as effective, feasible, and transdiagnostic within clinical and general populations (Greeson et al., 2018; Segal et al., 2004; Zhang et al., 2021). It has also grown into a lucrative wellness industry (Purser, 2021). This Westernized and secularized mindfulness industry is facing growing criticism from social justice activists and scholars (Davis & BehmCross, 2020; Fleming et al., 2022; Haranas, 2023; Karelse, 2023; Magee, 2016). The term “White mindfulness” has been coined to reflect how MBIs perceived to further disadvantage minoritized populations by focusing on behavioral change without addressing the systemic issues that instigated these behaviors (Karelse, 2023). Individualistic, capitalist, and amoral MBIs perceived as another power tool to further oppress minorities and absolve the powerful majority from their social responsibilities (Gale, 2020; Karelse, 2023; Magee, 2021). Research in “White mindfulness” calls for careful listening to the needs of minoritized populations and a fresh restructuring of MBIs by leaning into these groups’ heritage, innate wisdom, and core needs (Davis & BehmCross, 2020; Fleming et al., 2022; Gajaweera, 2022; Haranas, 2023; Knabb & Vazquez, 2025).
There are modest and inconsistent efforts to adapt MBIs for Muslim populations across the world. Some efforts were triggered by human tragedy and the need for cost-efficient relief within Muslim refugees and immigrants, e.g., (Blignault et al., 2021, 2023). Others were experimental with small samples (e.g., Ghada Kamal Mahrous, 2020; Kidhr & Muhsin, 2015; Thomas et al., 2016). One study was conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where 12 Muslim Emirati college women attended an MBSR program in English without any adaptation attempts (Thomas et al., 2016). All participants were enrolled in an introductory psychology course and volunteered to participate by responding to an in-class invitation for participation in a stress management program. In general, the participants reported qualitative benefits from the program and did not find any of the concepts in contradiction with their Islamic teachings or cultural practices. However, studies reporting on the experience of Muslims who have participated in an MBIs program do not cast light on the barriers and facilitators that Muslims encounter when deciding whether to enroll in an MBIs.
Mental health misconceptions, stigma, and negative attitudes towards professional help impact help-seeking within Muslim populations in the UK. This study explored perceived barriers and potential facilitators towards MBIs within Muslim communities in the UK and aimed to address the following research question: Without prior experience with MBIs, what perceptions, beliefs, cultural or religious attitudes, and concerns regarding mental health services in general, and MBIs specifically, might hinder or encourage accessing or engaging with MBIs?
Method
This experientially oriented research aimed to explore the participants’ interactions, thoughts, feelings, and culturally constructed realities regarding mental health, mindfulness, and MBI. The core objective was “giving voice” to minoritized Muslims in the UK reflecting their worldviews and frames of reference (Braun & Clarke, 2022). Language in this study was viewed as presentation of a “mind-dependent” truth — subjective and unique reflection of the participants’ thoughts, feelings, and beliefs which may also encompass the social norms and power dynamics that constrain their experiences (Braun & Clarke, 2022).
An interpretative qualitative research paradigm (Kuhn, 1962; Malterud, 2016) was adopted, built on critical realism ontological assumption and a reflexive contextualism epistemology. Reflexivity in this study acknowledges that meaning is co-developed between the researcher and the participants, and their relationship and their respective context. Acknowledging the researcher’s role in the meaning making enhances research quality, transparency, and intersubjectivity (Braun & Clarke, 2021b, 2022; Malterud, 2016).
Participants
Participants’ general demographics are listed in Table 1. The study targeted Muslims in the UK aged 18 and above, fluent in English or Arabic, and with no previous involvement in a formal MBI. Participants who stated that they attended a short job-related seminar or practice about mindfulness (n = 2) or experimented with a mindfulness app (n = 3) were included in the study. Eight volunteers, mostly men (n = 7), scheduled interviews and did not show up or reschedule their interviews. Three participants chose to conduct the interview without video, two of whom were men. The average length of the interviews was 59 min with a range of 42 to 83 min.
Table 1
General demographics of the study participants
Dimension | Element | n | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
Gender | Female | 10 | 47.6 |
Male | 10 | 47.6 | |
Non-binary | 1 | 4.8 | |
Age | < 30 | 6 | 28.6 |
30–40 | 8 | 38.1 | |
> 40 | 7 | 33.3 | |
Sexual orientation | Heterosexual | 20 | 95.2 |
Lesbian | 1 | 4.8 | |
Ethnicity | South Asian (Indian or Pakistani) | 14 | 66.7 |
Middle Eastern | 3 | 14.3 | |
Mixed (white and Asian) | 2 | 9.5 | |
Turkish | 1 | 4.8 | |
African | 1 | 4.8 | |
Social class | Working class | 12 | 57.1 |
Middle class | 9 | 42.9 |
The sample size was large enough to offer demographic diversity and provide an adequate mixture of experiences and small enough for an in-depth examination of the transcripts with time to reflect on the data and explore latent levels of analysis. The sample size provided robust information power (Camic et al., 2021; Malterud et al., 2016) and reliable data adequacy (Vasileiou et al., 2018) to the research question. In total, 21 interviews were conducted, which is considered a medium- to large-sized qualitative study within the guidelines (Braun & Clarke, 2013).
Procedure
After receiving approval from the relevant ethics committee, participants were recruited through Prolific, a research recruitment platform (Prolific, 2022). Prolific was used to provide access to a wider geographical coverage of the UK and to gain access to male participants which is a typically hard to reach segment. Prolific filters were set for a female/male balanced pool. In the study details, participants were informed that the participation process would take 60–90 min (including familiarization of the Participant Information and Consent) and that they would be reimbursed £15 for their time. Volunteers scheduled their interviews at their convenience within a set timeframe.
Interviews were conducted and live transcribed through MS Teams. All transcriptions were reviewed more than twice using the “Transcription Notation System for Orthographic Transcription” outlined and revised by Braun and Clarke (2013). Arabic words are maintained with English translations added in brackets.
Measure
A semi-structured interview was utilized to capture the participants’ thoughts, feelings, and experiences regarding mindfulness and MBsI. Participants were asked about their typical coping mechanisms with emotional distress and then asked if they considered, or were offered, MBIs. Questions then drew on their views on cultural attitudes toward mental health and MBIs. Participants were prompted to provide their own conceptualization of mindfulness and how that related to their religious and cultural norms and practices. After five initial interviews were conducted, the interview schedule was slightly modified to present the participants with Jon Kabat-Zinn’s definition of mindfulness (Kabat-Zinn, 2003) to encourage deeper exploration of their interaction with the term after receiving their initial conceptualization. The interviews were mostly conducted in English with some Arabic phrases when referencing a religious practice or scripture or when some participants found that an expression in Arabic better captured their sentiment.
Data Analyses
The lead researcher is an experienced MBSR teacher and psychotherapist and personally, socially, and academically connected to the Muslim culture. She has been a social justice activist within the Muslim communities and an advocate for women and children’s rights. This subjectivity inevitably has influenced the rapport, quality of the interactions, and form and direction of follow-up questions and prompts and most importantly language. This constitutes a strong reason for choosing reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) (Braun & Clarke, 2021a, 2022) as a method of data analysis. It is a suitable tool to address the research questions (themes of barrier and facilitators) and the cultural subjectivity of context (ethnicity, religion, language, power dynamics) while clearly acknowledging the researcher’s reflexivity and its role in meaning development.
RTA provides theoretical and interpretive flexibility that is relevant for this study. For example, during the early stages of familiarization and coding, it became apparent that it might be necessary to deploy a critical orientation to address issues related to systemic inequalities, gender issues, and power dynamics. RTA allowed for such flexibility (Braun & Clarke, 2022). Similarly, RTA allowed for space and freedom in the interpretation and analysis of data. It allowed for capturing semantic and latent meanings as well as inductive and deductive orientations to analysis.
The six phases of RTA are intertwined and non-linear. Progress in one phase at times required stepping back to previous phase(s) and adjusting or changing initial products:
Phase 1—familiarization with dataset: The lead researcher conducted all interviews and finalized all transcriptions to ensure the fidelity and quality of transcription. Special attention was paid to culturally specific terminology that may not have been recognized in the transcriptions’ initial drafts. In that process, the lead researcher listened to the audio recordings of each interview more than twice and became intimately familiar with the data.
Phase 2—coding: Given the volume of data and breadth of the research question, it was vital to establish a systematic and rigorous process of coding. Coding is the organic and evolving process of subjective interpretation or meaning making (Braun & Clarke, 2013, 2022). Initial coding began with all interviews in their chronological order. Comments and initial codes were labeled in comment bubbles in a MS Word document. The initial codes were revisited by analyzing the interviews in a backward order to give each data point an equivalent level of attention. The data points and their initial codes were transferred to a MS Excel sheet for better integration and easier processing.
Some codes were semantic and summative of the participant experience and others were more latent and conceptual. Most codes were inductive, giving an unfiltered voice to the participants while some were more deductive with some theoretical links. Data were revisited for a third time but in a random order to disturb the data familiarity and improve the analysis rigor (Braun & Clarke, 2021b, 2022).
Phase 3—generating initial themes: The lead researcher clustered the codes tentatively and discussed the data with the research team to develop initial themes.
Phase 4—developing and reviewing themes: The initial themes led to further refinements of the code and code labels making them broader and more aligned.
Phase 5—refining, defining, and naming themes: Referring to the original dataset and quotes collected, themes were refined several times to preserve the participants’ voices and encompass their issues and concerns. Theme definitions were developed assuring unique themes with clear boundaries between them.
Phase 6—write up: Data extracts were cited with participant code, gender, and age. To maintain flow and comprehension, non-verbal utterances and redundancies were removed from the quoted transcription.
Results
The research team developed an overarching theme with five major themes under it as shown in Table 2. Codes relevant to each theme with an example quote from the participants are listed in separate tables available in the supplementary material.
Table 2
Constructed themes
Level | Title | |
|---|---|---|
Overarching theme | I’m open but … | |
Themes | Theme 1 | Can an intervention resolve this? |
Theme 2 | Things are changing | |
Theme 3 | Islam and mindfulness are aligned | |
Theme 4 | I have my reservations about mindfulness | |
Theme 5 | Delivery and accessibility matter | |
A general overarching theme was constructed titled “I’m open but …” to reflect on the one hand the openness and enthusiasm exhibited in the interviews and towards mindfulness, and on the other a recognition of the hesitance and potential barriers within the Muslim communities living in the UK. Five themes were developed under that theme capturing the openness from one side and the apprehension on the other.
Theme 1: Can an Intervention Resolve This?
I said this to my son, both of them actually, I said my parents came to this country in 1960, I was born in this country.. my two sons are born in this country, but remember one thing I think you will always be the second-class citizen in this country (P18, M, 54)
When asked about their typical coping mechanisms with distress and whether they have considered seeking professional mental health support, participants passionately expressed their daily struggles as a minoritized group in the UK. As presented by the quote above, distress experienced by minoritized Muslims in the UK stems mainly from systemic imbalanced power dynamics and socioeconomic injustice. Participants provided ample of examples of social injustice, economic pressures, racism, and Islamophobia. Parents battle racism as “children get their racist attack because of their brown color” (P16, F, 53) and children worry about providing for their aging parents and expanding families:
That itself is also another burden that I have to think of for the future... so again, it connects into the circle that health, mental health as well, because you have this feeling of … will you be able to help? Will you be able to support? What will their needs be? How can you help them? Will the finances be in place? Will the property be big enough?... you know it’s just it’s a big thing! (P6, M, 39).
Within their ethnic communities, patriarchal authoritative and collective cultural worldviews further enhance the power imbalance especially for vulnerable groups like women, children, and younger adults. Participants shared stories of domestic violence, misogyny, and child abuse. The experience of P15 (F, 40) exemplified the struggle: “All my life, I felt like, why are you treating me like a second-class citizen? Why are you treating me like the only thing I’m good at is cooking and cleaning?”. Authority figures (fathers, husbands, faith and community leaders) “use Islam to support their, you know, men superiority” asserted (P8, F,39).
Theme 2: Things Are Changing
From a cultural perspective, sometimes culture can be an obstacle to helping us achieve, you know, mindfulness, because we don’t really like to get help from others... like solve it ourselves.. but as people who have grown up in the UK... I think our upbringing here overpowers our culture because even though I wasn’t born in the UK, I feel British.. so my culture from being British overpowers my culture from being a Pakistani so to say (P21, M, 32).
A fundamental generational gap within Muslim populations in the UK was perceived by the participants. The relatively senior generations (typically first- or second-generation immigrants) tended to identify with and carry their mother countries’ values and worldviews. In that generational belief system, physical health takes a higher hierarchy than mental health. There is general resistance and denial of mental health issues, as admitting those is believed to bring shame to oneself, and one’s family and community. Emotional distress is considered a private matter addressed by religious practices like reading the Quran and prayer. “My mom, she acts like she doesn’t have anything wrong with her, even though I’ve seen her symptoms and the way she tries to deal with that is that she reads the Quran, she prays her prayers and she just tries to remember Allah a lot” (P2, NB, 19). This resistance to mental health services extends to MBIs as articulated by participant 10:
I don’t need to do this meditation because the Salat does the same thing... you’re exercising blood, running air, speaking to the Almighty at the same time... three in one... four in one! [...] you get so many benefits, not only this one you say about breathing or you benefit is you get calm down, but this other one is getting your good deeds, you’re getting your dua accepted... you’re getting better mental health, better breathing and whatever is more. (F,48)
The younger Muslim generation, on the other hand, is perceived with better mental health awareness, higher resourcefulness, and a more positive attitude towards seeking professional help and MBIs. This might be driven by higher levels of education, access to social media, exposure to diverse worldviews, and experimentation with meditation and mindfulness applications. “Older people are more reluctant to open these kind of things, but new generation is, I think, is very open.. even in families who have restricted mentality, their children are more aware about the mental illness and they know how to take help and things are changing now because of the social media” (P16, F, 53).
The deepest generational gap might be in the views of the role of faith in well-being and mental health. Faith can be a protective factor to some, providing comfort and perspective, yet can be a source of guilt, shame, and conflict to others. “It’s a lot of, like, guilt” (P2, NB, 19). Participants fell within a spectrum with “Islam is a solution to everything” on one extreme, and “religion is the root cause of all problems” on the other end. Participant 10 (F,48) represented the older generation’s extreme view: “Would they need to go on this cost to find out they need to pray more? When the Quran is the book of how guidance and life and everything, everything is written in there? […] why would they go to class (when) the Quran tells you how to live, how to succeed, how to be fruitful –”. Participant 7 (F, 37) summarized the sentiment of the other extreme: “That’s a bit of an oxymoron… it’s like ‘silent thunder’… like Muslim and mental health?!” explaining her belief that you can’t be a Muslim and be mentally healthy. The younger generation seemed to be relatively less reliant on faith for well-being and mental health, though it remains a strong influence in their lives. “Like technically our belief is that first tie camel and then go… don’t rely on God to like look after the camel” (P11, F, 22). A sentiment shared by an older participant who is a medical doctor “If somebody is suffering from actual mental illness, we should seek medical advice. We should not fear that ‘oh, it’s the stigma’ is not stigma at all, because when you have diabetes or you have blood pressure and you have cancer… you’re not just sitting on the prayer mat and reading Quran… Allah has told you to make dua and take also medicines” (P16, F, 53).
In general, there seems to be an agreement that attitudes towards mental health and seeking professional help has improved with social media and the availability of wellness and meditation apps like “Calm” and “Head Space.” There is also a perception that COVID has relatively destigmatized mental health and normalized talking about it and seeking help. “All it takes is one person going that’s ‘I've never felt I’ve been in such a dark moods’… and then all of a sudden ‘I’ve been in darker moods… I was definitely depressed’… and then he actually talking about it quite openly” (P14, M, 52).
Theme 3: Islam and Mindfulness Are Aligned
sometimes when you are anxious [...] or you’re passing through different kind of traumas, you know, meditation help you in a way because in meditation what we are doing, we are focusing on one thing [...] there are other faiths also do the meditation like Hindus they you do the yoga and in Buddhism they do different kind of meditation, but me as a Muslim, our focus is like.. Quran... when we are praying Namaz, Salah and when we are reading Quran actually we are focusing on these words and we are connecting with Allah (P16, F, 53).
The third constructed theme captures the perception of associations between mindfulness and Islam. There was a critical concern within the participants that an intervention would contradict or oppose their religious beliefs. However, when discussing mindfulness and MBIs, there was general engagement in the discussion and agreement that nothing in their conceptualizations of mindfulness seemed to contradict with Islam or Islamic values. “There is nothing that strictly forbids us, you know, from practicing mindfulness” asserted participant 8 (F, 39). On the contrary, many participants drew strong alignments between their religious beliefs and rituals and attitudes and practices of mindfulness such as presence, contemplation, non-judgement, compassion and others. Those participants with access to mindfulness practices through their apps felt that the practices deepened their religious and spiritual practices. For example, participant 19 (M, 41) believed that “mindfulness allows you to focus on little things like nature and trees and things like that… […] so when you pray, you know, you sort of realize how God has created everything in sort of this wonderful beauty.” Any perceived misalignment between MBIs and Islam, participants reflected, are due to ethnic cultural practices or misinformation, but not related to Islam itself. “I think it’s cultural, I don’t think it’s religion,” explained participant 17 (M, 42).
Theme 4: I Have My Reservations About Mindfulness
“the West is really good at marketing Eastern philosophy back to them.. but it's almost like you do this, this is gonna cure everything. Right! And then you expect to cure everything” (P14, M, 52)
Even among the younger generation, and those who are more open to seeking professional help, tension and internal struggle persists. “I think if you were to seek help, I think they wouldn’t sort of publicize it or anything if they were to go to mindfulness, etcetera […] I don’t think they would sort of let the wider people know this of friends or family really that they actually participating in mindfulness” (P19, M, 41). This struggle typically stems from fear of judgment and bringing shame to one’s family due to the persisting stigma around mental health. “So when I was in college something happened […] and they were like go seek professional help as a Muslim… and I was like ‘no’ because first of all, I used to live in [City2] which is mainly everyone knows everyone […] and I was like ‘no, thank you’ I don’t want to because probably gonna (upset) my parents” (P11, F, 22).
While the perceptions and levels of experience with mindfulness and MBIs varied across the dataset, there is a general sense of skepticism about the efficacy of MBIs and whether it would aid well-being or resolve mental health issues. “Seems like a minefield to me” (P3, F, 29). Mindfulness is perceived as a new “buzzword” popular among the younger generation. Some participants associated mindfulness with words like “hippy,” “energy and chakras,” “mumbo jumbo,” “yoga,” and “posh.” Doubt is casted upon the research behind MBIs and whether they have been tested enough. “I think if you ask the general public, I think you could find even non-Muslims who would say mindfulness is more mumbo jumbo and it doesn’t really work” (P19, M, 41). MBIs are seen as “lightweight” therapy, not necessarily suitable for serious mental health issues. “I would try it, right, but I wouldn’t be expecting great change after it, I would say” (P4, F, 27).
Theme 5: Delivery and Accessibility Matter
People have certain understanding of mindfulness. You know that it came from Buddhism and things like that... but if we can explain to them that actually Islam has a lot of mindfulness and we can kind of point out examples from the teachings then that would definitely, definitely help... I think that helps a lot actually (P13, M, 42)
When asked what would prompt or discourage them from participating in a mindfulness program, the participants drew on their and other Muslims’ experiences and interactions with mental health services to envision what would work for them. Many participants suggested providing MBIs with Islamic flavor may improve acceptability as highlighted in the quote above. Within a patriarchal, authoritarian collective community, obsession with social image, concerns about privacy, and fear of others’ judgement are primary pressures. Higher social values are attributed to masculinity, age, authority, and power distance. In the context of MBIs delivery, those values were reflected in what was perceived as an effective service provider and in what is sought as a safe learning environment. Generally, it was expected that the teacher would project maturity, experience, authority; “they should be around like 40–50… they should have like a little bit age in their face, but not a lot… but like the age brings the authority in the culture” (P12, F, 36). Most importantly, a service provider was expected to model cultural sensitivity — a deep understanding of and respect to the culture and community and its relevant issues. “I just found out that we are not understanding each other… well, not in terms of language, but in terms of mentality… so I found that an English person or a British person wouldn't understand my problem” said participant 5 (M, 33) reflecting on his experience with NHS mental health services. It was also vital that the service provider fostered a safe environment where confidentiality was maintained and non-judgment was exemplified. “I think it helps if it’s someone from your own background who has been through what you’ve maybe been through. That kind of helps quite a bit, but then […] there’s always a danger that that person may hold stereotypes in the in their mind as well.” (P13, M, 42).
Accessibility is perceived as the barrier to MBIs. When seeking professional help, participants cited long waiting lists, bureaucracy, and limited resources (time, money, and venue) as barriers. “What would motivate me is that it would be free” (P1, F, 24). Even among those open to MBIs, there was a general lack of knowledge as to where and how to access such services though many were referred to other options for mental health care through their GPs (e.g., CBT, DBT). When offered meditation sessions free of charge as part of professional development at their workplace, some of the participants and their colleagues were eager to participate and reported positive experiences. “I’ve talked to more and more people who done it and said they’re really benefit from it” (P14, M, 52).
Discussion
When discussing the constructed themes, it would be vital to recall that the participants had no deep pervious engagement with MBIs. The findings captured mainly in the last three themes are based on their perceptions of MBIs, and their understanding of the provided definition of mindfulness and interaction with other mental health services, while the first two themes capture deeper and macro-level dynamics that would interact with any intervention.
The inter- and intra-group dynamics identified in the first theme “Can an Intervention Resolve This?” reinforce a sense of mistrust in authorities and deepen a sense of isolation creating inequality and discrepancies in accessing mental health services as addressed in literature (Aked, 2022; Byrne et al., 2017) which constitute a potent barrier to accessing MBIs. Nonetheless, such accessibility inequalities are not limited to Muslim populations or the UK (Alam et al., 2024; Castro-Ramirez et al., 2021; Cénat, 2020; Grey et al., 2013; Nassar et al., 2023). Research suggests that this is a reality to other minoritized groups globally and in the UK leading to calls to revive biopsychosocial approaches to public health (Babalola et al., 2017; Tanhan & Young, 2022). Initiatives like “Integrated Behavioral Health” in the USA (Horevitz & Manoleas, 2013) and “Social Prescribing” (Drinkwater et al., 2019) in the UK are budding attempts addressing socioeconomic pressures as an integrated biopsychosocial approach to general health and well-being. The same findings propose potential facilitators to the accessibility and acceptability of MBIs if such services are provided as an integral part of a systemic, structurally informed, intersectional, and social justice-informed public health strategy (Chatterjee et al., 2018; Fleming et al., 2022; Magee, 2021; Morse et al., 2022; Vinson & Dennis, 2021).
Generational differences highlighted in the second theme “Things are Changing” cannot be generalized to all individuals of similar age categories. A few of the older participants with higher education presented positive views towards seeking professional help and MBIs. It can also be theorized that some younger individuals with more fundamental religious and cultural views may share the typical views of the older generation and find that their religious coping mechanisms sufficient (Abdulkerim & Li, 2022). It is also vital to consider that the disinterest in MBIs shared among other faith groups and not specific to Muslims (Palitsky & Kaplan, 2021).
As mentioned earlier, Muslims in the UK are a relatively young population. This may constitute a major facilitator to the delivery of MBIs as the younger generation seems to be more open and willing to seek professional help and demonstrated more positive perceptions of MBIs. Social media and technology may be utilized to target this segment of the population and improve their accessibility and acceptability of MBIs.
The third theme “Islam and Mindfulness are Aligned” is supported with current literature that suggests that MBIs are acceptable and effective within different segments of the Muslim populations (Aldbyani, 2025; Aldbyani & Al-Abyadh, 2023; Aldbyani et al., 2023; Blignault et al., 2021, 2023; Thomas et al., 2016). It also supports the notion that emphasizing the intersection and alignment between their religion and mindfulness may be a powerful facilitator to many Muslims (Abdulkerim & Li, 2022; Thomas et al., 2017). This may be achieved through the language used in the promotion of MBIs or simply by encouraging participants to reflect on the connections themselves (Koenig, 2023; Palitsky & Kaplan, 2021; Palitsky et al., 2022).
Some of the reservations or tensions captured in the fourth theme “I Have my Reservations about Mindfulness” are relevant to the general cultural attitude towards mental health, seeking professional help, and concerns of image and social judgement. This, as stipulated in the second theme, is naturally evolving and has been further normalized by the COVID experience. Reservations specific to MBIs and their effectiveness might be attributed to the general public perceptions influenced by biased media coverage of mindfulness research (e.g., MYRIAD Trials; Montero-Marin et al., 2022) and popular books such as McMindfulness (Purser, 2021) and Buddha Pill (Farias, 2019). They may also be rooted in the participants’ perceptions of a “White mindfulness” (Karelse, 2023) that is remote and disconnected from their deep struggles stipulated in theme 1.
No previous studies on the accessibility of MBIs for Muslims in the UK or globally were located. But the findings stipulated in the fifth theme “Delivery and Accessibility Matter” are aligned with the general barriers to accessing mental health services in the UK for Muslims and other minoritized populations discussed in the first theme. The findings have suggested that when provided with the right support and feasible access, participants were willing to engage with MBIs and reap benefits. Such support is typically provided by an employer or educational institutions. Expanding that support by providing MBIs free of charge as well-being and preventive interventions may further facilitate accessibility.
In terms of delivery, the need for culturally attuned design and culturally sensitive dissemination of MBIs resonates with the findings and recommendations of available research in underserved and marginalized communities (Castellanos et al., 2020; DeLuca et al., 2018; Hazlett-Stevens, 2020). The calls for Islamically attuned MBIs echo the findings and recommendations of several other scholars (Abdulkerim & Li, 2022; Isgandarova, 2019; Shah & Shah, 2021; Tanhan & Young, 2022; Thomas et al., 2017). Such calls require further investigation to examine the feasibility of such initiatives as it may not be effective to all segments of the population. As suggested in the second theme and as in most religious populations, variation in religiosity and acculturation may make religious adaptations less attractive to some segments (Lindahl et al., 2023; Palitsky & Kaplan, 2021; Palitsky et al., 2018).
Though the data in this theme did not come from direct interaction with MBIs, the participants have highlighted what they would value, what would be encouraging, and what was theorized as potential barriers to engagement. This knowledge may be useful in planning how to disseminate and promote MBIs to Muslim populations. A participatory research and community-based design, delivery, and audit of mental health services has yielded promising results in addressing minoritized populations’ acceptability and acceptability of such services (Blignault et al., 2021, 2023; Vinson & Dennis, 2021; Wasson et al., 2020). Involving Muslims stakeholders in future research may be the most efficient approach moving forward.
In conclusion, the different developed themes suggest that accessibility is a barrier of MBIs for UK Muslims. As with other marginalized and underserved populations, the participants endured systemic imbalanced power dynamics and social injustice leading to socioeconomic inequality and discrepancies in accessing mental health services in general. Other barriers identified in this study were concerns with privacy and social image and doubts and concerns around the efficacy of MBIs. On the other hand, several encouraging facilitators were suggested. In general, the participants asserted that attitudes towards mental health and seeking professional help are positively evolving. The younger Muslim populations appear to aspire for better mental health and well-being. MBIs were perceived as well suited to serve this population as the participants believed mindfulness to be aligned with their religious beliefs and values. There was enough evidence to suggest that with the proper support and accessibility, many would engage with and benefit from such services. The concerns expressed by some participants about the efficacy of MBIs can be addressed by culturally attuned psychoeducation and public health promotions and culturally sensitive delivery.
Strengths, Limitations, and Future Research
This is the first study to examine barriers and facilitators to MBIs within UK Muslim populations. A medium to large sample of gender-balanced 21 participants from diverse ethnicities is a well-founded base for further research. Participation was open to English- or Arabic-speaking Muslims which may have encouraged the participation of some whose English is not their first or preferred language. The interviews were conducted by an experienced interviewer who reflected the participants’ culture. That might have been what created enough trust for the participants to speak freely and share intimate and emotional details of their struggles.
The limitations of the study include the small number of participants directly presenting the views of the older generation (ages 50 and above). Given the strong theme of “Things are Changing,” it will be important to explore barriers and facilitators to engaging in MBIs in older UK Muslims, where, at least in the eyes of the present participants, there may be a far stronger perception that mindfulness and Islam are not well aligned. It will also be important in future research to think creatively about recruitment to include views from a wider range of members of the UK Muslim communities — for example, co-creating with community leaders opportunities for dialogue, and ensuring that non-English speakers are not excluded. There were also no participants who were refugees, asylum seekers, or new immigrants who might be in the most need for mental health services. Finally, further demographic details and a measure of religiosity would possibly have added richness to the analysis of correlations and intersectionality.
Larger survey methods would add to the understanding of barriers and facilitators to MBIs among UK Muslims. Future suggested research might investigate Muslim experiences of receiving an MBIs. This can also be complemented with the views of mindfulness teachers and MBIs service providers working within Muslim populations.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge all the study participants for their generosity with their time and their openness and trust in sharing their stories.
Declarations
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study including the consent for publication.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Use of Artificial Intelligence
The authors declare that this paper represents their original work. No artificial intelligence tools or large language models were used in the creation or composition of this manuscript, beyond standard tools for grammar and spelling checks.
Research Involving Human Participants
This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Psychology Research Ethics Committee, PREC at the University of Bath (RN: 22 - 038) on April, 2022.
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