Inclusivity In Social Spacies: A Lens On Deaf Muslims Religious Participation
A socially inclusive society is one in which all people feel valued, and their inherent differences and diversity are respected while their basic needs are met, guaranteeing a life of dignity. While efforts are being made to promote a socially inclusive society for all, existing evidence suggests that Deaf people remain excluded in key social spaces particularly, places of worship. This study sought to explore the extent to which the Deaf access spaces of worship, the barriers, and the mechanisms for their inclusion in such spaces in Ghana. Framed by Social Inclusion Theory and case study design, the study employed semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews in obtaining data from 31 respondents, including Deaf Muslims, religious leaders and parents. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were employed in the data analysis. The study revealed that there are Deaf Muslims who desire to participate in worship but are often excluded due to the absence of sign language interpretation, limited awareness of Deaf needs among Imams, gendered religious rules, and negative societal attitudes. It is recommended that sign language interpreters be prioritised and engaged in places of worship while awareness-raising through educative programs on the communication needs of the deaf and elimination of discriminatory tendencies be stepped up in order to attain meaningful inclusion of Deaf Muslims in social spaces.
Keywords
Authors
How to Cite
Download Citation
License
Copyright © 2025 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License By-NC-ND 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access ).
Similar Articles
- Mohammad Shamim Ansari, Assessing Parental Role as Resource Persons in Achieving Goals of Early Detection and Intervention for Children with Hearing Impairment , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 25 No. 4 (2014): Winter 2014
- Maxwell Peprah Opoku, Nicole Huyser, Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah, Eric Badu, Beatrice Atim Alupo, Sexual Violence against Women with Disabilities in Ghana: Accounts of Women with Disabilities from Ashanti Region , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 27 No. 2 (2016): Summer 2016
- Sobhan Lavasani, Nor Wahiza Abdul Wahat, Work Ability Index: Validation and Model Comparison of the Malaysian Work Ability Index (WAI) , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 27 No. 2 (2016): Summer 2016
- Lavanya J Raj, SwarnaKumari Pitchai, The Development of a New Quality of Life Questionnaire for Children with Hearing Loss - The Impact of Hearing Loss on Children (IHL-C): Field Testing and Psychometric Evaluation , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 26 No. 1 (2015): Spring 2015
- Kevin Niall Peek, Saqib Noor, Hjorleifur Skorri Thormodsson, Sem Sambath, Pang Sarun, James Gollogly, Total Hip Arthroplasty Rehabilitation in Cambodia , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 24 No. 4 (2013): Winter 2013
- The Maria Meiwati Widagdo, Yunita Rappun, Aprilia Vetricia Gandrung, Edy Wibowo, Impact of Visual Impairment and Correction on Vision-Related Quality of Life: Comparing People with Different Levels of Visual Acuity in Indonesia , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 4 (2020): Winter
- Acheampong Enoch, Anthony Kwaku Edusei, Okyere Paul, Akohene Kofi Mensah, Rose Odotei Adjei, Emmanuel Appiah-Brempong, “We are not getting jobs”: Job seeking Problems of People with Disability and Coping Strategies adopted in an Urban Traditional Community in Ghana , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 27 No. 1 (2016): Spring 2016
- Usha Tiwari Upadhyay, Improving Well-Being, Academic Self-Concept and Academic Achievement of Indian Children with Specific Learning Disability by utilising Positive Psychology Intervention , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 32 No. 3 (2021): Autumn 2021
- rojin fatehi, Targeted Vocational Training for the Disabled: From Idea to Implementation Considering the Diversity of Disability Types and Its Challenges , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 37 No. 3 (2026): Autumn Issue
- Suzanne C Hopf, Sharynne McLeod, Sarah H McDonagh, Epenisa N Rakanace, Communication Disability in Fiji: Community Cultural Beliefs and Attitudes , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 28 No. 1 (2017): Spring 2017
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.