Avoiding Harm
A Muslim Response to COVID-19
Foreword by R. Scott Appleby
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
Research scholars have lamented the fact that most of the extant studies on religious responses to the COVID-19 pandemic focus on a particular religious group, typically Christian. This book fills this lacuna by providing some useful insights into how one Muslim religious institution responded to the pandemic. It portrays the sermons, advice, and guidance provided to the Claremont Main Road Mosque (CMRM) congregation in Cape Town, South Africa, by its Imams and elected board of governors during the course of the pandemic. The book carries a concluding chapter by Professor R. Scott Appleby, an expert in the study of lived religion, who critically reflects on this collection of sermons and the response of the mosque by providing some independent ruminations on the themes of religion, science, and the human person.
A. Rashied Omar is associate teaching professor of Islamic studies and peacebuilding in the Keough School’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.
“This book exemplifies how the COVID-19 pandemic brought out the best in leadership, community, and humanity. A. Rashied Omar in these riveting and thoughtful sermons demonstrates how spirituality, theology, and ethics form the backbone of a flourishing community under challenging conditions. Here the guidance of science and innovative theology can sustain community both virtually and actually. It is a model worthy of attention and reflection and therefore a must-read.”
—Ebrahim Moosa, professor of Islamic thought and Muslim societies, University of Notre Dame
“A. Rashied Omar has written a thoughtful and engaging book on the impact of COVID-19 on the Muslim community which will be of interest to people of all faiths. His analysis of the shift to virtual and home-based worship illustrates creative ways a Muslim religious community adapted its customs, rituals, and practices to fit a new virtual reality amidst social distancing guidelines. Omar goes beyond common categories of religion and showcases the Muslim way of life, indeed all religious life, amidst COVID-19.”
—Ed Kessler, founder president, Woolf Institute
“A significant contribution to our understanding of how an Islamic community interpreted its sacred sources to respond compassionately to the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. A. Rashied Omar’s exegesis of Islamic sources is learned and scholarly but also inspired by a deep faith, love, and commitment to the well-being of others. I hope his work inspires similar documentation by other world religions.”
—Anantanand Rambachan, professor emeritus of religion, Saint Olaf College
“Avoiding Harm fills a lacuna in our understanding of religious discourse amid calamity, providing a compassionate care perspective in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Imam Dr. A. Rashied Omar provides the reader concrete insights into how Muslims should respond to re-arranged circumstances occasioned by catastrophic events. This well-written and uncanny text holds many lessons for how religious people generally and Muslims in particular should respond to the changing circumstances confronting life on our planet.”
—Aslam Fataar, research and development professor of higher education transformation, Stellenbosch University
“There is deep intelligence, creativity, care, and wisdom that shine luminously through the sermons in this collection. Responding to formidable challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, A. Rashid Omar and the governing board at the Claremont Main Road Musjid reflect forms of contemporary Muslim religious leadership that are morally courageous, intellectually astute, and ethically honed.”
—Sa’diyya Shaikh, associate professor of religion, University of Cape Towne
Related Titles
