Many items in the newly revised 2025 Code of Ethics do not make me comfortable as a Muslim. Many Muslims Coaches live in different parts of the globe and conduct coaching business in diverse settings. Nevertheless, we all agree on one fact: that is, we derive our moral code of right and wrong from the Quran and the Islamic Shariah. When it comes to the inner belief system, we are believers in God not only as a creator, but as a legislative source. God created us, and must know better than what we know about ourselves, our lives, and our bodies. From there, we differ from other nations on earth. We have been stable and consistent with this fact over the past 1500 years. We protect who we are and know that, no matter how scattered and small we may seem, we form 2 billion of the world’s population. Our word must count for something, right?
This commentary, which I have worked hard to bring to all Muslims through researching the Islamic litrature, consulting with other Muslim coaches, and using common sense, is meant to inform you, the Muslim population, of what ICF needs to address so that we can feel comfortable signing the Code of Ethics.
It is also a message to ICF members and leadership that we have a voice, and if ICF really cares about diversity and inclusion, they have to reflect our voice in the wording and phrases of the Code of Ethics
Earlier in September 2025, I brought this to the ICF- Saudi Arabia chapter first before the MENA conference, and now taking the Code of Ethics’ comments publicly to ICF and the rest of the Muslim world to request collaboration and unity so we can support all Muslim coaches to function and perform, feeling acknowledged and appreciated by the ICF.
I am also requesting freedom of speech to be given to us Arabs in the form of using Arabic terms to express ‘Coaching,’ and there are a few. Arabic has different dialects, and Arabs around the MENA region should have the freedom to use the dialect they prefer and which expresses the essence and meaning of coaching as defined by ICF. Not only will it facilitate spreading the coaching profession, but also help our clients understand what we do, as most do not speak English and can’t pronounce it right, let alone how the word ‘Coaching’ refuses to bend with Arabic grammar, preventing us from writing and publishing books in our .own language
Dear ICF, we are asking you to read these comments with an open heart and have it in you to reach out to me and hear me out. Thank you for listening, and hopefully, we will get to speak soon.
