Fostering children from the Muslim faith

Children who come into foster care have a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, and when a carer is looking after a child from a different faith or culture, there are additional needs that need consideration.

Beacon Fostering understands that. Although we understand the importance of matching children to carers of a shared culture, we recognise that this is not always possible. Below, we have created a brief guide that looks at taking care of children from the Muslim faith.

Fostering Muslim children

Ensuring that Muslim children continue to adhere to their faith and its traditions is essential in maintaining their connection with their heritage.

An essential requirement of fostering Muslim children is the consideration of food. You may be familiar with the term ‘halal’, which refers to meat that is slaughtered under Islamic guidelines and does not contain pork or alcohol.

There are halal butchers in most towns and cities. Muslims can also eat fish and other foods that haven’t come into contact with ‘haram’ (forbidden) substances.

Muslim foster carers

If you are a carer from the Muslim community and are thinking of fostering, one thing to know is that it is particularly rewarding to foster a child from your religion.

Not only will the child still be able to successfully adhere to their faith away from their family of origin, but it’s also a way to deepen both of your connections to God/Allah.

A Muslim child with Muslim foster parents will feel supported and understood, and also proud of, their culture and beliefs. Also, the number of Muslim children in care (3,000) outweighs that of Muslim foster carers, showing a need for carers from this faith.