The intensive development of Islamic thought in Russia and the needs of Muslims have led to the necessity of establishing a professional psychological community whose activities are related to maintaining Muslims’ psychological health.

By 2015, the need to provide regular professional psychological assistance to Muslims and their families has become evident. Professional psychological technologies should be consistent with the specificity of Islam and its lifestyle. The development of Islamic psychology as a branch of applied psychology is at stake.

Nowadays Islamic psychologists actively work with alcohol and drug addictions, solve problems of child-parent relations, deal with family and marriage issues, interethnic and interreligious relations, help people in difficult life situations, rehabilitate Muslims after breaking with criminal groups, etc.

However, we must admit that every specialist treats the problem of providing spiritual-oriented psychological assistance within the framework of Islam in his own way and there is no aggregate methodological approach. Before 2015, there was very little information in Russian psychology as well as in religious (Islamic) science that can be attributed, at least indirectly, to the problems of the psychology of Islam. Practically there was no scientific research in this area; there was no analysis and comprehension of practical results and work experience. At the same time, there were many questions on the agenda that have a direct relation to the psychological health of the Muslim person and the psychological security of society in general.

The actual request of the society is the problem of deep psychological study of religiously motivated extremism problem and psychological prevention of given phenomenon. It is obvious that individuals, inclined to extremist activity, are people who have numerous unprocessed serious psychological problems that are the primary cause of extremist behaviour.

Another important issue for the Muslim society is the family problem, child-parent relations. Muslims themselves and their family members show a constant need in dealing with different psychological issues, including interethnic/ interreligious kin: active migration has increased the number of inter-ethnic/ inter-religious marriages, where one of the spouses is a Muslim. There is a list of psychological issues that are very important to spot and analyze both in the field of psychology and in the field of Islam: the problem of religious conversion, which leads to increasing of the number of «non-ethnic», for example, Russian Muslims; counteraction to addictions, depressions and other problems of modern society by the means of Islamic knowledge and religious practice. Thus, the request for the development of psychological problems within the framework of Islam is great and considerably exceeds the offer. 

In order to generalize the practical experience and theoretical knowledge about the psychological characteristics of Muslims accumulated in the regions of the Russian Federation by psychologists, teachers, imams, theologians, philosophers, Islamic scholars and ethnographers the Association of Psychological Assistance to Muslims1 (APAM) was established. As the unified coordinating centre, it provides systematic professional and spiritually oriented psychological assistance to Muslims.

The APAM aims to coordinate the activities of all interested specialists (psychologists, imams, teachers, etc.) in the development of the psychology of Islam as the applied field of the psychology of religion for the successful resolution of the actual psychological problems of Russian Muslims and the provision of spiritually oriented psychological assistance. In it practice APAM is based on the scientific legacy of the great Muslim scholars: Abu Zajd Al-Balhi [1], Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya ar-Razi [2], Abu Hamid al-Gazali [3], Ibn Kaiim al-Dzhauziiya [4], as well as modern Islamic psychologists M. Badri [5-8], B. Riyono [9], G. H. Rassool [10], M.M. Amer [11], A. Utz [12], M. Daneshpour [13], Sh. Ijaz, M. T. Khalily, I. Ahmad [14], C. York Al-Karam [15], R. Skinner [16-17] and others.

There are five main objectives of APAM activities:

The example APAM scientific activity is an annual conference of science and practical work “Islam: psychological stability as the basis of personal and social well-being” or round tables on the most critical issues, as well as refresher courses and seminars, webinars and online discussions. It’s important to carefully select research tools and interpret results of an empirical research accurately, since the vast majority of modern psychological methods for studying religion, religious identity and religious fundamentalism are created for a Christian research sample or consider religion from a secular point of view. In this regard, the methods must be adapted for the Muslim research sample and when interpreting the results, the Islamic view of a Muslim person should be taken into account.

The APAM in Russia aims to solve the problem of applying scientific approaches to the psychological counselling of Muslims. For a deep understanding of the psychology of a Muslim and the implementation of psychological counselling in the Islamic paradigm, it is necessary to rely on the ideas of the personality development that have been formed in Islam.

Psychologists, who share the religious views of their clients, use sources of the psychological stability of believers in the fundamentals of faith.

The specifics of Islamic psychological counselling should be given sustained attention. There are some debatable questions in the field of Islam and psychology:

In spite of theoretical issues, APAM provides different research. Association scientists study the accumulated Russian and foreign experience both in the field of the psychology of religion in general and in the field of the psychology of Islam, also the contribution of Muslim scholars to the development of psychology is studied. Research work includes the following approaches:

The Association pays great attention to the development of scientific activities in Russia. For this aim, empirical studies are conducted, with their results published in the international peer-reviewed journal “Minbar. Islamic Studies "and in the Association’s journal "Islam: personality and society". There are some examples of exploratory topics:

The logical continuation of the chosen line of development for the Association becomes Educational and methodical activity. It is important to improve the professional qualifications of specialists through courses, round tables, seminars, scientific and practical conferences. We suggest the following subjects:

Another perspective vector of development is Master’s Program “Psycho­logy of the East: Ethnicity, Religion and Intercultural Communication”1 based on the educational platform of Moscow State University of Psychology & Education2 (MSUPE) is one of the top universities of psychological and pedagogical studies in Russia. Founded under the initiative of the Moscow Government, the University trains high qualified specialists in the field of education, healthcare and social protection. Apart from getting a strong theoretical foundation, the students of the University acquire necessary practical skills by working in psychological centres and educational institutions.

In 2019, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education in cooperation with the Association of Psychological Assistance to Muslims have created a Master’s programme “Psychology of the East: ethnicity, religion and intercultural communication”.

The programme aims to train psychologists in the field of cross-cultural communication with representatives of the East, taking into consideration their ethnic and religious characteristics. Geographically, it mainly focuses on the Middle East, East Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Ural-Volga region.

Students are considered to choose one of the educational fields connected with a particular oriental language (Arabic, Korean or Chinese).

The Arabic department of the Master’s degree is a unique educational programme that combines the development of skills in the field of cross-cultural communication, psychology and Islamic studies. Students are getting knowledge in:

An attendee of Master’s degree takes part in international projects and exchange programs with universities of Morocco, Indonesia (in particular with Gadjah Mada University1 (Yogyarta, Indonesia)) and the United Arab Emirates.

We hope that the implementation of abovementioned Master's program will create a new generation of psychologists who are ready to work with clients professing Islam. Thus, a new direction of theoretical and practical knowledge is formed in Russia. Its goal is the psychological study of the Muslim community of Russia, the phenomenon of religious identity in Islam and psychological assistance to Muslim clients.

Our Association provides the educational program for further training called “Psychological counselling to Muslims”. The main goal of this program is to form the following competencies:

Psychological counselling for Muslims is a professional psychological assistance using knowledge about the peculiarities of the client’s faith that are significant to his personality. These are religious beliefs, religious language, sacred stories and legends, ritual practices, traditions and customs of Muslim peoples. During the study of mental health services effectiveness in the United States, it was found that cultural minorities do not continue therapy after the first visit to a counsellor in 50% of cases. The reason is that counselling does not take into account their value and ideological positions or does not comply with special terms of counselling. For an observant Muslim, an important issue is the permissibility of both psychological help itself from the point of view of religion, as well as its individual approaches and methods. In this regard, establishing the trust of a consulting psychologist with a Muslim is not an easy task, achieved with their mutual understanding of the matters of religion, ritual practices and traditions. The most trustful figure is the consultant who is Muslim himself.

There are some educational tools used during the classes and online training. Students have the opportunity to watch the lectures and participate in the discussions. This program includes practical exercises, where students in pairs work out the proposed exercises for practising the skills of a counselling psychologist. In the last month of training, specialists conduct psychological consultations of the clients and they are able to receive recommendations from the teachers.

Knowledge of the religious specifics helps in solving a professional task - psychological assessment and analysis of problems, presented at psychological counselling to a psychologist by a religious person (Muslim families and children from such families). After the training students note high level of acquired professional confidence and mastery in working with Muslim clients.

Providing qualified assistance to Muslim clients, a consulting psychologist should have knowledge of Islamic theology. The facts of starting Master programmes in Islamic psychology in Islamic universities (Russian Islamic Institute in Kazan, Moscow Islamic Institute) are actively discussed in Russia nowadays. It must be a comprehensive psychological and theological training, which, along with the necessary psychological disciplines, will include courses in Islamic theology, revealing the basics of Islam, information about what is permitted and forbidden, ideas about a person in Islam (“kalb” (heart), “nafs” (soul), “niyyat” (intention)) and so on [3]. Knowledge of the Quran and the Hadith will provide theological basis and necessary arguments for effective correlation with a Muslim client. It will also give an opportunity to form the psychological stability of the personality, using the resource of faith.

The main disciplines of the course “Psychological counselling of Muslims» are:

Mostly all APAM activities are practically oriented. It includes:

There is a very specific area of activity provided by the Association. It is Muslim Psychological Aid Association Hotline Phone. The first call to the Hotline took place on March 27, 2018. During the year and a half of the hotline operation, 306 calls were received from different regions of Russia, as well as from Turkey, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the USA, the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Saudi Arabia. Here is some statistics to make a picture clear. Out of the total number of calls,

77.6% come from women and 22.3% from men. 62.2% receive instant psychological assistance, 37.8% of calls are redirected to the Association’s specialists, who provide assistance both online and offline. The age of those who seek psychological help is from 23 to 65 years. The examples can be found in Table 1.

Requests for psychological assistance are received on the phone, as well as through e-mail, different kinds of messengers and social networks.

One ofthe most important issues is that APAM provides Psychological assistance to Muslim migrants. For modern Russia, the solution to the migration problem is one of the basic priorities. For example, by 1 June, 2019, 716,118 migrants came to Russia from Kyrgyzstan, 1,303,302 from Tajikistan, 2,188,835 from Uzbekistan. It is not a secret that the citizens of these republics are predominantly Muslims.

Thus, the Association of Psychological Assistance to Muslims considers the provision of psychological assistance to the most vulnerable groups of Muslims, who are migrants from Central Asian countries. The Association’s specialists are implementing the project called “Socio-psychological adaptation of migrants in a metropolis” the purpose of which is to adapt migrants to live in large cities dealing with the difficulties in integration, as well as reducing conflicts in communities where ethnic groups of different origin come into contact. It is important to understand that psychologists consider the state of migration as an extreme situation, the experience of which, in a psychological context, is characterized as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Among the psychological problems of migrants are:

The Association of Psychological Assistance to Muslims conducts work among migrants and has qualified specialists in various regions of the Russian Federation. Our specialists have knowledge and experience in the work with representatives of different ethnic groups professing Islam.

Back in 1998, a German psychotherapist and psychiatrist of Iranian origin Hamid Peseshkian PhD in the field of Russia studies wrote, «the era of monocultural psychotherapy has exhausted itself and is about to complete» [28, p. 4]. If psychologists and their clients belong to different cultural groups, the specialists need some knowledge about the clients’ culture, as the cultural specificity (ethnic, religious, regional) has a significant impact on the psychological characteristics of the former. In addition, it affects their perception of the psychologist, as well as the process of psychological counselling and its dynamics.

The ethnic psychology of each Muslim people has both specific and similar characteristics. The specificity of Muslim communities is the collectivist nature of their culture, gravitating towards closeness and the maximum conservation of their values.

For an observing Muslim, an important issue is the permissibility of both psychological assistance to itself and its approaches and methods from the point of view of religion. In this regard, establishing the trust of a psychologist-consultant with a Muslim is a difficult task, achievable with their mutual understanding in matters of religion, ritual practices and traditions. The greatest trust is usually given to a Muslim consultant.

The issues of psychological counselling of Muslims are resolved both in countries of the Islamic world and in countries where the Muslim community is a minority. Psychologists who share the religious views of their clients use the sources of psychological stability of believers in the foundations of faith itself. Thus, the religious beliefs of the client can become a significant barrier to the provision of psychological assistance as well as a powerful resource.

Implementation of the project “Socio-psychological adaptation of migrants in a metropolis” allows to:

Project Objectives:

Implementation will contribute to the socio-cultural adaptation of migrants, reduce the risk of extremism and radicalism, prevent religious extremism and domestic conflicts, and develop intercultural communication skills. The combination of psychological and theological work will allow for an integrated approach to the problem of migrant integration.

The last issue we should mention is the Psychological work with religious figures: imams, teachers and students of religious educational institutions.

The Association of Psychological Assistance to Muslims attaches great importance to interaction with religious organizations: The Spiritual administration of Muslims in various regions of Russia, Islamic educational institutions, and mosques. This activity is carried out in various directions.

Muslims often ask imams various questions; discuss their family and marriage problems, relationships with relatives, parent-child relationships. However, the solution of these problems is impossible without the involvement of a psychologist. Therefore, the Association’s specialists work closely with imams. Muslims’ counselling with psychologist and theologian contributes to a comprehensive solution to the problem in its Sharia and psychological direction. Consultations on creating a family, on divorcing and determining the residence of children with one of the parents after a divorce are in high demand. In various regions of Russia, psychologists of the Association provide advisory assistance exactly in mosques, for example, on Fridays after the juma.

By the invitation of the Spiritual administration of Muslims of the Russian regions, as well as Islamic educational institutions such as The Bulgarian Islamic Academy, the Russian Islamic Institute, the Moscow Islamic Institute many psychologists of the Association participate in training courses for imams. Lectures on various psychological topics are very popular among religious figures.

Subjects of lectures and workshops for imams:

Imams, being in constant contact with Muslims, often experience great stress and problems of emotional burnout in their activities. That is why imams need psychological technology to relieve emotional stress.

The association offers the following topics of psychological workshops for imams:

In conclusion, we need to say that APAM is the part of increasing world movement. The Association of Psychological Assistance to Muslims works closely with foreign experts in the field of Islamic psychology. For example, in October 2018, the specialists of the Association took part in an international conference in Istanbul, where the International Association of Islamic Psychology was established. There we met with experts in the theory and practice of Islamic psychology from many countries of the world and three specialists from Russia became members of the International Association of Islamic Psychology. For us it is very important to keep in touch with Dr Malik Badri, whose books «The Dilemma of Muslim Psychologists» [8] and «Cyber-Counseling for Muslim Clients: A Muslim psychologist addressing spiritual problems faced by Muslims» [5] were translated into Russian and published in Russia in 2018 in the collection “Theory and practice of Islamic psychology” [7]. This book can be called the manifesto of Islamic psychology in Russia. We often advise Muslims to use it in their work.

The most important aspect of the Association activities in Russia is the interaction with the International Institute of Islamic Thought, which we carry out through the Idrak Public Association (Baku, Azerbaijan). In October 2019, the association’s specialists took part in the III Forum of CIS Scholars from Revealed Knowledge and Social Sciences Faculties “Islamic Intellectual Thought in the CIS Countries: Past, Present and the Way Forward” in Istanbul. The main idea of the IIIT activity on the integration of scientific knowledge and Islam expressed by the Secretary-General of IIIT Forum Dr Omar Hasan Kasule: “Muslims should be part of a science and develop their approaches to an intellectual heritage, thus the integration of a common civilizational heritage and Islamic values is necessary”. The Association of Psychological Assistance to Muslims in Russia is developing this idea in its approaches to the theory and practice of Islamic psychology.

Together with the Idrak Public Association, in 2019 we published in Russian a book by the famous Muslim scientist of the 9th century Abu Zayd al-Balkhi’s “Sustenance of the Soul: The Cognitive Behavior Therapy of A Ninth Century” [1]. It became very popular in Russia and throughout the Russian-speaking space immediately.

One of the most important stages in the development of the Association of Psychological Assistance to Muslims in Russia is the collaboration with the International Association of Muslim Psychologists and our esteemed colleagues from Indonesia. In October 2018, President of the International Association of Muslim Psychologists Dr Bagus Riyono and Dr Phil. Emi Zulaifah, (M. Sc. Vice Dean of the Faculty of Psychology, Social Science and Humanities of the Indonesian Islamic University; Indonesian Representative of the International Association of Muslim Psychologists in Indonesia) attended the Second All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference “ Islam: Psychological Stability is the Basis of Personal and Social Well-Being ” in Moscow. Dr Bagus Riyono delivered a lecture at MSUPE Islamic Psychology as a fundamental and integrated approach in psychology.

In July 2019 8 scientists from Indonesia and students from Islamic University of Indonesia (Yogyakarta) took part at the Third All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference with International Participation “Islam: Psychological Stability as the Basis of Personal and Social Well-Being”. The reports of Indonesian experts made a great impression on the conference participants.

Dr Bagus Riyono and Dr Phil. Emi Zulaifah took part in the XVI European Congress of Psychology in Moscow, where the symposium “Psychology and Religion” was held for the first time, which discussed issues of Christian and Islamic psychology. This issue is very important in the context of the Christian (Orthodox) highest level psychologists’ activity in Russia.

The most important stage of the cooperation was signing an agreement between MSUPE and the International Association of Muslim Psychologists. Due to this fact, there is an opportunity for students and members of the Association of Psychological Assistance to Muslims to participate in an educational programme in Islamic psychology at the Indonesia Islam University (UII). Upon returning to Russia, participants in the educational programme will be able to share their knowledge with colleagues.

In conclusion, we would like to mention the practical importance of APAM activities. It is aimed at carrying out measures for the prevention and detection of extremist tendency, preventing intra-family and interethnic conflict situations, as well as for carrying out educational activities aimed at harmonization and successful personal development of Muslims.