‘God is with us’: Many violate mosque ban
islamabad — Sabir Durrani says he offers prayers almost every day at a mosque in the central city of Multan. He says that often a dozen or more men are in attendance — none of them wearing protective face masks.
Durrani, 52, is among thousands of faithful flouting government orders banning religious congregations of five or more people to stem the spread of the coronavirus. “Our prayer leader told us that the virus can’t infect us the way it does Western people,” Durrani 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.”
“Religion and prayers are an emotional issue for many people in Pakistan, and the government has to be sensitive to that,” Mirza Shahzad Akbar, a special assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan, said.
More than 60 per cent of the coronavirus cases in Pakistan have so far been linked to people returning from pilgrimages in the Middle East and followers of the Tablighi Jamaat, an orthodox proselytizing group.
But the worry is of a big spike coming from the congregational prayers held in mosques, especially on Fridays. The numbers in attendance at prayers are likely to increase with the onset of the holy month of Ramadan within two weeks, and authorities are struggling to cope.
While the Council of Islamic Ideology, a body that advises the government on religious issues, has called on clerics to cooperate with government measures, several priests and local leaders have opposed the ban.
A prominent leader of a religious party told a crowd of hundreds of people gathered for a funeral last week
If you do this, we will be forced to think that mosques are being deserted on America’s instructions. We’re ready to give our lives, but not ready to desert our mosques Mufti Kafayatullah
A cleric
that government orders to limit congregations were unacceptable.
“If you do this, we will be forced to think that mosques are being deserted on America’s instructions,” Mufti Kafayatullah told the crowd. “We’re ready to give our lives, but not ready to desert our mosques.”
In Karachi, police were attacked for a second straight week as they attempted to halt prayers at a mosque last Friday. A policewoman was injured in the clashes, and in the previous week, police fired shots in the air to quell an angry mob.
In other cities, police seem to be turning a blind eye to some mosque gatherings. Last Friday, one of the top Twitter trends in Pakistan was “Muslims, the mosque is calling you”.
In the capital, Islamabad, hundreds gathered on Friday without any hindrance at one of the city’s largest mosques, located just 3km from the seat of the government, including parliament and the prime minister’s secretariat.
On March 27, authorities filed 88 cases against mosque administrations in Karachi and arrested 38 people for defying restrictions on Friday congregations, but charges were dropped a day later, and the people were released. —