Mosque in France Hosts COVID-19 Testing to Reach Underserved Communities

There were many faithful who were tested last Friday at the Mantes-Sud mosque. "I had never had the opportunity to do it before," said Saad, 48, unemployed, who participates in outreach with the charitable association As-Suffa, which is based in the mosque’s premises. "It’s a good idea because I know people who receive messages from Health Insurance to get tested and don’t want to go or are afraid," says Fatia Kedjam, a resident of the neighborhood, who is being tested for the third time.

"The objective is to reach certain people who may be reluctant but also underprivileged families who have housing or money problems and for whom health is not a priority," explains Abdelaziz El Jaouhari, president of the Association of Muslims of Mantes-Sud, to the newspaper Le Parisien.

"We want to participate in raising awareness against the conspiracy ideas that may circulate about the coronavirus and show that the Muslim faith is taking its share of responsibility in this health crisis. To my knowledge, we are the first mosque to set up such an operation, so the idea is to set an example," he adds.

This one-day screening operation is in line with the continuation of the health precautions taken by the mosque since the beginning of the pandemic and the reopening of places of worship. Each believer is required to bring his own prayer mat, respect a certain distance in the dedicated room in addition to the mandatory wearing of a mask. Gel is made available.