Black Muslims in US fear they could be ‘disproportionately impacted’ by coronavirus
April 7, 2020Black Muslims in the United States fear they could be at a higher risk from coronavirus infections, as cases continue to climb and hospitals in communities of colour struggle to flatten the curve.
More than 10,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the United States – and the pandemic hasn’t even reached its peak.
As the crisis worsens, a lack of access to quality healthcare, insurance and other essential resources has left the community feeling they could be among the most impacted.
Making up a fifth of all US Muslims, Black Muslims sit at multiple intersections and are often rendered invisible within both the larger Black and Muslim community.
‘We consistently have substandard care. We don’t have access to the things that larger hospitals do in middle class or upper middle-class neighbourhood’
– Donna Neil-Demir, health advisor for the Zakat Foundation of America
Dr Kameelah Rashad, the co-director and founder of the Muslim Wellness Foundation, told Middle East Eye that decades of unequal healthcare access and research that is racially biased, could result in Black Muslims witnessing an alarming rate of deaths in their communities.