“I Discovered I Love to Pray Alone Too”: Pluralist Muslim Women’s Approaches to Practicing Islam during and after Ramadan 2020

Abstract

Public health guidelines implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic have changed the way many people practice religion. In the realm of Islam, practices from the margins—attending online mosques and prayer groups, or praying alone—suddenly became commonplace. This paper addresses the question: What religious processes have become more evident among pluralist Muslim women during the pandemic? Based on 34 open-ended online surveys completed by pluralist Muslim women living chiefly in the USA and the UK, our analysis evidences the existence of four narratives that reflect fluctuations in the intensity and type of religious practice. The first and most prominent narrative in our dataset conveys enthusiastic embrace of social-distanced practices; the second describes a profound sense of aberration impossible to overcome in spiritual ways. The third highlights that for some Muslims, the pandemic brought no changes, as they continued to be isolated from their communities. The fourth is focused on an affirmation of a “remote” sociality experienced online. While some respondents acknowledge the increased individuation in their religious practice, they also find fulfilment in collective, if transformed, sociality. The changes in social interaction have led to a re-evaluation of salient aspects of their religious identity or, alternatively, highlighted longstanding modalities of exclusion.

Muslim Americans’ Experience of the Pandemic at the Intersection of History, Culture, and Gender

“…Muslim women in the U.S and the U.K had mixed responses to the pandemic. Research has concurred with this situation where some women experienced psychological distress with a significant sense of loss of community connection and disempowered by gender inequality and marginalization (Piela & Krotofil, 2021;Safdar & Yasmin, 2020).…”

“…Although religious values and beliefs played an important role in mitigating mental health issues for people in the community, and the worship was adopted into a virtual format, Muslims in the community experienced the loss of the spiritual connection space with others with the closure of mosques. Furthermore, they also lost spaces for practical, social, and emotional support (COVID-19 pandemic has impacted family relationships and social interactions, the two significant sources of social support for community members, particularly the marginalized elderly members and women (Hassan et al, 2021;Piela & Krotofil, 2021). Muslim women in the U.S and the U.K had mixed responses to the pandemic.…”

“…Some women embraced the safety measure in social distancing and adjusted well to the virtual worshipping, while others experienced psychological distress with a significant sense of loss of social support and community connection. Moreover, some women continued to be isolated even before the pandemic, due to feelings of gender inequality and marginalization (Piela & Krotofil, 2021;Safdar & Yasmin, 2020). While women in Qatar experienced higher psychological distress and lower resilience, the elderly adapted well to quarantine and social distancing during the pandemic due to higher resilience and positive religiosity coping strategies (Quanes et al, 2021;Sadang et al, 2021).…”

The Role of the Internet in the Formation of Muslim Subjectivity Among Polish Female Converts to Islam

“…16, Iss. 1, 2022 often utilised by Salafis (Olsson 2014) and minoritised groups such as queer or disabled Muslims (Piela and Krotofil 2021) who claim their belonging in the ummah and gain a voice in this way.…”

Isolation, Community and Spirituality: British Muslim Experiences of Ramadan in Lockdown

“…This seems to be a perspective that is not widespread in existing research but which can shed light on the day-to-day interaction between the pandemic and wider aspects of society. My research complements an existing study of Muslim women largely based in the US and UK (Piela and Krotofil 2021) which examines the everyday implications of the pandemic on the religious experience of Ramadan. Through survey data, the authors' findings echo some of those presented here, such as the ways participants appreciated the solitude of Ramadan in lockdown.…”