Dismantling Prejudices on Muslim Communities in Italy in Times of Pandemic: not just Religious Fundamentalism

Abstract

This chapter starts from an initial reflection about the social perceptions and cultural interpretations which the pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus has generated in some ethnic communities. Given the importance of that issue in the broader context of crisis management and pandemic management, it was considered useful to proceed with a research aimed at exploring the types of cultural perceptions and interpretations, focussing on the current pandemic crisis and the Italian Muslim community. Through a multiple methodological approach, consisting of an online exploratory questionnaire and an online secondary desk research, relevant results emerged on how the interviewees belonging to the Italian Muslim community perceived and interpreted the pandemic crisis. In the future, these socio-cultural dimensions will be useful to be more aware of the complex and multidimensional biases present in the time before the emergency and how they work during a crisis.