Agencies<\/p>\n\n\n\n
London<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imams across Britain are helping a drive to dispel coronavirus disinformation, using Friday sermons and their influential standing within Muslim communities to argue that Covid-19 vaccines are safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qari Asim, chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) which is leading a campaign to reassure its faithful, is among those publically advocating that the inoculations are compatible with Islamic practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are confident that the two vaccines that have been used in the UK, Oxford AstraZeneca and Pfizer, are permissible from an Islamic perspective,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe hesitancy, the anxiety (and) concern is driven by misinformation, conspiracy theories, fake news and rumours.\u201d Britain, the hardest-hit country in Europe by the virus after registering nearly 95,000 deaths, is relying on its biggest-ever vaccination effort to end repeated cycles of lockdowns and restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, a report from the scientific committee advising the government showed stronger mistrust of vaccines among ethnic minorities than the rest of the UK population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It highlighted that 72 percent of Black survey respondents were unlikely or very unlikely to get the vaccine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among those from Pakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds, the figure was 42 percent. Imams are pushing back in particular at fears among Britain\u2019s estimated 2.8 million Muslims that the vaccines contain pork gelatin or alcohol, which are banned by Islam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asim said it was \u201clegitimate\u201d to question whether things were permissible under Islam but without paying attention to unfounded claims. Among the falsehoods spread about the vaccine are that it can modify DNA, make recipients sterile, or even involve inserting a microchip in the body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Messages in Urdu <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Misinformation around the coronavirus is all the more dangerous given several studies have shown that it can impact minorities disproportionately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese are precisely the communities we should be trying to target,\u201d said Nighat Arif, a general practitioner based in Chesham, near London. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When she received her vaccination, she posted a video in Urdu on social media aimed at the language\u2019s speakers living in Britain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m hoping that because they see someone who looks like them, who is a practising Muslim, wears a hijab, someone who is Asian who speaks their language, that\u2019s more relatable than something that\u2019s coming through from the government,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arif is still surprised by the refusal of certain patients to be inoculated, noting they will often get vaccinated to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabi, or to visit Pakistan or India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She blames conspiracy theories spread online, which contribute to the science behind the process \u201cbeing lost\u201d. Samara Afzal, 34, a general practitioner at Netherton Health Centre in Dudley in the West Midlands, also shared a video in Urdu with her 35,000 Twitter followers to \u201cdebunk some myths\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said some people had asked her to send the video directly to them so they could forward it to sceptical loved ones via social tools like WhatsApp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At her medical centre, Afzal estimates that around 40 to 50 people out of 1,000 have refused to be vaccinated when she had expected only one or two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still a fair amount of people that are saying no and obviously we haven\u2019t even addressed the younger ones, so this is just the elderly,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo I\u2019m sure when it comes down to the younger ones, there\u2019ll be a lot more that say no.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Vaccinated at mosque – <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Around five million people, almost entirely the elderly and caregivers, have already received a first dose of the vaccine in the UK, the highest rate in Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a sign of officials\u2019 concerns about minority take-up of the jabs, the state-run health service is mobilising \u201cinfluencers\u201d in communities to convince the sceptics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a big piece of work happening where we\u2019re translating information, we\u2019re making sure the look and feel of it reaches the populations that matter,\u201d Harpreet Sood, a doctor who is leading the anti-disinformation campaign, told the BBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A vaccination centre has even been set up in a mosque in Birmingham, Britain\u2019s second biggest city, which has a large south Asian population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Nuru Mohammed said the move sent \u201ca big \u2018no to fake news\u2019\u201d message to his 2,000-strong religious community and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Agencies London Imams across Britain are helping a drive to dispel coronavirus disinformation, using Friday sermons and their influential standing within Muslim communities to argue that Covid-19 vaccines are safe. Qari Asim, chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) which is leading […]<\/p>\n
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