ABSTRACT
The term ‘post-modernism’ has been used in contemporary and academic circles across many different cultures. This is a historical period marked by transition and new ways of seeing the world called the post-modern era. In its simplest form, the transition from the modern to the post-modern era is marked by societal belief that there is no objective, absolute, and fixed reality for all people and that there are many equally valid ways that the world can be viewed and people can behave (Anderson, 1990). Furthermore, the post-modernist perspective reveals that societies should not operate based on static principles that have traditionally made a division between right and wrong, proper and improper, and virtuous and vicious. For an increasing number of people, a family’s ideal principles are not as much embedded in sacrosanct doctrines of organized religion and civic society. They are more or less a very sequestered synthesis of personal, intimate, and contextual principles. This approach is useful in working with Muslim families because it challenges the notion of objective reality and knowledge and invites therapists to be curious about the meaning behind human interactions without assigning judgment and blame. In order to have a better appreciation for this model, it is essential to evaluate several concepts that have helped the formation of this approach in family therapy.
