InshaAllah. Attitudes, beliefs and practices regarding death and dying of elderly female Muslims of Moroccan and Turkish descent living in Antwerp, Belgium.

This project studies the attitudes, beliefs and practices regarding death and dying of elderly female Muslims of Moroccan and Turkish descent living in Antwerp, Belgium. More specifically it focuses on the followingspecific aspects: their attitudes and practices regarding care for the elderly (1); their religious views on dying, death and the afterlife (2); their beliefs and practices (including rituals) regarding spiritual end-of-life care (3); their practices (especially rituals) at the moment of death and the hours and days immediately after death (including burialand choice of cemetery) (4); their attitudes, beliefs and practices regarding mourning and remembrance (5). We will not only review, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the theoretical literature and available empirical studies on the topic, but also, focusing on real-world religiousbeliefs and practices of ordinary people, present the results of our own empirical studies, based on in-depth face-to-face interpreter supported interviews with specialized professionals (n=15) and elderly female respondents from Turkish and Moroccan descent (n=30) and through participant observation. This way, our project will fill the scientific gap on this subject and stimulate academic reflection on the importance of minority perspectives in health and social care, while providing necessary data for a well-founded policy in this field, which is essential to guarantee people from minority groups respectful end-of-life care.

Keywords:Female Muslims

Disciplines:Other philosophy, ethics and religious studies not elsewhere classified, Theory and methodology of philosophy, Philosophy, Ethics, Theology and religious studies

Project type:PhD project