Pakistani doctors, while appealing to ulema to reconsider their agreement on keeps mosques open especially during Ramadan, have said that this is bad for the entire Muslim community.
In a letter written to the ulemas, religious scholars, as well as the government, have called the coronavirus “a deadly but unseen enemy” and have asked them to listen to their “few but strong reservations based on early observations”.
The letter says,
These are unprecedented times, not just for the Muslims of Pakistan but encompassing the whole of humanity. We as doctors are at the helm of dealing with patients suffering from Coronavirus, which can rapidly transform from a mild illness to a fatal disease.
They said the pandemic is getting worse by the day and should it get out of control, “it will not just be a failure of Pakistan as a country but it may have substantial unwanted and unforeseen effects on the whole Muslim ummah”.
Pakistan would never want others to see the global Muslim community in a bad light but “We may become inadvertent facilitators to the detriment of whole Muslim ummah and the humanity.”
The doctors underlined multiple issues that Pakistanis may know but fail to act upon such as the mosques “are predominantly filled by people above the age of 50”.
Quite a few videos in the last 48 hours have surfaced demonstrating that more than 80% of the people attending for prayers were indeed above the age of 50, in fact mostly in their 60s, and 70s.
This will lead to the spread of the virus amongst the most vulnerable. They have also asked that non-religious activities too should be stopped and said,
We strongly advise the government that there shouldn’t be a softer stance on other days to day activities as the coronavirus will not distinguish people based on the nature of the activities but the strength, quantity, and duration of such gatherings. We respectfully and humbly ask you to review your recent decision regarding the mosques and request you to please take a step back to the previous position of only allowing up to 5 namazis in the mosques as this is in the best interest of Islam, Pakistan, our respected Islamic scholars, and the general public.
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