Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Worshippers defy three nations’ restrictions
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Police clashed with worshippers in Pakistan, India and Israel last week as the devout defied restrictions to attend religious gatherings. Mosques and other houses of worship have been closed and curfews have been instituted in many countries as governments attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
In Pakistan, clashes broke out in the southern city of Karachi despite a three-hour curfew Friday to prevent people from congregating for midday prayers.
The imam of a local mosque had been calling the faithful using a loudspeaker, and when police arrived, dozens of worshippers had gathered at the site.
Several police officers and civilians were injured in the confrontation, and the mosque’s imam was arrested, according to a police official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
In the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, people hurled stones from rooftops at policemen attempting to disperse worshippers at a mosque. One officer was injured in the clashes, according to local media reports.
Worshippers in Israel also have pushed back against government restrictions on religious gatherings. Minor clashes broke out last week in some areas as police entered recalcitrant synagogues to break up illegal services.
Most rabbis have approved private prayers and called on followers to abide by the rules, but members of the ultra-Orthodox communities have been the most resistant to forgo their prayers, which require at least 10 adult males to be gathered multiple times a day.
Rocks thrown by young Orthodox men in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood resulted in minor injuries to an ambulance driver Monday. And on Friday, the army cordoned off the city of Bnei Barak, where Orthodox members have defied police and are now suffering Israel’s highest rate of covid-19 infections.
Pakistan, India and Israel have all placed restrictions on religious gatherings. In India and Israel, religious gatherings have been temporarily banned, and in Pakistan no more than five people are permitted to gather in a mosque at one time. Local Pakistani religious leaders have encouraged people to pray from home.
Allama Tahir Ashrafi, a prominent Pakistani cleric, said the vast majority of
Pakistanis have respected the restrictions on religious gatherings.
As of Saturday, Pakistan had identified more than 2,800 cases of the novel coronavirus in the country and recorded 41 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The government was initially slow to react to the coronavirus threat, allowing religious pilgrims to return from Iran with very little screening despite the high number of infections there.
India imposed a threeweek nationwide lockdown on March 24. All international fights are banned from landing in India, and all domestic travel has been suspended.
India, with a population of 1.3 billion people, has recorded more than 3,000 coronavirus cases and more than 86 deaths.
Israel has instituted a series of restrictions that bring the country closer to a total lockdown. Residents are allowed to leave their homes only for “essential needs,” public gatherings are banned, and most businesses have been closed. Israel has confirmed more than 7,800 coronavirus cases, most within ultra-Orthodox communities, and has recorded at least 44 deaths.
Information for this article was contributed by Susannah George of The Washington Post.