Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Why this blog, Why now?

Assalamu alaykaum

Many have asked what is the role of psychology to play in the daily running of life, indeed many have asked me, what is the point ofsychology? What exactly do you do? Why did you study psychology in the first place?... Well for sometime I myself did not know why psychology existed, whats the point of having this field which is trying so hard to become a science just like biology or chemistry but at the same time boasts of its uniqueness of the study of mind and behaviour, something that any other science cannot do in harmony.

I started this blog as I thought there was a need to express the psychological points of view with a Muslim tongue. A lot of the mainstream traditional psychologists are asking themselves what role do we have to play in the war on terror? In this current climate of today, what do psychologists have to do? How can we make things better? Well I think I have the answer... the answer however is very complex, and cannot be given in totality by just one person, as one person cannot be the mouth piece of the whole of humanity, as humanity is diverse, cultural, unique and wonderful, but I do attempt to give a partial insight.

Psychology in the eyes of the west is not complete, indeed it is the study of mind and behaviour which no other science is able to do and understand, however one vital ingredient is missing... something that is the key to understanding a person in totality, what is it? It is the soul. Something that religion has something to offer and it is the soul which psychology is lacking.

Ive always saw institutionalised psychology in the west as studying through a keyhole, they are trying so desperately to see whats on the other side, and they are even trying different approaches in trying to pick the lock to open the door and get a better picture, but they cant. This is because of that crucial ingredient that they are overlooking, and that is the science and the psychology of the soul, when you put the study of the mind, behaviour and the soul together to find you have the whole picture of an individual. Now with spirituality, emotion, intelligence, behaviour, cognition a whole person can be understood, and the development of psychology is no longer restricted to just the surface of an individual you have the oppotunity to go much deeper then that.

The role of each and every one of us is to active members of society, we do so by excelling in what ever field we are involved in. At a time when Muslims are being misrepresented and misunderstood, I felt it was time that the psychological world new what it meant to be a Muslim, and for us to make our mark in every facet of society, that means the psychological world too. Islam is being misrepresented, and its being misrepresented in psychology too, this will have major implications in the study and the implimentation in and around the field, thus I felt I had to be more active as a psychologist, not just that a Muslimah psychologist and I call on all to do the same, get talking, get out there and most of all get active.

I hope Inshallah that this blog will be of benefit for all.

peace be with you
wassalam

1 comment:

. said...

As salaam alaikum Bintyakub,

I am very happy with your blog, though I have only read the first two posts so far.

I'm a non-practicing psychologist in the Netherlands (i.e. I've received my doctoral degree [equals masters' degree] but I'm not working atm) - and I've specialised in the field of Educational Psychology. During my study I couldn't relate to the psychological theories we encountered, because I too felt that there was a key component missing - my religion.

Now, I long for the Islamic perspective on psychology and I wish to study the subject so that I can help muslims here in the Netherlands.

Your blog and the links you've placed on this site are very helpful in my search for knowledge, because I (still) lack the understanding of Arabic many literature sources are out of reach for me.

Thank you again for this blog, I'm sure I'll enjoy reading it!

Salaam,
Naila