A Memphis Response to the Covid Challenge

A coordinated effort leads to success in keeping the entire Muslim community safe

BY HASSAN ALMOAZEN, GHALIB MANNAN AND IBRAHIM SULTAN-ALI

For the last 17 months we’ve experienced the most devastating pandemic the world has seen in over a century. Not only has it left close to 4 million people dead worldwide, including over 620,000 in the U.S. alone, but it has also had devastating effects on everyone’s lives and completely changed how we live our lives.

The pandemic even forced some of the most unthinkable undertakings, such as cancelling the hajj, closing mosques worldwide and observing a Ramadan unlike any other.

From the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Memphis Muslims went into action and formed their Covid taskforce to coordinate the response of the city’s mosques. The first meeting, held in March at Masjid ArRahman, was attended by representatives and imams from the Memphis Islamic Center, Masjid Almu’minun, the Midtown Mosque, Masjid Altaqwa, the Muslim Society of Memphis and Masjid Al-Noor, as well as several of the city’s Muslim Covid-19 experts including infectious disease and pulmonary physicians. It was unanimously decided to close the mosques, although there were only a few cases in the county at the time, but the disease was out of control in other cities such as New York. The Covid infection positivity rate had reached 10% by April and May 2020, it had increased to 14% in Shelby County and Tennessee.

With the mosques closed, we spent Ramadan in isolation at home. Like most of the world’s Muslims — and for the first time in most people’s lives — we prayed Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha at home as well. This was one of the most emotionally and spiritually challenging times for the Muslims of Memphis and Shelby County. Never had we felt so isolated and detached from our own communities. It was particularly painful

THE PANDEMIC HAS BROUGHT THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER AND MADE EVERY MUSLIM IN THE COUNTY PROUD OF THEIR MOSQUES’ SUCCESSFUL AND COORDINATED EFFORT TO LEAD THIS GIGANTIC EFFORT THAT HAS KEPT OUR COMMUNITY SAFE. NO INFECTION OUTBREAKS HAVE OCCURRED IN ANY MOSQUE OR IN THE COMMUNITY SINCE THE PANDEMIC STARTED 17 MONTHS AGO.

for those who are strongly connected to the mosques to stay away from them, especially for the Jumah prayers. For those who did not have a family or lived alone, this was a particularly lonely and trying time.

Only when the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines arrived did we feel some relief and start a vaccination advocacy campaign.

By the spring of 2021 the number of Covid cases in our area had been significantly reduced, and so the taskforce recommended a partial re-opening of the mosques. Following the CDC guidelines, we mandated that everyone wear a mask and observe social distancing (6 feet apart from each other) during prayers.

Jumah prayers were also held. Attendees were required to bring their own prayer mats, put their shoes in plastic bags next to them, avoid social gatherings before and after prayers and keep the restrooms closed. Since this model was successful, we thought it would also work for the upcoming Ramadan. We therefore applied the same principles for the isha’ and taraweeh prayers for Ramadan 2021. As a result, we had an enjoyable Ramadan even though it was still limited compared to what we were used to.

For the first time ever, the Eid al-Fitr prayer was held in the parking lot of a local baseball stadium. Social distancing was maintained by telling each family to pray next to its own car. That was an innovative and unique method to safely conduct the Eid prayer.

In May 2021, another challenge arose: When the CDC eased the restrictions on mask wearing for those who were fully vaccinated but said that those in crowded areas should keep wearing it, taskforce members had to decide whether to lift the restrictions in mosques or not. To this end, we conducted a survey, both online as well at all mosques on a Friday, that asked people anonymously who had tested positive, who was partially or fully vaccinated and who was not vaccinated. From the 649 responders, we learned that about 11.86% had tested positive and that 88.14% were not infected (see Figure 1).

Figure 2 shows the percentage of the totally immune (77.74%, those who had tested positive or had received one or two doses of vaccine) and those who had no immunity (22.26%) of n=813. Figure 3 shows those who had received both of the doses (71.96%), just one dose (5.78%), no dose (20.79%) and those who had given incomplete answers (1.48%). This result was pleasantly surprising, as the Muslim community’s vaccinated percentage was much higher than the national average and certainly higher than those of Shelby County and Tennessee.

Based on this data, the taskforce started reducing restrictions in a gradual and phased approach over the summer. We first recommended that all mosques reduce the social distance to 3 feet, require a mask for the unvaccinated and recommend (but not require) masks for the vaccinated. Although the 3 feet social distancing was a CDC recommendation only for schools, taskforce members felt that it could be applied here as well since many community members would most likely not feel comfortable going straight from 6 feet to zero feet after 15 months of social distancing. The plan was to completely – but gradually – phase out social distancing by the end of the summer, provided that the community’s case numbers remained low.

As this article was being written, the infection positivity rate in Shelby County was currently only 2%. The pandemic has brought the community together and made every Muslim in the county proud of their

The authors would like to recognize the excellent cooperation they received from the Memphis Muslim community following the release of the CDC guidelines, as well as the community’s support and encouragement for people to get vaccinated.

We would also like to recognize the excellent support the Covid-19 taskforce received from area Muslim physicians, experts and religious leaders who immediately responded to our calls.

The following members served on the taskforce and contributed to its success: Drs. Adnan Nasser, Mohammed Assaf, Sami Sakaan, Nadeem Shafi, Imad Omer and M. Aijaz Khurshid; imams Hamzah Abdel Malik, Rashad Sherif and Hamza AbdulTawwaab; and Alpha Dialo, Malik Shaw, Fazle Chowdhury and Sameer Mansour. mosques’ successful and coordinated effort to lead this gigantic effort that has kept our community safe. No infection outbreaks have occurred in any mosque or in the community since the pandemic started 17 months ago.

Figure 1. The percent of Muslims who responded in person after attending the Friday prayer at various Memphis mosques, in addition to those who responded online to the question: “Have you tested positive for Covid-19 in the past?”

Figure 2. The total percent of Memphis Muslims who had Covid-19 and received either one or two vaccine doses.

Figure 3. The percentage of Memphis Muslims who received two doses (complete), one dose (partial) or who were not vaccinated (none). Those who provide incomplete answers are not specified. ih

Hassan Almoazen, PhD, is associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, University of Tennessee. Ghalib Mannan, MD, is an infectious diseases specialist in Memphis, Tenn. Ibrahim Sultan-Ali, MD, is a pulmonologist in Memphis, Tenn.