Summary Blog

Introduction

The cultural group I decided to look at was the Muslim community. The religion of Islam  does more than just give spiritual guidance but also guidance on how one should live their life day to day and how one should interact with others. To get a full view I decided to talk to two different friends who are both Muslim, one of whom was born into the religion and another who converted later in life.

Application

While there were many concepts that I could have used I decided to look at the social support systems. What made me interested in this concept was to see how that sense of community helps guide people. The social support system is meant to play an "important role in helping the newcomer reduce stress, clarify uncertainty, and increase a sense of identity and self-esteem" (Adelman, 1988)

Interviews

I interviewed both of my friends to see what they had to say about the social support system. My friend Erdem who was born into a family that was muslim said that he didn't truly appreciate the role that the Muslim community played in his life until he moved for work. When he left home he didn't know anybody in Jacksonville but he quickly established a network of friends through a local Mosque.

While Tyler decided to become Muslim he said the social support system made the tranisiton much easier. While his parents were open to the idea there were people in the community who were not quite as open. He said that without the support of the people he met he might have felt pressured into converting back to Christianity.