Grief Interrupted-Exploring British Muslim Communities Practices of Burial and Commemoration During Covid 19

This paper focuses on death, in particular it discusses experiences of burial, grief and commemoration for British Muslim communities during Covid 19. The paper considers the impact of Covid 19 on British Muslim communities through a phenomenological and socio-cultural lens and discusses ways in whi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rashida Bibi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-07-01
Series:SAGE Open
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251357413
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849254162044289024
author Rashida Bibi
author_facet Rashida Bibi
author_sort Rashida Bibi
collection DOAJ
description This paper focuses on death, in particular it discusses experiences of burial, grief and commemoration for British Muslim communities during Covid 19. The paper considers the impact of Covid 19 on British Muslim communities through a phenomenological and socio-cultural lens and discusses ways in which religious and cultural practices inherent to the Muslim faith, including washing and shrouding of the deceased, were particularly affected by Covid 19. Drawing on ritual studies and the concept of liminality, the paper discusses the social and relational aspect of religious rituals as important in facilitating the processes of grief and bereavement. The empirical discussion in this paper is drawn from interviews with British Muslims working or volunteering with ethnic minority communities, including medical professionals, funeral directors and burial charities who had direct experience of both preparing Muslim bodies for burial and supporting bereaved families. The paper discusses ways in which rituals function in the social cohesiveness of communities, and ‘glue’ a community together particularly at a time when it is most threatened. In considering the disruptions to the collective and communal rituals related to death, burial and mourning the British Muslim community, the paper discusses ways in which these disruptions have contributed to a sense of lingering grief or grief ‘interrupted’.
format Article
id doaj-art-b0203bbb15ac4bcea32c4af0ef0ccf74
institution Kabale University
issn 2158-2440
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher SAGE Publishing
record_format Article
series SAGE Open
spelling doaj-art-b0203bbb15ac4bcea32c4af0ef0ccf742025-08-20T03:56:05ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open2158-24402025-07-011510.1177/21582440251357413Grief Interrupted-Exploring British Muslim Communities Practices of Burial and Commemoration During Covid 19Rashida Bibi0University of Sheffield, UKThis paper focuses on death, in particular it discusses experiences of burial, grief and commemoration for British Muslim communities during Covid 19. The paper considers the impact of Covid 19 on British Muslim communities through a phenomenological and socio-cultural lens and discusses ways in which religious and cultural practices inherent to the Muslim faith, including washing and shrouding of the deceased, were particularly affected by Covid 19. Drawing on ritual studies and the concept of liminality, the paper discusses the social and relational aspect of religious rituals as important in facilitating the processes of grief and bereavement. The empirical discussion in this paper is drawn from interviews with British Muslims working or volunteering with ethnic minority communities, including medical professionals, funeral directors and burial charities who had direct experience of both preparing Muslim bodies for burial and supporting bereaved families. The paper discusses ways in which rituals function in the social cohesiveness of communities, and ‘glue’ a community together particularly at a time when it is most threatened. In considering the disruptions to the collective and communal rituals related to death, burial and mourning the British Muslim community, the paper discusses ways in which these disruptions have contributed to a sense of lingering grief or grief ‘interrupted’.https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251357413
spellingShingle Rashida Bibi
Grief Interrupted-Exploring British Muslim Communities Practices of Burial and Commemoration During Covid 19
SAGE Open
title Grief Interrupted-Exploring British Muslim Communities Practices of Burial and Commemoration During Covid 19
title_full Grief Interrupted-Exploring British Muslim Communities Practices of Burial and Commemoration During Covid 19
title_fullStr Grief Interrupted-Exploring British Muslim Communities Practices of Burial and Commemoration During Covid 19
title_full_unstemmed Grief Interrupted-Exploring British Muslim Communities Practices of Burial and Commemoration During Covid 19
title_short Grief Interrupted-Exploring British Muslim Communities Practices of Burial and Commemoration During Covid 19
title_sort grief interrupted exploring british muslim communities practices of burial and commemoration during covid 19
url https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251357413
work_keys_str_mv AT rashidabibi griefinterruptedexploringbritishmuslimcommunitiespracticesofburialandcommemorationduringcovid19