Turning religion from cause to reducer of panic during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Muslim communities in the village facing the COVID-19 Pandemic attempts to find refuge from the plague and hope for survival. However, this led to more caution, which may lead to xenophobia. Via ethnography, this study unmasks the xenophobic attitude. This research discusses the root causes of panic in the community so that remedies can be implemented. The research attempts to explain, from a socio-anthropological viewpoint, how people and religious groups in the village perceive the pandemic of COVID-19 based on their belief in their faith and in the science. The research takes place in Cigagak village, an area of approximately 7000 m2 on the outskirts of Bandung of West Java of Indonesia. This study examines the selected respondents (20 respondents as the samples) from about 190 inhabitants (as the population) who had close ties to managing places of worship (mosques) and public places. This study utilises a collaborative self-ethnographic method and qualitative analysis. The influence of COVID-19 has moved to new exclusive and disintegrating practices from the inclusion-cohesive religious tradition. Therefore, this study tries to find out ways on how to reduce exclusive perception and religious practices to a minimum level and how to disappear xenophobia. Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, inclusive awareness and actions were re-established, and even social cohesiveness was fostered. This study concludes that in its deep conviction nature, theology can change exclusive behaviour to be inclusive if it is based on the religious principles that are raised in response to human events. In this case, the Muslim community in a village can change the fear of COVID-19 pandemic to be a reducer of the panic based on the support of the religious doctrines.Contribution: This article used a collaborative self-ethnography with a religious socio-anthropological viewpoint. This study could help to solve social problems through theological convergence in Islamic milieu, especially that of the government’s formal Islamic organisation and organic Islamic leaders of the society.

Community-Level Experiences, Understandings, and Responses to COVID-19 in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review of Qualitative and Ethnographic Studies

“…Sharma et al, referencing "misinfodemics", noted that the proliferation of misinformation circulating among Indians "worsened the impact of the pathogen, and caused agitation and frustration" among respondents [78]. Media-driven misinformation was amplified through collective xenophobia, as perceptions of COVID-19 carried by outsiders was a common theme, both in religious institutions in Indonesia and among the general population in India [78,82]. In Burkina Faso, despite the mass media focus on the Chinese origins of the pandemic, communities located the viral genesis squarely in Europe (France), referencing the "disease of the whites" associated with European wealth, thus distorting the understanding of the temporality and locality of the pandemic, with assignations distinct and separate from previous infectious disease outbreaks, such as Ebola [76].…”

“…Limitations on collective spiritual activities were generally found to have a negative overall impact on community health and wellbeing, as reported in this literature. Wibisono et al observed how disruptions in mosque opening in remote West Java created social insecurities manifesting as xenophobia toward outsiders and non-Muslims, which was attributed to the circulation of social media and the lack of community cohesion normally arising from the routine practice of Islamic daily prayers [82]. Elderly Nigerians, in the wake of bans on religious gatherings (weddings, births, deaths), lamented the lack of a spiritual buffer as afforded by the rituals of collective prayer: "I can't even go to church to pray to God so that he will protect us from all these things.…”

Congregational Religious Prayers Amid Covid-19 and Pandemic Spread – Evidence From Southern Punjab, Pakistan

“…Similarly, Wibisono et al (2021) depicted threats imposed by coronavirus outbreaks that can still be mitigated by religious ideologies. A case to point Wibisono et al (2021) builds on the view that Muslim people in an Indonesian village improved their sanitation and safety practices due to the availability of medical guidelines from the state and councils as a kind of religious doctrine.…”

“…Similarly, Wibisono et al (2021) depicted threats imposed by coronavirus outbreaks that can still be mitigated by religious ideologies. A case to point Wibisono et al (2021) builds on the view that Muslim people in an Indonesian village improved their sanitation and safety practices due to the availability of medical guidelines from the state and councils as a kind of religious doctrine. Further according to the findings of a survey, 64% of young people conclude that religion can shield them from coronavirus disease because faith provides a sense of protection (Kowalczyk et al, 2020).…”

A Comparative Study on the knowledge and attitude of COVID-19 among Urban and Rural populations of Bangladesh

“…Our study also shows that both urban and rural people are worried about getting the corona virus and believe that after outbreak life will be changed in a major way. Some researchers tried to identify the root cause of panic in the community, where they reported that the Muslim communities in the rural area facing the COVID-19 Pandemic attempts to find refuge from the plague and hope for survival [32].…”