What is Qur’an

There is a paucity of research on the rates of alcohol and drug use among Muslim peoples. Many of the publications on substance use and abuse among Muslims tend to focus on the Qur'an's explicit prohibition against the use of mood-altering substances. Epidemiological studies of use, if they show lower use in a specific country, tend to ascribe the lower rates of use to the religious prohibitions is Islam. Such models are overly simplistic in that the perceived outcome is ascribed to a single variable: religion. This chapter will explore the value of the ecological model of substance use/abuse in understanding, assessing, and treating Muslim clients. The ecological model helps move Muslims from a unidimensional characterization to a fuller and nuanced understanding.