"It's the God Factor": A Qualitative Study of Syrian Muslims' Postwar Religious Meaning-Making

Religious meaning-making may facilitate psychological adjustment to even the most extreme traumatic stressors, including war and forced displacement. Yet, few studies have examined the religious meaning-making trajectories of refugees and none from an Islamic perspective. This qualitative cross-sectional study investigated Syrian Muslims' postwar meaning-making experiences, guided by Park's (2010) meaning-making model. Thirty-three Syrian Muslim refugees living in Portugal were interviewed 8 years after the onset of the war. Thematic analysis was used to explore cognitive reappraisal processes informed by Islam. The recurrent nature of meaning-making throughout refugees' displacement trajectories; religious struggles as a key determinant of religious meaning-making; meaning-making as dynamic trajectories with no clear end; place of settlement as a source of meaning; and the ability of Islam to withstand extreme challenges and provide a last-resort narrative, even for those individuals with severely eroded beliefs. Findings highlight the need for practitioners in host countries to incorporate faith and religious traditions in the provision of care.