Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Dec 31;19(1):2190716.
doi: 10.1080/21645515.2023.2190716. Epub 2023 Mar 13.

Vaccine hesitancy within the Muslim community: Islamic faith and public health perspectives

Ahmed R Alsuwaidi  1 , Hamza Abed Al-Karim Hammad  2 , Iffat Elbarazi  3 , Mohamud Sheek-Hussein  3   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Vaccine hesitancy within the Muslim community: Islamic faith and public health perspectives

Ahmed R Alsuwaidi et al. Hum Vaccin Immunother. .

Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy is a growing public health concern that has fueled the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases in several Muslim-majority countries. Although multiple factors are associated with vaccine hesitancy, certain religious deliberations are significant in determining individuals' vaccine-related decisions and attitudes. In this review article, we summarize the literature on religious factors linked to vaccine hesitancy among Muslims, thoroughly discuss the Islamic law (sharia) viewpoint on vaccination and offer recommendations to address vaccine hesitancy in Muslim communities. Halal content/labeling and the influence of religious leaders were identified as major determinants of vaccination choices among Muslims. The core concepts of sharia, such as "preservation of life," "necessities permit prohibitions," and "empowering social responsibility for the greater public benefit" promote vaccination. Engaging religious leaders in immunization programs is crucial to enhance the uptake of vaccines among Muslims.

Keywords: Halal-based vaccine; Muslims; religious leaders; sharia; vaccine hesitancy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

References

    1. Ten Health issues WHO will tackle this year. [accessed 2022 Dec 22]. https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-....
    1. MacDonald NE, SAGE Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy . Vaccine hesitancy: definition, scope and determinants. Vaccine. 2015;33(34):4161–7. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.04.036. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dubé E, Gagnon D, Nickels E, Jeram S, Schuster M.. Mapping vaccine hesitancy – country-specific characteristics of a global phenomenon. Vaccine. 2014;32(49):6649–54. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.09.039. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rutjens BT, Zarzeczna N, van der Lee R.. Science rejection in Greece: spirituality predicts vaccine scepticism and low faith in science in a Greek sample. Public Underst Sci Bristol Engl. 2022;31(4):428–36. doi:10.1177/09636625211061520. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ben Natan M, Aharon O, Palickshvili S, Gurman V. Attitude of Israeli mothers with vaccination of their daughters against human papilloma virus. J Pediatr Nurs. 2011;26(1):70–77. doi:10.1016/j.pedn.2009.07.006. - DOI - PubMed