Congregational prayers to entail fatal outcomes: top doctors

ISLAMABAD: The doctors’ community Tuesday warned that allowing congregational prayers in larger number in our mosques will contribute to fatal outcomes in the wake of spread of COVID-19 in the country.

In a statement, they requested the government and business community to practice patience and keep the markets and non-essential shops closed, allowing home deliveries only.

They advised the government against adopting a softer stance on other day to day activities, as the coronavirus will not distinguish people based on the nature of activities.

The appealed to the government to review the recent decision on the mosques and take a step back to the previous position of only allowing up to 5 namazis in the mosques as this was in the best interest of Islam, Pakistan, respected Islamic scholars and the general public.

They said the ongoing situation in the wake of outbreak of COVID-19 in Pakistan was unprecedented not just for the people of Pakistan, but also for the whole humanity.

The statement said doctors were at the helm of dealing with patients suffering from coronavirus, which could rapidly transform from a mild illness to a fatal disease.

The statement welcomed the agreement between the government and the Ulema council based on relatively robust principles; however, it expressed strong reservations based on the following observations.

1) Our mosques are predominantly filled by people above the age of 50! Quite a few videos in last 48 hours have surfaced demonstrating that more than 80% of the people attending prayers were indeed above the age of 50, in fact mostly in their 60s, and 70s.

2) This observation was rather expected, as for people who showed commitment and perseverance in offering prayers all their lives, it would be difficult to stop from offering prayers, when the mosques have re-opened!

3) Clearly, this has resulted in violation of the first and foremost principle of preventing the spread of virus in the most vulnerable group.

4) With Ramazan approaching, we would understandably expect higher number of namazis attending the prayers. Moreover, long Taraveeh prayers and waiting times will lead to prolonged gatherings. It is all but certain that this will cause significant mayhem, as the mosques practicing social distancing will only be able to accommodate 20-25% of the regular namazis, which will further worsen the situation.

5) Consequently, we won’t be surprised if issues other than spread of virus will also become prevalent around the territories of our mosques, most prominently the conflicts between worshipers, mosques management and law enforcement agencies. This has also been recently observed in few areas.

6) Our local hospitals in Karachi have started experiencing a significant influx of corona positive patients. We anticipate these numbers and resultant mortality to expand exponentially in next few days.

7) This will undeniably result in significant pressure on our already compromised health system.

8) Increased exposure to the virus increases the likelihood of getting infected as well as an increased likelihood of complications and death. We fear that allowing congregational prayers in larger number in our mosques may contribute to such fatal outcomes.

9) Eventually, all these issues are not just likely to cause jeopardy to reputation of Islam and that of our Ulema-e-karam but it will lead to unwanted loss of lives of us and our fellow brothers!

We all know that Pakistan has always been and will be considered as the fort of Islam. For that reason, we believe Pakistan’s existence is not just an independent entity but the sovereignty and existence of big madrassahs within the country, that of Haramaain and Sahrifaain and indeed for that matter the existence of Muslim Ummah is closely related to strength and progress of Pakistan! Understandably our enemies all across the world not only want to see us weaken, but also they are desperately and ardently waiting to see us as a complete failure!

In these circumstances, if COVID19 disease becomes an epidemic in Pakistan and the government loses control of its management in the country, 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! Subsequently, we may become inadvertent facilitators to the detriment of whole Muslim Ummah and the humanity!

10) Finally, whilst we are prepared to be amongst the martyrs by saving human lives, it’s worth noting that we fear if healthcare professionals die to the tone of the rest of the world, there won’t be many resources including manpower to look after our patients.

We believe that Pakistanis are no more immune to this virus than the rest of the world. This is evident from the data released by National Health Service in the UK, in that vast majority of health care staff dead, comprises of Asians including many Muslims. In fact an investigation has been launched to explore as to why this may be the case.

An important fact that we all need to understand and consider is the social fiber of Pakistani society where we all know that mismanagement, indiscipline and not following or obeying the rules is predominantly common; where educated people do not follow the day-to-day traffic rules (for example) and miscommitment in our dealings is a norm. With such habits and behavioral patterns, this is almost impossible for Ulema-e-Karam, mosques management and administration to make people abide by the conditions mentioned in the consensus document especially in densely populated areas of country where people are generally not educated and unable to comprehend the consequences of such violations.

In case, if we’re comparing the situation of mosques with that of businesses and shops, it is not a valid comparison; however, on the other hand we are also requesting the government administration and business community to practice patience and keep the markets and non-essential shops continue to close and only home deliveries should be allowed.

On the same token, any other worldly matters leading to public gatherings and interactions should also be curtailed in exactly the same fashion!

We strongly advise the government that there shouldn’t be a softer stance on other day 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.

Based on the reasons summarized above, 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 general public.

These recommendations were made by Dr. Abdul Bari Khan, Khi, Dr. Faisal Mahmood, Khi, Dr. Khurum Khan, Lon, Dr. Shamvil Ashraf, Khi, Dr. Saad Niaz, Khi, Dr Abdul Basit, Khi, Dr. Hanif Chatni, Khi, Dr. Muhammad Razi, Mirpur Khas, Dr. Fareed Shah, Madina, Dr. Zahid Jamal, Khi, Dr. Yahya Chawla, Khi, Dr. Mughees, Makka, and Dr. Raza Sayyed, Khi.