Spiritual Abuse in Islamic Contexts in Germany: An Attempt to Characterize the Phenomenon

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Dina El Omari

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Spiritual abuse is a phenomenon that occurs in different religious communities and structures. Though there are a lot of parallels between them regarding the phenomenon, spiritual abuse has its own specific characteristics in each respective context. Regarding Islamic contexts in German-speaking regions, spiritual abuse has to date not been analyzed deeply and systematically. The chapter aims to take the first step towards closing this gap. It focuses on a definition of what spiritual abuse is, followed by the contexts in which spiritual abuse occurs and by whom it is perpetrated. Then, it discusses different types of spiritual abuse and closes with its consequences for human beings.