Unnoticed but important: revealing the hidden contribution of community-based religious institution of the mosque in disasters

This paper explores the role of the mosque, a community-based religious institution, in disaster management by documenting and analysing its role in rural settings in the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. The study examines the role of the mosque in relation to key actors from the state, civil society and private sector during response, relief, recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation phases of the Pakistan earthquake. This research suggests that state, civil society and private sector actors involved in disaster management need to understand complex relationships involving people and their religious institutions, and their impact on the social dimension of recovery.

Published with permission from Springer Science+Business Media: Natural Hazards, January 2014, Online First Articles, doi:10.1007/s11069-013-1008-0