One of North Texas’ Oldest Mosques Hosts AMT’s First Vaccine Awareness Event, With CDC, Texas A&M Partners
A packed downtown Dallas mosque was the venue for the event, whose majority Black Muslim congregation has been impacted by the pandemic
AMT held its first COVID-19 awareness event at one of north Texas’ oldest mosques, as part of its ‘Update, Educate, Vaccinate’ campaign, which is in collaboration with CDC, Texas A&M and local state health officials.
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Earlier this month, AMT’s Community Health Education Director, Dr. Amir Khan, delivered a khutbah, a sermon in Arabic, to a Friday congregation of approximately 150 people at Masjid Al-Islam, which serves a primarily underserved African-American population in the heart of downtown Dallas.
“It was such an honor to speak at this wonderful mosque community and convey how critically important it is to continue vigilance about COVID-19,” said Dr. Khan. “The theme of the talk was the importance of recognizing our moral and ethical duty as individuals to prevent harm to others. That’s exactly what getting vaccinated is all about.”
In a 2021 survey, Black Muslims were most likely to express hesitancy at 38 percent versus 15 percent of Arab Muslims, 4 percent Asian, and 6 percent White, ratios which seem to be reflected among Dallas-Fort Worth mosque communities.
“I believe there is still a need for medical professionals from within the Muslim community to promote vaccinations,” said Masjid Al-Islam’s spiritual leader, Imam Muhammad Abdul-Jami. “A lot of misinformation has led to unwarranted fears about the vaccine.”
He says the mosque has continued to maintain a mask policy as there are vulnerable members of the congregation who are at high risk of severe infection.
He admits, “We also have a number of congregants that are opposed to receiving the vaccine, usually citing conspiracy theories.”
AMT Editor-in-Chief, Rifat Malik, applauded the efforts of the mosque to use the pulpit to preach a message of community safety in connection with Covid-19. “I think the mosque leadership has really embraced the need for continued education about this and it is perhaps one of the few mosques with a compulsory mask policy. The congregants we spoke to understood why vaccinations were needed.”
Those who appreciated the message included Sajda Pitre, who is fully vaccinated. She said, “I truly enjoyed the Khutbah and the topic on watching what comes from our mouths, compassion toward each other is important.”
Another congregant, Khaliyd-Bomani, who is also fully vaccinated, says it is important for the whole community, not just Muslims, to understand the effectiveness of being vaccinated.
AMT’s ‘Update, Educate, Vaccinate’ campaign is tailored toward the Muslim community and focuses on providing all the latest information about vaccines for COVID and its variants. As well as individual responsibility and mask-wearing where appropriate, the campaign pays tribute to the millions of Muslim frontline workers in the U.S. and across the world, especially healthcare workers, who have played a central role in combatting the disease.
In his talk, Khan highlighted the historical legacy of Muslims in science and medicine.
“We Muslims have always in the past contributed in healing, in standing by our community when times are tough and have contributed enormously in the past when our community was under pressure, this is not an exception,” Khan said in his opening remarks.
A study of Muslim contributions to the COVID pandemic, which began in early 2020, showed a faith-inspired community-wide response. The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) found there was an army of volunteers led by multiple Muslim non-profits and individuals who organized essential medical supplies, mental health support and free meals to help aid the food insecurity crisis among low-income populations.
ISPU also surveyed American Muslims last year in hopes of understanding the hesitancy they expressed toward the COVID-19 vaccine. Initially, 35 percent said they were eager to get the vaccine, however, only 13 percent of Muslims obtained their first dose. This was attributed to the majority of American Muslims being under the age of 30 as well as healthcare system inequities, which impacted their trust in both medicine and healthcare professionals.
Although nearly 75 percent of Texas and 67 percent of the nation is fully vaccinated, COVID-19 continues to mutate into new variants that prolong the side effects of the pandemic and the anxiety of infection.
Imam Abdul-Jami says he fully supports AMT’s campaign and believes statistics about the effectiveness of the vaccine in keeping people out of hospital will be particularly helpful. “AMT's campaign is noble, there is much work to be done educating Muslims and creating norms that promote safety.”
