<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>COVID-19 in Tanzania was both a health and religious puzzle. The government insisted all citizens regardless of their religious affiliations to join hands in fighting the disease through prayers and by adherence to the health measures. Muslims in Tanzania complied with the disease control measures instituted by the government. These measures in turn affected their prayers and fasting rituals. In this context, Muslims turned to religious texts and scholarly interpretations to seek for guidance and clarification (fatwa) on how to practice Islam under COVID-19 situation. Consequently, this shaped Muslims’ perceptions and responses towards the pandemic. This article analyses challenges of COVID-19 to Muslim rituals and the role of religion in shaping their responses during the first four months of the onset of COVID-19 in Tanzania. The article uses online publications, religious teaching provided through social media, interviews and personal observation in Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro regions. The article argues that the role played by Islamic religion in understanding COVID-19 pandemic justifies the importance of involving faith-based communities in solving health related problems.</p>
</abstract>

COVID-19 in Tanzania was both a health and religious puzzle. The government insisted all citizens regardless of their religious affiliations to join hands in fighting the disease through prayers and by adherence to the health measures. Muslims in Tanzania complied with the disease control measures instituted by the government. These measures in turn affected their prayers and fasting rituals. In this context, Muslims turned to religious texts and scholarly interpretations to seek for guidance and clarification (fatwa) on how to practice Islam under COVID-19 situation. Consequently, this shaped Muslims’ perceptions and responses towards the pandemic. This article analyses challenges of COVID-19 to Muslim rituals and the role of religion in shaping their responses during the first four months of the onset of COVID-19 in Tanzania. The article uses online publications, religious teaching provided through social media, interviews and personal observation in Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro regions. The article argues that the role played by Islamic religion in understanding COVID-19 pandemic justifies the importance of involving faith-based communities in solving health related problems.

COVID-19 Control: Challenges and Responses of Muslims in Tanzania

Department of Political Science, History and Development Studies, College of Education

Department of Ethnology and World Studies

University of Cyril and Methodius in Trnava

Ethnologia Actualis

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"COVID-19 Control: Challenges and Responses of Muslims in Tanzania"}

COVID-19 in Tanzania was both a health and religious puzzle. The government insisted all citizens regardless of their religious affiliations to join hands in...

COVID-19 Control: Challenges and Responses of Muslims in Tanzania

Published Online: Apr 15, 2023

Page range: 59 - 83

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eas-2022-0004

Keywords
Corona Virus, COVID-19 control methods, Islam, Muslims rituals, Tanzania

© 2022 Hija Alfani Urassa, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

COVID-19 Control: Challenges and Responses of Muslims in Tanzania

Published Online: Apr 15, 2023

Page range: 59 - 83

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eas-2022-0004

KeywordsCorona Virus, COVID-19 control methods, Islam, Muslims rituals, Tanzania

© 2022 Hija Alfani Urassa, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Corona Virus, COVID-19 control methods, Islam, Muslims rituals, Tanzania