COVID BAME Highlight: Religious community organisations' interventions around the impact of Coronavirus on Muslims in Birmingham in post-Covid Britain

该研究将重点关注居住在英国伯明翰Washwood Heath、Bordesly Green、Sparkbrook和Handsworth的穆斯林社区，以及这些社区内的宗教社区领袖、社区组织和清真寺对COVID大流行的反应。伦敦大学学院健康信息研究所表明，白人白人死于Covid-19的可能性是白人的两到三倍（伦敦大学学院2020年）。具体而言，巴基斯坦人死于Covid-19的风险是普通人群的3.29倍；非洲黑人高出3.24倍；孟加拉国人高出2.41倍；加勒比黑人高出2.21倍，英裔印度人高出1.7倍（伦敦大学学院2020）。上述数据清楚地表明，来自BAME背景的穆斯林的风险明显增加。此外，英国73.7%的穆斯林来自南亚群体，88.5%来自BAME背景（MCB 2015），年度人口调查记录了301,000名居住在伯明翰的穆斯林（ONS 2018）。该研究将重点关注对居住在封锁后的弱势群体感知的穆斯林的影响；国家应对措施，包括维持社会距离措施和NHS应对COVID-19；以及当地清真寺的回应，以促进集体崇拜、围绕葬礼的仪式和社区联系。数据将通过清真寺的在线调查、半结构化访谈以及社区成员和宗教领袖的焦点小组收集。这项研究将根据清真寺和其他穆斯林社区组织的反应制定适用的干预措施，并与伯明翰和英国更广泛的地方政府机构合作交付。伯明翰的穆斯林社区是受COVID-19影响最严重的黑人和少数民族群体之一。拟议的研究涵盖了一系列基础，这些基础将是确定需要的领域和更有针对性地确定地方政府反应的限制领域以及社区主导的倡议部分填补这些领域的方式所不可或缺的。通过记录这些需求领域并确定期望和适当的应对措施，研究的见解将有助于制定有效的战略，专门满足英国穆斯林作为大流行病背景下特别脆弱群体的需求。这些战略将通过工具包、一份书面报告和两次提议的会议（既要亲自发表，也要现场直播）以实际方式记录下来，以促进全国各地的穆斯林社区、黑人和少数民族社区更广泛地获得这些战略。最初的影响将集中在减轻伯明翰穆斯林社区内部的脆弱性，随后将在全国层面上发挥作用。这项研究意义重大，尤其是因为我们将深入了解穆斯林作为包括黑人和少数民族群体在内的最脆弱群体之一的经历。但我们也将深入了解疫情对宗教仪式、围绕葬礼的集体礼拜义务仪式的影响，以及清真寺在极端需要时对社区的作用。我们还将研究伯明翰穆斯林社区对国家反应的看法，包括对疫苗推出的担忧。了解这些因素如何相互关联的复杂性是必要的，以便在COVID-19英国的背景下充分了解穆斯林社区的需求领域。

The research will focus on Muslim communities living in Washwood Heath, Bordesly Green, Sparkbrook and Handsworth, Birmingham, UK, and the responses to the COVID pandemic by religious community leaders, community organisations and Mosques within these communities. The UCL Institute of Health Informatics has shown that BAME individuals are two-three times more likely to die from Covid-19 than the white population (UCL 2020). Specifically, the risk of death from Covid-19 is: 3.29 times higher for Pakistanis than the general population; 3.24 times higher for Black Africans; 2.41 times higher for Bangladeshis; 2.21 times higher for Black Caribbean and 1.7 times higher for British Indians (UCL 2020). The above data clearly indicates that Muslims from BAME backgrounds are at significantly elevated risk. Furthermore, 73.7% Of Muslims in the UK are from South Asian groups and 88.5% are from BAME backgrounds (MCB 2015), with the Annual Population Survey documenting 301,000 Muslims living in Birmingham (ONS 2018). The research will focus on impacts on Muslims living in the wards identified around perceptions of vulnerability post-lockdown; state responses including the policing of social distancing measures and NHS responses to COVID-19; and responses by local Mosques to facilitate collective worship, rituals around burial and community connectedness. Data will be collected through online surveys with Mosques and semi-structured interviews and focus groups with community members and religious leaders. The research will develop applicable interventions based on responses by Mosques and other Muslim community organisations, deliverable in partnership with local government agencies in Birmingham and in the UK more widely.Muslim communities in Birmingham have been among the most affected black and minority ethnic groups to be impacted by COVID-19. The proposed research covers a range of bases which will be integral to identifying areas of need and more pertinently, areas of limitation in local government responses and the ways in which these have been partially filled by community-led initiatives. Through documenting these areas of need and identifying desired and appropriate responses, the insights from the research will allow for effective strategies to be developed specifically to the needs of British Muslims as a particularly vulnerable group within the context of the pandemic. These strategies will be documented in practical terms through toolkits, a written report, and two proposed conferences (both to be delivered in person and live streamed) to facilitate access for Muslim communities, and black and minority ethnic communities across the country more generally. Impact will be focused on alleviating vulnerability within Muslim communities in Birmingham initially, and on the national level later on. The research is significant not least because we will gain an insight into the experiences of Muslims as one of the most vulnerable communities to include black and minority ethnic groups. But we will also gather insights into the implications of the pandemic for religious observance, collective worship obligatory rituals around burial, and the role of Mosques for the community in times of extreme need. We will also look at perceptions of state responses held within Muslim communities in Birmingham, including concerns around the rollout of vaccines. Understanding the complexities of how these factors are related is necessary in order to fully understand areas of need for Muslim communities within the context of COVID-19 Britain.