Contextualizing Islam in Times of Covid-19

In North Carolina's Triangle Area, the Islamic council of imams has cancelled congregational prayer and advised people to worship at home. In Senegal where 94 percent of the population is Muslim, the presidential decree prohibiting all public gatherings - including the Friday prayer - was initially met with ambivalence among some. In Kenya, the imposition of a country wide mandatory curfew starting from 7PM to 5AM, a government recommendation of at least 3 meters social distancing, and a shut-down and restriction of movement in the Nairobi metropolitan area and the Muslim majority counties of Mombasa, Kwale, and Kilift imply that the Muslim congregational and Friday prayer cannot be performed. Using online questionnaires and other digital research methods, this study examines how Muslims in North Carolina's Triangle area, Senegal, and Kenya have negotiated adjustments to their religious routines in order to accommodate urgent COVID-19 public health policies without fundamentally comprising their