Imams fighting Covid misinformation in Australia’s Muslim community

Whenever imam Alaa Elzokm comes across conspiracy theories – whether in person or online – he bridles at their poor sourcing.

During the past year, Elzokm has seen posts on Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp shared among Australia’s Muslim community, spreading misinformation about Covid and vaccinations.

Based at the Elsedeaq Heidelberg Mosque in Melbourne, he is one of a number of Muslim leaders who have been working throughout the pandemic to combat the spread throughout his congregation and community.

As the Covid vaccine began rolling out across the country last month, he held an online event with three doctors with the aim of clearing up any anxieties people may have had about vaccination.

Dr Ashraf Chehata, an orthopaedic surgeon and vice president of Muslim Health Professionals Australia who was involved in the event, said he felt it was his responsibility to better inform his community.

Chehata and Elzokm were involved in the development of the recently released Coronavirus Vaccine fatwa from the Australia Fatwa Council, which pronounced both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines as halal for Muslims.

Elzokm says he believes it was imperative the vaccine be labelled halal, because without the fatwa many in the community would have hesitated to take it.

Imams independent of government

The federal government has recently stepped up its campaign to combat misinformation around the vaccine and its contents, but these Muslim leaders say their efforts are not driven by the government.

Ibrahim Dadoun, director of public relations at the Australian National Imams Council, says while the government had been working with the council, “we issued a verdict without any directives from the Department of Health or from the government in general.”

”I understand why people might be afraid”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said the government recognised the important role community leaders will play in distributing factual information about the vaccine rollout and a series of roundtables had been held with religious leaders.

“[It] was an opportunity for us to hear from multicultural religious leaders about their concerns and overall views on the Covid-19 vaccines, to identify any communication gaps and to ensure they have access to the information they need about the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.”

It’s not a sales pitch

Chehata has spoken at a number of events, both online and, when restrictions permit, in-person at community centres and mosques.

Tareq Ahmed, a mental health advocate, says he has been campaigning against misinformation using his own personal social media accounts.

“There’s a lot of information that pops up on my newsfeed that’s just simply incorrect. And if you spend some time online to research it, you’ll usually find its exaggerated or misrepresented.”

The spread of misinformation isn’t scattershot, Ahmed says, but is fuelled by people with far-reaching platforms.

Elzokm often returned to the importance of expert advice, saying he felt that the best way to combat misinformation and conspiracy theories was to provide people with access to experts.

It is a sentiment echoed by Ahmed, he said he hasn’t come across any government work to combat misinformation so far.