Muslims say restrictions before Eid ‘like cancelling Christmas’
MUSLIM leaders compared the tightening of lockdown hours before an Eid feast to “cancelling Christmas on Christmas Eve”, as a politician accused BAME communities of failing to take the pandemic seriously.
Restrictions imposed in Greater Manchester, East Lancs and West Yorks were announced following a spike in the number of coronavirus infections.
Yesterday, Craig Whittaker, Tory MP for Calder Valley, one of the areas affected by reimposed measures, was criticised for suggesting most people breaking lockdown rules were from BAME communities.
He told LBC: “If you look at the areas where we’ve seen rises and cases, the vast majority, but not by any stretch of the imagination all areas, it is the BAME communities that are not taking this seriously enough.”
The reimposition late Thursday was made just hours before Eid ul Adha was to be celebrated on the 10th day of Dhu al-hijjah in the Islamic calendar.
Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, denied the restrictions were aimed at curtailing celebrations but the Muslim Council of Britain criticised the timing. Harun Khan, its secretary general, said: “It is like being told you cannot visit family and friends for Christmas on Christmas Eve. While safety is of paramount importance, so is effective communication delivered in a timely fashion. The Government has failed to provide clarity on the shockingly short notice.”
Imam Qari Asim MBE, chairman of the Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board, said the decision was “very challenging and disheartening”, adding: “There is a sense of deflation and disappointment in what is meant to be a celebratory time. We are seeing the rise of Islamophobia online and how the Muslim community is the cause of another lockdown, but we cannot let this overshadow the celebrations of Eid. We do not want to give rise to hateful narratives that some groups will try to propagate.”
However, not all families were planning to agree to the restrictions. An imam in Leeds said it was “inevitable” not everyone would comply but that the majority would, particularly as BAME communities were disproportionately affected by Covid-19.
Meanwhile, in Blackburn, which surpassed Leicester as the coronavirus capital of England, there was a sense of anger and betrayal.
“It is a joke. No matter how the Government dresses it up, it is obvious these measures were brought in for the start of Eid,” said Abhr, a 19-year-old student. “I’m really angry. Once again the Asian community gets blamed, but they can’t stop us. You watch, people will be out in Blackburn, Burnley, Bradford and Oldham.
“People are angry. Yet I don’t hear anybody talking about the hundreds in pubs not self-distancing or the thousands
of Liverpool fans celebrating. In the mosque this morning, everybody was socially distancing. People are making an effort here, but why are the pubs not shut in Blackburn? It seems to be one rule for one community and one rule for another.”
Saima Afzal, a Blackburn councillor who received an MBE for services to policing and community relations, pleaded: “People need to be more empathetic and step back from making this a race or religious issue. It’s just unfortunate Eid is in the middle of it.”
Asked on the BBC’S Today programme if the measures were aimed at Eid celebrations, Mr Hancock said: “No. My heart goes out to the Muslim communities in these areas because I know how important the Eid celebrations are.”