Mosques as Community Resilience Centers During Disasters: A Systematic Review of COVID-19 Interventions.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review seeks to delineate the multifaceted functions of mosques during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Furthermore, it proposes evidence-based strategies to enhance their integration into formal disaster management frameworks and leverage their latent potential for bolstering community resilience. METHOD: The study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The primary databases used for literature searches were PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, ProQuest, and Google Scholar. To identify relevant published literature, the title of this systematic review was divided into two key components: keywords related to COVID-19 and mosque, along with their synonyms. Equivalent terms were derived from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and expert opinions and extracted from related articles. RESULTS: Out of 82 initially identified articles, 19 met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed qualitatively. Four major themes emerged: the preventive role of mosques in curbing COVID-19 through education, support, healthcare collaboration, and vaccination efforts; religious adaptation through modified rituals and flexible jurisprudence; contributions to economic resilience via aid distribution, employment programs, and financial support; and the critical influence of spiritual leadership, highlighting both constructive and controversial responses during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: Mosques have emerged as multifaceted institutions capable of delivering integrated public health interventions, psychosocial support, and spiritual guidance during the COVID-19 crisis. Evidence suggests that institutionalizing mosque-based crisis response mechanisms through structured preparedness planning and cross-sectoral collaboration (with healthcare systems and government agencies) could substantially improve community resilience and optimize faith-based responses to future public health emergencies.