This article discusses the phenomena of the spread of Covid-19 and the effects on socio-religious life in the Tablighi Jamaat community in Indonesia, and in particular, Lombok. Despite these efforts, the infection rate in Indonesia per March 2, 2022, remains at a high rate with 5,589,176 cases and 148,660 deaths. Since the emergence of Covid-19 in Wuhan at the end of 2019, the Indonesian government's policy has been similar to that of other governments around the world in that it issued social restrictions in the public sphere, including in religious spaces, financial assistance and a strong commitment to fighting the spread of the virus. This led to a disease cluster from a Tablighi event in Gowa, South Sulawesi, causing a stigma in broader society toward the Tablighi practice of Islam.ġ. Introduction: Tablighi Jamaat opens a tap for the spread of Covid-19 When the Indonesian government locked down mosques and large meetings, the Tablighi Jamaat took a position that Covid-19 was not a serious danger-indeed they saw it as an anti-Islamic conspiracy, instead-and they continued to gather and preach as before. Research for this article was conducted in Lombok, Indonesia from February till September 2020 and is based on observations and snowball-sampling interviews conducted online and offline with over 50 individuals. In particular, the article aims to explore how Tablighi Jamaat members interpret and define the Covid-19 pandemic, and what discourses have developed in their environments. This article discusses the changes to religious practice and the ability to adapt to new forms of proselytization in Tablighi Jamaat environments where many followers have been infected with Covid-19. Religious people have been challenged to find ways to reconstruct their ritual and worship practices in safe ways that avoid spreading the virus. In Indonesia, religious practice in 2020 experienced a kind of disempowerment and disruption in the areas of ritual and proselytization in Muslim communities. The emergence of Covid-19 has presented serious challenges to people's lives, and as a result many are in the process of reconstructing aspects of what used to be considered ‘normal’ life.
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