I see the world differently now: how psychedelics are helping people find spiritual growth – Hyphen

Artwork by Hyphen Though narcotic drugs are forbidden in Islam, a growing number of Muslims are experimenting with psilocybin mushrooms to help treat depression, and even get closer to God

Sughra Ahmed had never even heard of psychedelics when a friend told her that religious leaders were being recruited for a study in which they would all be given two powerful doses of psilocybin, commonly known as magic mushrooms. At the time, in 2017, Ahmed was an associate dean of religious and spiritual life at Stanford University, San Francisco, and despite some initial scepticism, her curiosity was piqued.

Following deep reflection and conversations with trusted friends, she signed up. Key to her decision was her appraisal that intentional psychedelic use is in keeping with Islamic principles of growth and expansion, to become the best version of oneself to better serve God.

Ahmed was not expecting to arrive in a spiritual nirvana, but thats what happened over the course of two phenomenally energetic experiences in a living room-like setting at Marylands Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in 2018, with her visions coloured by soft hues of light.

I now feel a stronger connection to God, in everything that I do, says Ahmed, originally from Peterborough and after returning from the US now an honorary fellow at the University of Birminghams theology department. Its way more pronounced now, in a way that I didnt anticipate. Im much more conscious of God. Central to the awakening was a dawning realisation of the importance of expressing love in her everyday life and the importance of heart-to-heart communications. It was a reminder for me to return to that truth, Ahmed says. Six years later her life has never been the same and still today she has a greater focus on thriving, rather than simply plodding along, she says.

She was the only Muslim out of two dozen faith leaders to take part in the study, led by JHU psychologist William Richards and supported by the RiverStyx Foundation. Participants took two doses of psilocybin about one month apart, which were larger than what most recreational users take. The idea behind the research, which has yet to be published, is that mystical experiences are at the centre, even the origin, of most religions. The academics conducting the study, who kept data on participants in the months after their trips, wanted to investigate whether religious leaders lives were altered by their encounter with psychedelics.

Ahmed was the last person to enrol after attempts to interest other Muslims failed. Many organised religions are uneasy with or outright oppose the use of illegal substances. Narcotic drugs and alcohol are clearly forbidden in Islam and their consumption can lead to a veiling of the mind that renders people not their whole selves, says Ahmed. Psychedelics, however, may lead to an unveiling of the mind that brings emotional and spiritual benefits, as Ahmed learned through her research when she was deciding whether to participate in the study.

Being a religious leader, and a woman, I didnt want to pull the drawbridge up behind me, she says. I wanted to feel deep down that this was enhancing Islam in my life, in a way nothing else could. I wanted our people Muslims, women of colour to be at the table. Because these sorts of trials dont usually have people like me.

Ahmed has spoken publicly about her journey, and psychedelics and Islam, at events like the 2023 Psychedelic Science conference in Denver. Fellow Muslims subsequently approached her to share insights from their own psychedelic journeys, to ask how they can bring this truth that they experienced into the open and discuss how their expression of Islam has been altered, or deepened, thanks to tripping. Theres even a WhatsApp group with more than 20 members.

Its about emotional and psychological growth, Ahmed says of psychedelic-assisted therapy. Its about trauma, its about healing. That all speaks to my religious expression of what medicines ought to be.

Trials investigating the potential of psilocybin mushrooms to treat depression, and of MDMA to treat PTSD, have reported significant benefits, suggesting the psychedelics could be more efficacious than current drugs prescribed by medical professionals. But experts have said more large-scale randomised trials with more diverse treatment groups and longer term follow-up are required to fully understand the therapeutic potential of psychedelics.

Research does, however, also suggest that Muslims may be more likely to suffer from depression in some western countries, while potentially experiencing the condition over longer periods of time when compared to the general population.

Raad Seraj, who is from Bangladesh and now lives in Canada, says his first mushroom journey showed him that he could step outside of his mind.

A difficult upbringing, which included being subject to xenophobic abuse in Saudi Arabia where he lived as a child for a period, left him with anger and rage that he believes were symptoms of depression, though he never sought a formal diagnosis. In my culture, theres no time to be depressed, says Seraj, a manager at a technology company.

With psilocybin mushrooms, which he began taking with a group of friends in 2016, he was able to unlock latent, toxic emotions that were stored within. My life, and relationships, became much richer, because I wasnt just bottling everything up. I had a greater sense of self-awareness.

Since launching a podcast about psychedelics two years ago, Seraj has been open with his family about his use of not just mushrooms, but also LSD and 5-MeO-DMT. They couldnt understand it, he says, adding that there is a history of substance abuse in his family. They didnt quite understand what psychedelics are. All they knew was that theyre drugs, bad drugs.

They soon began to find greater acceptance. Serajs mother and father were in New York last year when Seraj was giving a talk for Psychedelics Today, an educational platform. They heard me speak not just about my own personal experience, he says. Thats when they understood Im not talking about drugs, but medicine. Its still difficult for them, but I think they understand my motivations, which helps them respect me.

Others have had similar journeys. Ibrahim, who is from Pakistan and now lives in the US, was diagnosed with acute stress disorder, anxiety and depression during the Covid-19 pandemic. He discovered mushrooms while undertaking research for a cancer therapy company, before watching the Fantastic Fungi documentary on Netflix. Honestly it was a game changer for my mental health, he says. Everything got clearer and I began feeling more content with how life was unfolding. I finally started dealing with all the stuff Id been avoiding.

Then, like Seraj, he started spreading the message. I couldnt wait for my struggling friends and family to try it, he recalls. Ibrahim, who asked to use his first name only, served the medicine to more than 20 close friends and relatives, and oversaw their trips. Most of them were suffering from depression, anxiety and stress, he says. Its amazing how it helped them face parts of themselves they had been dodging.

The first person was his conservative father, in Pakistan, in November 2022. I took my dad on a journey, he says. He met me with resistance because in the past he has caught me doing things that were haram, like drinking and using pot. But Ibrahim impressed upon his father that the beauty of the mushroom is that a pre-prepared intention can help define the experience. I said: Just watch these two documentaries with me and decide for yourself. He saw them and said: OK, why dont you try it on me.

Despite the initial scepticism, his father, and everyone else who took the mushrooms, completely changed their opinions about psychedelics after their journeys, according to Ibrahim. He came out of it amazed, says Ibrahim. He had a very clear vision and it gave him a whole new perspective. My mum and my uncle did it, too. People started calling me a doctor. He has now opened a mushroom microdosing company.

Psychedelics have been very eye-opening to me about how I can best live my life as a Muslim, says Marwan Elgamal, director of a UK-based creative agency that promotes cannabis legalisation. He says that some believe that the mystical roots of Islam may hint towards the possibility of a lost history of psychedelic use. The Quran refers to the use of an undefined fungi. In the Sahihain, a collection of hadiths, the Prophet is reported to have said the Kamaah (mushroom truffles) are a kind of manna and that its juice is a medicine for the eyes. Elgamal suggests a medicine for the eyes could also be perspective shifting. I feel like these tools are here, from God, to help figure things out.

One British female Muslim, who preferred not to be named, said that her grandfather had told tales of eating naturally grown psychedelic mushrooms in Pakistan, but that any sort of drug-taking still generally remained taboo in her family.

I cant tell my family I microdose, she says. None of my Muslim friends do psychedelics. Its not something we talk about. Drugs all get lumped into one category, she adds: But I feel everyone should try psychedelics. I see the world differently now, Im more connected to people. At the time of writing, she was at a psychedelic retreat.

Ahmed, however, has not taken psychedelics since the study and she has no immediate plans to either. Yet, she says: I feel like the medicine continues to speak to me. I am still deeply connected with those experiences in a way that makes me feel it was quite recent. Im open minded but I dont want to do it for the sake of it. Its sacred.

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I see the world differently now: how psychedelics are helping people find spiritual growth - Hyphen