Abstract
This article analyses clusters of Muslim responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in a theoretical framework provided by the cognitive science of religion. The responses include theological reflections on the origin, nature, and religious significance of the disease, religious justifications for restrictions on communal worship, apologetics in the light of COVID-19, and how aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic relate to issues of purity, impurity, and contagion. This article places the responses in a wider theoretical context that contributes to explaining their emergence as cultural representations, and, as a consequence, may promote further comparative research into responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in other religious traditions.
Highlights
The current article addresses Muslim religious responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
In an analysis and categorization of content connected to the coronavirus and COVID-19 published between 20 January to 11 April 2020 on web fora associated with the movement known as the Islamic State, Chelsea Damon and Mieli Criezis found that 16 per cent of the postings presented the virus as divine punishment (Daymon and Criezis 2020: 29)
In the cases noted above, information on the coronavirus, COVID-19, and different preventative measures taken worldwide are related to a selective set of content from the pool of resources and serve to confirm the general belief in an active superhuman agent with extensive knowledge and foresight, and the veracity and value of the channels that he has utilized in history to communicate with human beings
Summary
This article analyses clusters of Muslim responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in a theoretical framework provided by the cognitive science of religion. The responses include theological reflections on the origin, nature, and religious significance of the disease, religious justifications for restrictions on communal worship, apologetics in the light of COVID-19, and how aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic relate to issues of purity, impurity, and contagion. This article places the responses in a wider theoretical context that contributes to explaining their emergence as cultural representations, and, as a consequence, may promote further comparative research into responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in other religious trad itions
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