Exploring the Prevalence of Protective Measure Adoption in Mosques during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Good paper with a good level of logical coherence. the content is well contextualized. 

Author Response

Comment: Good paper with a good level of logical coherence. The content is well contextualized.

Response: Thanks for the valuable and encouraging comments on our manuscript.

Reviewer 2 Report

Reviewing opinion:

I have received a paper entitled “Exploring the Prevalence of Protective Measure Adoption in Mosques During COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia” by the editorial board of scientific journal “Sustainability” requesting an expert reviews. The author deals with very interesting and contemporary issue. The topic of the paper is socially relevant and scientifically justified. The thematic focus of the paper is well explained into five major content sets: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions. Also, the research topic was relevant to assess the exploring the prevalence of protective measure adoption in mosques during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. After the paper has been studied in details, the following requirements must be fulfilled.

1. Thematic Focus and Empirical Grounding

 The thematic focus of the paper is well explained and supported by using adequate literature sources. Also, the research theme and question are relevant to facing the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. The basic thesis is that protective measures adopted by the mosques during the COVID-19 pandemic in Surakarta City, Indonesia are inadequate. There is no reference to other studies of this nature which should be supplemented. The theoretical part of this paper (explanation of the concept and methodological approach) has been presented in the context of standard paper writing, methods, measuring instrument, description of the measurement process, questionnaire.

2. Conceptual Model

The paper makes necessary connections with the existing theory, and also well defined is the key question how much the community adopts these protective measures during the pandemic. "As a consequence, protective measures must be established as a method of mitigating the pandemic. Protective measures can help a pandemic spread more slowly and have a lesser impact" (page 2). The author reflects the results obtained and focuses on the questions .

The main advantage of this paper is related to analyzing the protective measures implementation status in mosques in Surakarta City during the COVID-19 outbreak.

 

3. Explanatory Logic

The conclusions only made brief reference to what the study found and do not develop the findings and their significance in depth. The paper would benefit greatly from discussing the findings in a clearer and deeper way by leaving the reader with an image of how "several examples have documented religious gatherings operating as COVID-19 spread events, most congregations have complied with governmental instructions to close. However, some resisted those orders, remaining open and posing the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Authorities' cautions that meetings should be kept to a minimum to prevent the virus from spreading are at odds with believers [12]."

There should also be some discussion about how this fits or conflicts with the prevalence of protective measure adoption in mosques during the COVID-19 pandemic and epidemiological situation in society and how individuals achieve (or struggle to achieve) the balance between the two.

 4. Implications and Applications

 

According to the author, despite the research shortcomings, "this is the first study to our knowledge to assess the status of protective measures adoption in mosques during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Finally, the results may only be directly applied to Indonesian populations. The incidence of protective measures in mosques may differ in other Muslim communities with various cultural, ethnic, and geographical backgrounds than those revealed in the current survey“.  

I think that implications and significance of this paper should be further explored.

For example:

How does the society view the need to engage in religious activities? Comparison with trends in other countries could also help to draw potential implications. What will be the relationship between religious activities and the law during the COVID-19 pandemic?

There are prospects for a broader applicability of this methodological approach. In this sense this paper makes an original contribution to the present knowledge and in this respect it is of a great help and support for a person who wants to realise the need for a prevalence of protective measure adoption in mosques during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

5.Quality of Communication

Authors provide appropriate methodological framework. English language and style are fine.

 

 

 

Author Response

Comment 1

Thematic Focus and Empirical Grounding

The thematic focus of the paper is well explained and supported by using adequate literature sources. Also, the research theme and question are relevant to facing the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. The basic thesis is that protective measures adopted by the mosques during the COVID-19 pandemic in Surakarta City, Indonesia are inadequate. There is no reference to other studies of this nature which should be supplemented. The theoretical part of this paper (explanation of the concept and methodological approach) has been presented in the context of standard paper writing, methods, measuring instrument, description of the measurement process, questionnaire.

Response 1: We are grateful to reviewer#2 for your appreciation of the value of our work on its thematic focus and empirical grounding.

 

Comment 2

Conceptual Model

The paper makes necessary connections with the existing theory, and also well defined is the key question how much the community adopts these protective measures during the pandemic. "As a consequence, protective measures must be established as a method of mitigating the pandemic. Protective measures can help a pandemic spread more slowly and have a lesser impact" (page 2). The author reflects the results obtained and focuses on the questions.

The main advantage of this paper is related to analyzing the protective measures implementation status in mosques in Surakarta City during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Response 2: We highly appreciate the reviewers' insightful and encouraging comments on the conceptual model of our manuscript.

 

Comment 3

Explanatory Logic

The conclusions only made brief reference to what the study found and do not develop the findings and their significance in depth. The paper would benefit greatly from discussing the findings in a clearer and deeper way by leaving the reader with an image of how "several examples have documented religious gatherings operating as COVID-19 spread events, most congregations have complied with governmental instructions to close. However, some resisted those orders, remaining open and posing the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Authorities' cautions that meetings should be kept to a minimum to prevent the virus from spreading are at odds with believers [12]."

There should also be some discussion about how this fits or conflicts with the prevalence of protective measure adoption in mosques during the COVID-19 pandemic and epidemiological situation in society and how individuals achieve (or struggle to achieve) the balance between the two.

Response 3: Thank you for your valuable comment. As suggested by the reviewer, we have added some discussion about why It is not easy for worshipers to balance practicing congregational prayer and maintaining protective measures in a pandemic situation. Please refer to the discussion section in the revised manuscript.

 

Comment 4

Implications and Applications

According to the author, despite the research shortcomings, "this is the first study to our knowledge to assess the status of protective measures adoption in mosques during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Finally, the results may only be directly applied to Indonesian populations. The incidence of protective measures in mosques may differ in other Muslim communities with various cultural, ethnic, and geographical backgrounds than those revealed in the current survey ". 

I think that implications and significance of this paper should be further explored.

For example:

How does the society view the need to engage in religious activities? Comparison with trends in other countries could also help to draw potential implications. What will be the relationship between religious activities and the law during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Response 4: Thanks for the valuable comment. As suggested by the reviewer, we have enhanced the significance of the study to other countries with similar religious characteristics in their populations. Please refer to the conclusion section of the revised manuscript.

 

Comment 5

Quality of Communication

Authors provide appropriate methodological framework. English language and style are fine. 

Response 5: Thanks for the valuable and encouraging comments on our manuscript.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

The article sums up the outcomes of a first survey on the impact of Covid-19 on religious practices in Indonesian Islam, conducted on a representative sample of mosques in the city of Surakarta, using a questionnaire administered to caretakers and faithful attending the worship of the examined cluster. The working hypothesis is clearly stated, as well as the design and research techniques are clearly and convincingly exposed. The final discussion is consistent with the data illustrated analytically throughout the article. There remain some questions at the end of the reading to which the author is invited to answer when revising the text: a) explain if and to what extent the different mosques' affiliations can explain the different behaviors of compliance with the health rules; b) the variable "size of the place of worship" seems to partially discriminate behavior; it would be interesting if the author mentioned, perhaps in a footnote, how they are distributed (between large and small mosques) in the urban typography of a city like Surakarta.

Author Response

Comment 1

Explain if and to what extent the different mosques' affiliations can explain the different behaviors of compliance with the health rules.

Response 1: Thank you for your valuable comment. As suggested by the reviewer, we have added the point of disparity of the prevalence of protective measures adoption among different mosques' affiliations. Please refer to the discussion section of the revised manuscript.

 

Comment 2

The variable "size of the place of worship" seems to partially discriminate behavior; it would be interesting if the author mentioned, perhaps in a footnote, how they are distributed (between large and small mosques) in the urban typography of a city like Surakarta.

Response 2: Thank you for your valuable suggestion. As suggested by the reviewer, we have added the description of the distribution of large and small mosques in Surakarta city. Please refer to the note below Table 1 in the revised manuscript.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.