Addiction in the Muslim Community: Leveraging Spirituality & the Community | Dr. Amer Raheemullah

Drug overdose deaths are sweeping across the Muslim community throughout the United States. Many families are focusing on covering up the problem instead of seeking treatment.
To help empower families with the tools to face addiction, MCC is starting family classes for any family members that have a loved one with addiction. The 12 classes are free, virtual, and for family members. They start Mondays at 6 pm PST on June 10, 2024. To sign up click here: madinahouse.org
Dr. Amer Syed Raheemullah, an addiction specialist and clinical instructor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, talks about the problem, why it exists, and faith-based programs for Muslims that exist locally.
This talk was sponsored by Lighthouse Masjid and Madina House (a sober living house in the San Francisco Bay Area). Learn more at madinahouse.org
This talk was organized by Imam Muhammad Fasih and Carmen Gomez and delivered at the Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland, California on May 3, 2024. It was delivered via Muslim Community Center - East Bay (MCC East Bay) in Pleasanton, California.
Madina House is a non-profit organization that provides a private program for Muslims recovering from addiction using a recovery home model. Applicants sign up after completing a residential program covered by their insurance. For more information, visit madinahouse.org
MCC is also hosting an addiction family support group: mcceastbay.org/event/family-g...
- MCC's Substance Use Family Support Group: mcceastbay.org/support-group
- More talks about various forms of use in the Muslim Community: mcceastbay.org/abuse
- More Dr. Amer: mcceastbay.org/amer
About the Presenter:
Dr. Amer Raheemullah, MD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and Director of the Addiction Medicine Consult Service at Stanford Hospital. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine and has a special interest in developing methods to increase access to basic addiction treatment, through hospital settings, telehealth digital solutions, and criminal justice settings.
He was born and raised in the Chicagoland area and pursued his undergraduate degree in Economics at the University of Illinois. He worked in the jails and prisons to provide free education and addiction programs for years until completing his Internal Medicine training at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He moved on to complete an Addiction Medicine fellowship at Stanford and stayed on the faculty to launch the Addiction Medicine Consult Service which offers addiction interventions to hospitalized patients by a team of addiction medicine specialists, peer recovery counselors, and complex care managers. He lives with his wife and two children in the Bay Area where he also helps design digital solutions to increase access to addiction treatment.
His Clinical Focus is opioid and benzodiazepine dependence, prescription medication tapering, internal medicine, smoking cessation, and addiction medicine.
Learn more about him at med.stanford.edu/profiles/ame...
Resources
- Al-Anon Family Group (for families with a loved one suffering through an addiction): alanond17.weebly.com
- East Bay Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous (for those suffering through an addiction): eastbayaa.org/locations/fremo...
- Alameda County Department of Public Health - Substance Abuse Resource List: alamedakids.org/resource-dire...
- Alameda County Behavioral Health - Resource List and Helpline (1-844-682-7215): www.acbhcs.org/substance-use-t...
Additional Resources
- Madina House - Recovery House in San Francisco Bay Area: www.madinahouse.org/madina-ho...
- Muslims find a safe place to recover from alcohol addiction: the mosque: sahanjournal.com/health/alcoh...
- For Muslims wrestling with substance abuse, it’s often a silent struggle: www.mprnews.org/story/2019/09...
- Substance Abuse and Addiction in the Muslim Community: Facing Stigma and Seeking Support
The Imam and the Drug Addict, IlmFeed: www.ispu.org/substance-abuse-...
- Overcoming Addiction: An Islamic Approach to Recovery (OAIAR): www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Add...
More MCC East Bay:
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