Muslims’ lifeworld during the pandemic and humanistic interpretation of Religions

Abstract

Some proponents of new atheism, including Dawkins, claim that religion, especially Islam, is the cause of the war because it encourages divisiveness and labeling. In this article, in the first step, I will show that Islam is not the cause of war, but rather it is a misconception of Islam that is the cause of divisiveness and eventually war. Then, I will demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on societies and religious behaviors somehow could, and still can, modify this misconception and blur divisions. This effect occurs in two ways: firstly, a pandemic creates common human problems for all people worldwide, making people more aware of their common points that Islam refers to as fitrah. This awareness of human beings’ common fitrah provides the grounds for presenting and accepting a humanistic interpretation of Islam. Secondly, the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on correcting Islamic beliefs is seen in epistemological explanations made possible thanks to online religious programs. Finally, I will try to apply this model to three types of religious conflict and explain why the COVID-19 pandemic can explain the decrease in the conflict in each: first, Muslims’ violence against non-Muslims; second, non-Muslims’ violence against Muslims; and third, violence within Islam, such as Shiite-Sunni conflicts. It seems that the closure of religious centers, transference of religious rituals to cyber-Islam, and the creation of global human-ethical existence have increased the amount of digital content produced in any religion and sect. Moreover, these contents have shifted towards intellectual, discursive, and epistemological topics. Finally, these contents put more emphasis on common human and ethical issues such as helping fellow human beings.