Muslims in Europe and Covid-19

Transnational and National Fatwas

Abstract

Covid-19 obliged the authorities of all countries to adopt a series of measures aimed at limiting the spread of the virus (e.g. social distancing and restrictions on internal and international movement), some of which prevent Muslims from performing, or only partially perform, some of their acts of worship, in particular those which, by requiring and/or prescribing the formation of an assembly, physical proximity or direct contact between those performing them (collective prayers, pilgrimage, religious festivals, funeral rites), are more conducive to the spread of the virus. This situation is at the root of the many questions that some European Muslims have asked jurists to provide them with guidance, based on Islamic law, on how to reconcile the anti-Covid rules with the obligation to perform acts of worship. This article analyses the fatāwā issued by the European Council for Fatwas and Research in response to these questions. In particular, this article has three aims: 1. to identify and describe the solutions adopted by the Maǧlis to adapt religious practice to the restrictions imposed by the Covid; 2. to verify whether the solutions adopted by the ECFR to combat the pandemic are compatible with the provisions adopted by European governments in this regard; 3. to verify whether and in what terms the Islamic jurisprudence produced at the national level (the Italian one) transposes the transnational jurisprudence of the ECFR. The focus will be on fatāwā concerning collective prayers and funeral rites.

Key words: Covid-19, European Council for Fatwas and Research, Fatwas, Italian Islamic Association of Imams and Religious Guides, Muslims in Europe.