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

这项研究将侧重于居住在英国伯明翰沃什伍德希思、博德斯利格林、斯帕克布鲁克和汉兹沃斯的穆斯林社区，以及这些社区内的宗教社区领导人、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学研究所表明，白种人死于新冠肺炎的可能性是白人的2-3倍(伦敦大学学院，2020年)。具体地说，死于新冠肺炎的风险是：巴基斯坦人比一般人高3.29倍；非洲黑人高3.24倍；孟加拉国人高2.41倍；加勒比黑人高2.21倍；英属印度人高1.7倍(伦敦大学学院2020年)。上述数据清楚地表明，来自BAME背景的穆斯林的风险显著增加。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生活在伯明翰的30.1万穆斯林(英国国家统计局2018年)。这项研究将聚焦于对居住在病房的穆斯林的影响，这些影响围绕着人们对封锁后脆弱性的感知；国家应对措施，包括维持社会距离措施的治安和国民健康保险制度对新冠肺炎的回应；以及当地清真寺为促进集体礼拜、葬礼仪式和社区联系而做出的回应。将通过对清真寺的在线调查以及与社区成员和宗教领袖的半结构化访谈和重点小组收集数据。该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当地政府机构合作实施。伯明翰的穆斯林社区一直是受新冠肺炎影响最严重的黑人和少数族裔群体之一。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所不可或缺的，更确切地说，是确定地方政府应对措施中的限制领域，以及社区主导的倡议如何部分填补这些领域的限制。通过记录这些需要的领域并确定所需和适当的应对措施，这项研究的洞察力将使能够专门针对英国穆斯林这一大流行病背景下的特别弱势群体的需要制定有效的战略。这些战略将通过工具包、一份书面报告和两个拟议的会议(两者都将面对面和现场直播)以实际方式记录下来，以便利全国各地的穆斯林社区以及更广泛的黑人和少数族裔社区访问。影响最初将集中在减轻伯明翰穆斯林社区的脆弱性上，稍后将在国家层面上。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在内的最脆弱社区之一的经历。但我们也将收集关于大流行病对宗教仪式、集体礼拜、葬礼周围的强制性仪式以及清真寺在极端需要时对社区的作用的影响的见解。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。了解这些因素相互关联的复杂性，对于在英国新冠肺炎的背景下充分了解穆斯林社区的需求领域是必要的。

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.