On December 1 the CAS Islam | Africa Working Group hosted Dr. Ousseina D. Alidou from Rutgers University. Her lecture titled, “COVID-19 Pandemic, Hausa Muslim Poetic Narratives, Compassion and Resistance” focused on the transborder identity of artists from Nigeria and Niger. Dr. Alidou argued that Hausa artists are producing new discourse about what it means to be a Muslim through pop culture. She added that these artists are also religious actors who are rethinking and transforming the religious landscape while raising awareness about the pandemic.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in the spring, many African governments chose to mandate social distancing measures, including lockdowns. Dr. Alidou states governments did so without paying attention to the local reality. The government did not raise the general population’s critical awareness on COVID-19 before the lockdown itself. They did not take into account the general population’s ideas about health and healing. This has led to increased friction and distrust between the government and the people. According to Dr. Alidou, many Hausa people believe that the body is not just a medical entity, it is also a social and spiritual one. Because of this, treatment and healing of the coronavirus must include social and spiritual approaches.
In this case, Islamic understandings of handling health and health crises become essential when explaining the pandemic to the general population. Public health messaging must include some level of Islamic understandings of health to be accepted by the public. In contrast to the governmental approach, artists have been using Islamic poetry as a framework through which to develop advocacy against the coronavirus, adding to critical literacy. In other words, artists are using their knowledge of Islamic Sufi traditions that are rooted in their culture to produce secular narratives that are useful in targeting health issues.
To conclude her lecture, Dr. Alidou said public health practitioners should work in conjunction with these artists/religious actors, who reach millions of Hausa-speaking population beyond Nigeria and West Africa, to create a meaningful campaign against the coronavirus.
Recap written by: Elisabeth Rios-Brooks