Challenges and Opportunities of Twelve-Step Fellowships for Addicts in an Islamic Society

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Research Institute of Hawzah and University, Qom, Iran

Abstract

Extended Abstract
 
 
Introduction and Objectives: Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), the foundation of all Twelve-Step fellowships, was first established in the United States in 1935 with the goal of helping alcoholics who otherwise faced death. In 1953, Narcotics Anonymous (NA) emerged, inspired by AA’s teachings, and today has more than two million members worldwide. NA was introduced to Iran in 1990 (1369 SH) at a rehabilitation center in Qarchak and, in 2013 (1392 SH), obtained official NGO status from the Ministry of Interior. All activities are voluntary. NA employs a spirituality-based therapeutic approach that has proven effective in addiction treatment and prevention across many countries, including Iran.
However, the importation of NA’s spiritual framework into Iran without careful consideration of its possible cultural and religious side effects has raised challenges for Muslim addicts. Identifying both harms and opportunities—particularly with regard to religious commitment—is therefore essential. The central research question is: What harms and opportunities does the Twelve-Step recovery method present for Muslim addicts? The aim of this study is to introduce the core teachings of NA and to identify their potential risks and benefits for Muslim participants.
Methodology:This study employed documentary analysis and interviews with recovering NA members. The data set included NA literature, workshop materials, and semi-structured interviews with recovering addicts. Inductive qualitative content analysis was used, with statements in written sources and interviews treated as the units of analysis. Thematic categorization focused on substantive content, with coding units identified as recurring themes. Primary sources included Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book, As Bill Sees It, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, and Narcotics Anonymous: How It Works. In addition, certain NA teachings were critically compared with Islamic principles.
Findings: The Twelve-Step method emerged from a combination of Christian teachings of the Oxford Group and the early recovery experiences of AA’s founders. Although AA later declared itself non-denominational, its approach remains spirituality-based, emphasizing the fulfillment of addicts’ spiritual needs.
Opportunities identified include:

Compatibility of the Steps as a therapeutic technique with Islamic law,
Possibility of recovery while maintaining Islamic religious commitment,
Simplicity and accessibility of the method, enabling recovering addicts to guide others voluntarily,
Independence from government funding.

Harms identified include:

Fundamental differences between Twelve-Step teachings and Islamic principles,
Misinterpretations arising from Persian translations of NA texts,
Lack of emphasis on maintaining Islamic religious practice after completing the Steps,
Absence of adaptation of Twelve-Step teachings to the cultural and spiritual heritage of Islam.

The main recommendation is that the Twelve Steps should be used by Muslim addicts only as a therapeutic technique for recovery rather than as a comprehensive spiritual lifestyle. Strengthening Islamic religiosity among members—especially sponsors—and adapting the method to Islamic culture, while preserving the Steps’ therapeutic structure, would allow Muslim addicts to benefit from this approach without compromising their faith.
Conclusion: Although the Twelve-Step model has Christian roots, it was designed to be applicable to individuals of all faiths or none. Its founders promoted it as a spiritual way of life, extending beyond addiction recovery. For Muslim addicts, however, adopting the Steps wholesale as a religious or spiritual lifestyle is unacceptable in Islam, since they do not incorporate Islamic beliefs and obligations.
If, however, Muslim addicts employ the Twelve Steps strictly as a therapeutic method within the framework of Islamic faith and practice, this approach is not only permissible but desirable. Given the proven effectiveness of this method, Muslim addicts who remain committed to Islamic teachings may progress through the Steps more effectively, with fewer errors, since Islam already provides a divinely guided spiritual path through the Qur’an and the Prophet.
Accordingly, Muslim NA members should preserve their Islamic spiritual lifestyle and use the Twelve-Step method solely for addiction recovery and control, drawing on Islam as their ultimate source of guidance.

Keywords

References

منابع
* قرآن کریم
ابراهیمی، علی‎اکبر (1387). تعلیم قدم‎های الکلی‎های گمنام از کتاب پایه. تهران: سازمان اسناد و کتابخانه ملی جمهوری اسلامی ایران.
انجمن جهانی الکلی‎های گمنام (2006م). کتاب بزرگ الکلی‎های گمنام. ویرایش 4. خدمات جهانی انجمن الکلی‎های گمنام و مؤسسه گریپ.
حرانی، حسن بن علی (ابن شعبه) (1404ق). تحف العقول عن آل الرسولn. قم: جامعه مدرسین.
خادم جهرمی، حامده، رجبی، جلیل، و رئوفی، رحیم (1394). بررسی تطبیقی قدم‎های دوازد‎ه‎گانه گروه معتادان گمنام (NA) با اصول و تعالیم اسلامی. فصلنامه پرستار و پزشک در رزم، 3(6)، 40-48.
دفتر خدمات جهانی الکلی‎های گمنام (2022). الکلی‎های گمنام. تهران: دفتر خدمات عمومی الکلی‎های گمنام ایران.
دفتر خدمات عمومی الکلی‎های گمنام (2015م). 12 قدم و 12سنت: گام‎های دوازده‎گانه و سنت‎های دوازده‎گانه. ترجمه فارسی، تهران: کمیتۀ ترجمۀ شورای الکلی‎های گمنام منطقۀ ایران.
سالاری‎فر، محمدرضا، آذربایجانی، مسعود، کاویانی، محمد، موسوی اصل، سید مهدی، عباسی، اکبر،  تبیک، محمدتقی (1393). روان‎شناسی اجتماعی با نگرش به منابع اسلامی. چ 5، و 2، تهران: پژوهشگاه حوزه و دانشگاه و سمت.
سالاری‎فر، محمدرضا، شجاعی، محمدصادق، موسوی اصل، سید مهدی، و دولت‎خواه، محمد (1389). بهداشت روانی با نگرش به منابع اسلامی. قم: پژوهشگاه حوزه و دانشگاه و سمت.
طوسی، محمد بن الحسن (1365). تهذیب الاحکام. چاپ چهارم، تهران: دارالکتب العلمیه.
کرم‎اللهی، نعمت‎الله، و ارشد، علی (1403). تأملات انتقادی ـ اسلامی در ارائۀ برنامۀ دوازده قدم معتادان گمنام. دوفصلنامۀ مطالعات فرهنگی اجتماعی حوزه، 8(2)، 251-286.
کمیته ترجمه دفتر جهانی معتادان گمنام (1388). معتادان گمنام: چگونگی عملکرد. تهران: کیمیا اثر.
کمیتۀ نشریات و ترجمۀ انجمن الکلی‎های گمنام ایران (1398). از دیدگاه بیل: شیوه زندگی الکلی گمنام. تهران: کمیته نشریات و ترجمه.
محسنی‎ تبریزی، علیرضا، و سلیمی، علی (1391). تحلیل محتوای کیفی قیاسی و بهره‎گیری از آموزه‎های اسلامی در علوم اجتماعی. روش‎شناسی علوم انسانی، 18(72)، 135-158.
نهاد نمایندگی مقام معظم رهبری در دانشگاه‎ها (1380). نقش دین در بهداشت روان. تهران: نشر معارف.
ولی‎زاده، محمدمهدی، و شریفی‎دوست، حمزه (1400). نقد تصویر خدا در انجمن‎های دوازده‎قدمی. فصلنامه فلسفه دین، 18(3)، 295-317.
پایگاه‎های اینترنتی
پایگاه اینترنتی لشکر مخلص خدا: https://akmor.blogfa.com/post/101
پایگاه اینترنتی انجمن معتادان گمنام ایران: https://www.nairan.org/fa
پایگاه اینترنتی اعتیاد: https://etiad.org
 
 
References
* The Holy Quran
A.A. General Service Office. (2015). Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions: The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (Persian Translation). Tehran: Translation Committee of the Iranian A.A. Regional Council.
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. (2006). Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book (4th ed.). New York: A.A. World Services and Grapevine.
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. (2022). Alcoholics Anonymous. Tehran: Iranian A.A. General Service Office.
Ebrahimi, Ali-Akbar. (2008). Teaching the Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous from the Basic Text. Tehran: National Library and Archives of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Harrani, Hassan ibn Ali (Ibn Shu’ba). (1984). Tuhaf al-Uqoul an Al al-Rasoul (PBUH). Qom: Jame’eh Modarresin.
Karamollahi, Nematollah; & Arshad, Ali. (2024). A Critical-Islamic Reflection on the Twelve-Step Program of Narcotics Anonymous. Biannual Journal of Socio-Cultural Studies in the Islamic Seminary, 8(2), 251-286.
Khadem Jahromi, Hamedeh; Rajabi, Jalil; & Raoufi, Rahim. (2015). A Comparative Study of the Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous (NA) with Islamic Principles and Teachings. Nurse and Physician in Combat Quarterly, 3(6), 40-48.
Mohseni Tabrizi, Alireza; & Salimi, Ali. (2012). Qualitative Content Analysis and the Application of Islamic Teachings in Social Sciences. Methodology of Humanities, 18(72), 135-158.
Publications and Translation Committee of the Iranian Alcoholics Anonymous Association. (2019). As Bill Sees It: The A.A. Way of Life. Tehran: Publications and Translation Committee.
Salari-Far, Mohammad Reza; Azarbayejani, Masoud; Kaviani, Mohammad; Mousavi Asl, Seyyed Mehdi; Abbasi, Akbar; & Tavakol, Mohammad Taghi. (2014). Social Psychology with an Islamic Resource Perspective (5th ed., Vol. 2). Tehran: Research Center of Islamic Seminary and University, and SAMT.
Salari-Far, Mohammad Reza; Shojaei, Mohammad Sadegh; Mousavi Asl, Seyyed Mehdi; & Dolatkhah, Mohammad. (2010). Mental Health with an Islamic Resource Perspective. Qom: Research Center of Islamic Seminary and University, and SAMT.
The Office of the Supreme Leader’s Representative in Universities. (2001). The Role of Religion in Mental Health. Tehran: Ma’aref Publications.
Tusi, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan. (1986). Tahdhib al-Ahkam (4th ed.). Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya.
Valizadeh, Mohammad Mehdi; & Sharifi-Doost, Hamzeh. (2021). A Critique of the Concept of God in Twelve-Step Fellowships. Journal of Philosophy of Religion, 18(3), 295-317.
Valizadeh, Mohammad Mehdi; & Valizadeh, Abolghasem. (2020). A Reflection on the Social Principles of Twelve-Step Fellowships. Biannual Journal of Islamic Social Research, 26(122), 75-100.
World Service Office of Narcotics Anonymous. (2009). Narcotics Anonymous: How It Works. Tehran: Kimiya Asar.
Online Sources
Addiction Website: https://etiad.org
Iranian Narcotics Anonymous Association Website: https://www.nairan.org/fa
Lashkar-e Mokhles-e Khoda (God’s Devoted Army) Website: https://akmor.blogfa.com/post/101

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics