Worshipping God is a universal desire for the faithful in every land, but gathering to do it in 2020 can be a dangerous proposition.
Many worshippers have been furious at being blocked from attending church services in the United States, but churches have largely respected the orders from the government.
Similar conflicts are taking place in the Muslim world, according to news reports: Many believe either their faith will protect them from infection, or that the infection itself is some kind of anti-Islamic conspiracy dreamed up in the West.
Iran, a Muslim country that has lost thousands of its people to COVID-19, shows that’s not true, but the beliefs apparently persist.
In Islamabad, Pakistan, a Muslim named Sabir Durrani, 52, is “is among thousands of devout Muslims flouting Pakistan government orders issued late last month banning religious congregations of five or more people to stem the spread of the coronavirus,” according to Reuters.
He told the news agency he prays daily in a mosque in the central part of the city and that there are around a dozen other men there with him, none of whom wear protective face masks.
“Our prayer leader told us that the virus can’t infect us the way it does Western people,” he said.
“He said we wash our hands and we wash our face five times a day before we say our prayers, and the infidels don’t, so we need not worry. God is with us.”
The same skepticism is evident in other parts of the Muslim world, according to news reports.
The dozen or so in Durrani’s mosque in Islamabad pale in comparison to what occurred in Lhokseumawe in the Aceh province of Indonesia, according to the U.K. Daily Mail reported.
Hundreds of worshippers gathered at the Islamic Center mosque for services on Friday as the nation has become a hotbed of infections, the newspaper reported.
It trails only the Philippines for coronavirus infections in Southeast Asia but the worshippers defied social distancing guidelines anyway.
As of Friday 420 people had perished from the virus in Indonesia and 5,923 people had been infected, the Mail reported.
Sadly, some Muslim leaders have been leading their followers astray by holding these services. But the possibility of mass infection isn’t the only hazard.
In Nigeria, the leader of the influential Izala Muslim sect, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, told followers the news about the pandemic is not true, according to the Nigeria Guardian.
He claims the coronavirus is a “lie” created by the United States and President Donald Trump to prevent Muslims from worshipping, The Guardian reported.
“Is the virus as effective as fire that could not burn Prophet Ibrahim…? Then the virus is a lie,” he said, according to the newspaper.
“Whatever people have to say, they should say the truth. A professor has said it was a lie,” he said in an address on Izala TV.
“President of Turkey declared that they shouldn’t stop the Juma’at congregation because of coronavirus, because they don’t believe in the virus, they only believe in Allah.
“Another country in Europe, also took the same path. Ask United States President Donald Trump. They are just unveiling coronavirus that was written in a book 39 years ago. How many graves of coronavirus victims have you seen and how many of the victims have you seen in hospitals?” he asked.
“We were witnessed to the cholera epidemic in Kano and we saw how massive burials were done. We saw the graves, but where are those of coronavirus victims?” he said.
Look, we get it. As Christians, we believe that God will protect us too, and He has — by sending us medical experts who are advising us on how to protect ourselves.
God is everywhere and He can hear your prayers wherever you are, so stay home, stay safe and keep praying.
Post a Comment