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IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON SOCIAL COHESION AND ROLE OF MUSLIM COMMUNITIES TO TACKLE THE CHALLENGE
Corresponding Author(s) : Muhammad Umar Riaz Abbasi
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews,
Vol. 9 No. 2 (2021): March
Abstract
Purpose of the study: This research is focused on examining the impact of Covid-19 on societal social cohesion. Furthermore, the role of Muslim communities in tackling the challenges has also been investigated in detail.
Methodology: The discussed research is conducted by detailed analysis of the related literature. This paper is thus based upon the secondary data gathered from different sources including newspapers, articles published in journals, books, and reports from diverse non-governmental, and governmental organizations.
Main Findings: The biggest challenge for the globe at this crucial time is isolation and social distancing as it has impacted the world at a large level. Social interaction is vital for human existence, and its absence leads to stressed, anxious, and depressed life. Also, it hampers the economic growth of the state. Muslim communities have been afflicted with various difficulties in the context of their religious matters due to this pandemic. They have even paused their major religious tasks like Pilgrimage, congregations, and Namaz-e-Jummah to prevent the people from deadly consequences of the pandemic.
Applications of this study: This study can be useful in examining the impacts of COVID-19 disease on social cohesion. Furthermore, it can be used in understanding the concept of Social cohesion according to the point of view of the Quran and Sunnah. Additionally, it aids in exploring the steps taken by the Islamic world in tackling this disease and its impacts on social togetherness.
The originality of this study: This is a comprehensive study on the impacts brought about by Covid-19 on social cohesion. Also, the role played by Muslim societies in handling the social challenges imposed by Covid-19 is the focus of this study. Moreover, this study encompasses the Islamic way and guidance by Quran and Sunnah to tackle the pandemic situations.
Keywords
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- Ahmad, K. (2014). A short note on the Medina Charter. Retrieved from https://www.ashtoncentralmosque .com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/A+Short+Note+On+The+Medina+Charte r.pdf
- Algaissi, A. A., Alharbi, N. K., Hassanain, M., & Hashem, A. M. (2020). Preparedness and response to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: Building on MERS experience. Journal of infection and public health, 13(6): 834–838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2020.04.016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2020.04.016
- Attaftazani, M. I., Zhafira, A. R., & Purnama, I. (2020, November). Indonesian Muslims Response to Covid-19 from the Perspective of Ash’arite Theology. In Ushuluddin International Conference (USICON) (Vol. 4).
- Basri, H. (2020). Religious Community Responses to COVID-19: Case Study on Muslim Small Community. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(8), 10439-10446.
- Bi, S. (2020). Racialisation of Rescuehood: Contextualising British Muslims stuck abroad during COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341575190_Racialisation_of_Rescuehood_Contextualisin g_British_Muslims_stuck_abroad_during_COVID-19_pandemic
- Bin Ramlan, U. A. R. (2020, January 29). The Importance of Social Cohesion in Islam. Retrieved from https://muslim.sg/articles/the-importance-of-social-cohesion-in-islam
- Borkowska, M., & Laurence, J. (2021). Coming together or coming apart? Changes in social cohesion during the Covid-19 pandemic in England. European Societies, 23(sup1), S618-S636. https://doi.org/10.1080/146166 96.2020.1833067 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2020.1833067
- CA, C. M., MA, S., MF, M. T., & SAK, S. A. H. (2020). Muslims Responses to Pandemics: Lessons from the Best Generation. IIUM Medical Journal Malaysia, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.31436/imjm.v19i2.1609 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31436/imjm.v19i2.1609
- Calo-Blanco, A., KovářÃk, J., Mengel, F., & Romero, J. G. (2017). Natural disasters and indicators of social cohesion. PloS one, 12(6), e0176885. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176885 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176885
- Centre for science and policy. (2020, June 24). The State of Social Cohesion During Covid-19 - Networks of evidence and expertise for public policy. Retrieved from http://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/news/article-social-cohesion-seminar/
- Dayrit, M. M., & Mendoza, R. U. (2020). Social cohesion vs COVID-19. International Journal of Health Governance, 25(3), pp. 191-203. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHG-03-2020-0022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHG-03-2020-0022
- Delhey, J., Boehnke, K., Dragolov, G., Ignácz, Z. S., Larsen, M., Lorenz, J., & Koch, M. (2018). Social cohesion and its correlates: A comparison of Western and Asian societies. Comparative Sociology, 17(3-4), 426-455. https://doi.org/10.1163/15691330-12341468 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15691330-12341468
- Fonseca, X., Lukosch, S., & Brazier, F. (2019). Social cohesion revisited: a new definition and how to characterize it. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 32(2), 231-253. https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2018.1497480 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2018.1497480
- Hussain, A., & Castro, C. (2020). American Muslims and COVID-19. https://vimeo.com/408949355
- Jabeen, A., Ansari, J. A., Ikram, A., Abbasi, S. H., Khan, M. A., Rathore, T. R., & Safdar, M. (2020). Comparison of actions taken by Pakistan, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam for COVID-19 prevention and control. Global Biosecurity, 1(4).
- Kim, J. (2020). The role of social cohesion in addressing the impact of COVID-19 on mental health within marginalized communities. Local Development & Society, 1(2), 205-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/26883597 .2020.1829985 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/26883597.2020.1829985
- McManus, S., D'Ardenne, J., & Wessely, S. (2020). Covid conspiracies: misleading evidence can be more damaging than no evidence at all. Psychological Medicine, 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720002184 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720002184
- Morni, F., & Khan, A. (2021). Mudharabah as a Conduit for Social Cohesion among Vulnerable Women. International Journal of Islamic Economics, 2(2), 90-99. https://doi.org/10.32332/ijie.v2i2.2270 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32332/ijie.v2i2.2270
- Nextier SPD. (2020, June 22). Social and Community Cohesion Amidst of COVID-19 Pandemic - Nigeria. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/social-and-community-cohesion-amidst-covid-19-pandemic
- Noreen, N., Dil, S., Niazi, S., Naveed, I., Khan, N., Khan, F., Tabbasum, S., & Kumar, D. (2020). COVID 19 pandemic & Pakistan; limitations and gaps. Global Biosecurity, 1(4). https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.63 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.63
- Ozalp, M. (2020, April 2). How coronavirus challenges Muslims’ faith and changes their lives. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/how-coronavirus-challenges-muslims-faith-and-changes-their-lives-133925
- Spoonley, P., Gluckman, P., Bardsley, A., McIntosh, T., Hunia, R., Johal, S., & Poulton, R. (2020). He oranga hou: social cohesion in a post COVID-19 world. Koi TÅ«: The Centre for Informed Futures.
- Templeton, A., Guven, S. T., Hoerst, C., Vestergren, S., Davidson, L., Ballentyne, S., Madsen, H. & Choudhury, S. (2020). Inequalities and identity processes in crises: Recommendations for facilitating safe response to the COVIDâ€19 pandemic. British Journal of Social Psychology, 59(3), 674-685. https://doi.org/10.1 111/bjso.12400 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12400
- Thomas, J., & Barbato, M. (2020). Positive religious coping and mental health among Christians and Muslims in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Religions, 11(10), 498. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11100498 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11100498
- UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (n.d.). Everyone Included: Social Impact of COVID-19. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/everyone-included-covid-19.html
- UN Development Programme. (2020, November 15). Impact of COVID-19 on social cohesion in Iraq - Iraq. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/impact-covid-19-social-cohesion-iraq
- Quran, Surah Al-Isra, verse 33
- Quran, Surah Al- Hashar, verse 9
- Quran, Surah Al-Bararah, verse 153-157
- Slobodin, O., & Cohen, O. (2020). A culturally-competent approach to emergency management: What lessons can we learn from the COVID-19? Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 12(5), 470. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000790 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000790
- Jedwab, R., Khan, A. M., Damania, R., Russ, J., & Zaveri, E. D. (2020). Pandemics, poverty, and social cohesion: lessons from the past and possible scenarios for COVID-19. Mimeo. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105629
- Leshem, E., Afek, A., & Kreiss, Y. (2020). Buying time with COVID-19 outbreak response, Israel. Emerging infectious diseases, 26(9), 2251. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2609.201476 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2609.201476
References
Ahmad, K. (2014). A short note on the Medina Charter. Retrieved from https://www.ashtoncentralmosque .com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/A+Short+Note+On+The+Medina+Charte r.pdf
Algaissi, A. A., Alharbi, N. K., Hassanain, M., & Hashem, A. M. (2020). Preparedness and response to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: Building on MERS experience. Journal of infection and public health, 13(6): 834–838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2020.04.016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2020.04.016
Attaftazani, M. I., Zhafira, A. R., & Purnama, I. (2020, November). Indonesian Muslims Response to Covid-19 from the Perspective of Ash’arite Theology. In Ushuluddin International Conference (USICON) (Vol. 4).
Basri, H. (2020). Religious Community Responses to COVID-19: Case Study on Muslim Small Community. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24(8), 10439-10446.
Bi, S. (2020). Racialisation of Rescuehood: Contextualising British Muslims stuck abroad during COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341575190_Racialisation_of_Rescuehood_Contextualisin g_British_Muslims_stuck_abroad_during_COVID-19_pandemic
Bin Ramlan, U. A. R. (2020, January 29). The Importance of Social Cohesion in Islam. Retrieved from https://muslim.sg/articles/the-importance-of-social-cohesion-in-islam
Borkowska, M., & Laurence, J. (2021). Coming together or coming apart? Changes in social cohesion during the Covid-19 pandemic in England. European Societies, 23(sup1), S618-S636. https://doi.org/10.1080/146166 96.2020.1833067 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2020.1833067
CA, C. M., MA, S., MF, M. T., & SAK, S. A. H. (2020). Muslims Responses to Pandemics: Lessons from the Best Generation. IIUM Medical Journal Malaysia, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.31436/imjm.v19i2.1609 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31436/imjm.v19i2.1609
Calo-Blanco, A., KovářÃk, J., Mengel, F., & Romero, J. G. (2017). Natural disasters and indicators of social cohesion. PloS one, 12(6), e0176885. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176885 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176885
Centre for science and policy. (2020, June 24). The State of Social Cohesion During Covid-19 - Networks of evidence and expertise for public policy. Retrieved from http://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/news/article-social-cohesion-seminar/
Dayrit, M. M., & Mendoza, R. U. (2020). Social cohesion vs COVID-19. International Journal of Health Governance, 25(3), pp. 191-203. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHG-03-2020-0022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHG-03-2020-0022
Delhey, J., Boehnke, K., Dragolov, G., Ignácz, Z. S., Larsen, M., Lorenz, J., & Koch, M. (2018). Social cohesion and its correlates: A comparison of Western and Asian societies. Comparative Sociology, 17(3-4), 426-455. https://doi.org/10.1163/15691330-12341468 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15691330-12341468
Fonseca, X., Lukosch, S., & Brazier, F. (2019). Social cohesion revisited: a new definition and how to characterize it. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 32(2), 231-253. https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2018.1497480 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2018.1497480
Hussain, A., & Castro, C. (2020). American Muslims and COVID-19. https://vimeo.com/408949355
Jabeen, A., Ansari, J. A., Ikram, A., Abbasi, S. H., Khan, M. A., Rathore, T. R., & Safdar, M. (2020). Comparison of actions taken by Pakistan, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam for COVID-19 prevention and control. Global Biosecurity, 1(4).
Kim, J. (2020). The role of social cohesion in addressing the impact of COVID-19 on mental health within marginalized communities. Local Development & Society, 1(2), 205-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/26883597 .2020.1829985 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/26883597.2020.1829985
McManus, S., D'Ardenne, J., & Wessely, S. (2020). Covid conspiracies: misleading evidence can be more damaging than no evidence at all. Psychological Medicine, 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720002184 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720002184
Morni, F., & Khan, A. (2021). Mudharabah as a Conduit for Social Cohesion among Vulnerable Women. International Journal of Islamic Economics, 2(2), 90-99. https://doi.org/10.32332/ijie.v2i2.2270 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32332/ijie.v2i2.2270
Nextier SPD. (2020, June 22). Social and Community Cohesion Amidst of COVID-19 Pandemic - Nigeria. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/social-and-community-cohesion-amidst-covid-19-pandemic
Noreen, N., Dil, S., Niazi, S., Naveed, I., Khan, N., Khan, F., Tabbasum, S., & Kumar, D. (2020). COVID 19 pandemic & Pakistan; limitations and gaps. Global Biosecurity, 1(4). https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.63 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.63
Ozalp, M. (2020, April 2). How coronavirus challenges Muslims’ faith and changes their lives. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/how-coronavirus-challenges-muslims-faith-and-changes-their-lives-133925
Spoonley, P., Gluckman, P., Bardsley, A., McIntosh, T., Hunia, R., Johal, S., & Poulton, R. (2020). He oranga hou: social cohesion in a post COVID-19 world. Koi TÅ«: The Centre for Informed Futures.
Templeton, A., Guven, S. T., Hoerst, C., Vestergren, S., Davidson, L., Ballentyne, S., Madsen, H. & Choudhury, S. (2020). Inequalities and identity processes in crises: Recommendations for facilitating safe response to the COVIDâ€19 pandemic. British Journal of Social Psychology, 59(3), 674-685. https://doi.org/10.1 111/bjso.12400 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12400
Thomas, J., & Barbato, M. (2020). Positive religious coping and mental health among Christians and Muslims in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Religions, 11(10), 498. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11100498 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11100498
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (n.d.). Everyone Included: Social Impact of COVID-19. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/everyone-included-covid-19.html
UN Development Programme. (2020, November 15). Impact of COVID-19 on social cohesion in Iraq - Iraq. Retrieved from https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/impact-covid-19-social-cohesion-iraq
Quran, Surah Al-Isra, verse 33
Quran, Surah Al- Hashar, verse 9
Quran, Surah Al-Bararah, verse 153-157
Slobodin, O., & Cohen, O. (2020). A culturally-competent approach to emergency management: What lessons can we learn from the COVID-19? Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 12(5), 470. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000790 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000790
Jedwab, R., Khan, A. M., Damania, R., Russ, J., & Zaveri, E. D. (2020). Pandemics, poverty, and social cohesion: lessons from the past and possible scenarios for COVID-19. Mimeo. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105629
Leshem, E., Afek, A., & Kreiss, Y. (2020). Buying time with COVID-19 outbreak response, Israel. Emerging infectious diseases, 26(9), 2251. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2609.201476 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2609.201476