In the context of the threat of Covid-19, many Islamic countries have cancelled congregational prayer. However, many mosques in Pakistan continue to hold congregational prayer. As part of CERP’s Covid Response, the Mosque/Imam Outreach initiative attempts to encourage imams of mosques in Punjab to pause congregational Friday prayers, to control the spread of Covid-19.
Recent findings from Randomised Controlled Trials have found that simple interactive telephone calls substantially increase the probability that community religious leaders in Pakistan advise attendees at congregations to wear masks & adopt other prevention measures.
The Mosque/Imam Outreach initiative is led by Dr. Kate Vyborny. Read her paper ‘Persuasion and public health: Evidence from an experiment with religious leaders during COVID-19 in Pakistan’ here.
The Mosque/Imam Outreach initiative contacts randomised samples of imams of mosques in Punjab. The goal of this study is to test whether an information intervention can increase compliance with health advice to pause Friday prayers, and see if outreach with local religious leaders, specifically mosque imams, can enhance state effectiveness in dealing with the impact of the pandemic. This initiative also seeks to learn about the imam’s response to and compliance with the government’s restrictions on Friday prayer, while also gauging their knowledge about the spread of the disease. It also examines the government’s economic support programmes targeting the poor that have been impacted by the outbreak.
This on-going study seeks to contact thousands of imams across Punjab, sharing information about public health and decrees from leading international clerics supporting measures against COVID-19. Findings from the initial engagement can be found here.