by Dr. Edy Cohen
Closing mosques and looking to Israel for a cure
Qom, Iran, epicenter of Iranian coronavirus outbreak, photo via Pexels
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,499, March 23, 2020
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The
devastating onslaught of the coronavirus is being exploited by Muslim
clerics to instill fear in their followers and compel stricter religious
observance. At the same time, parts of the Arab world are looking to
Israel and the Jews to find a cure.
On hearing initial reports of the deadly spread of
coronavirus in China, many in the Arab world rejoiced. Arab social
media threads called the virus Allah’s will to punish the Chinese for
their cruel treatment of the Uighur Muslims of western China.
When the virus broke through China’s borders and
landed in Iran, the Arab world was even happier. Images of Iran’s
suffering as a result of coronavirus, and discussion of its rapid spread
throughout the country, went viral on social media. Again, many Arabs
claimed this was Allah’s wrath, this time over Iran’s heinous treatment
of Sunni Muslims in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria.
When the coronavirus first began infiltrating the
wider Middle East after its initial outbreak in Iran, many in the Arab
world thought it might be an Iranian conspiracy. Arab populations
succumbed to widespread panic and fear. Governments throughout the
region, scrambling to contain the virus, closed mosques and shut down
most of society. Even Islam’s holy cities of Mecca and Medina closed
their sacred sites—the first time public prayer has ceased in those
cities since the time of Muhammad.
It’s hard to discern the current extent of
coronavirus infection in these countries due to a lack of governmental
transparency. Egypt and Jordan remain in complete denial about the
threat of the virus, falsely telling their people and the world that
they have yet to identify a single case.
The International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUM)
released a religious edict forbidding Muslims from praying at mosques
and calling on them to protect themselves from infection. The IUM urged
Muslims to pray at home and stay away from holy sites.
Finding hope in Israel
On social media, it appears that many are placing
their hope on Israel and the Jews to find a cure or develop a vaccine
for the virus. A survey was distributed among Arabs asking whether they
would purchase a vaccine developed in Israel. Placing their health
first, the majority answered in the affirmative.
Iran’s Ayatollah Nasir Makarim Shirazi released a
surprising statement on this matter. He said there is no prohibition in
Islamic law against purchasing medicine or a vaccine from Israel,
provided there is no other country from which to acquire it. In other
words, the prohibition against doing business with the Zionist entity
has exceptions.
Coronavirus, a soldier of Allah
In an unusual sermon, Jordanian MP, former
minister, and lecturer at the University of Amman Muhammad Abdulhamid
Qudah called the coronavirus a “soldier of Allah” and said it had been
sent to punish both the West and Muslims. He claimed Allah is angry with
the world, especially Muslims, because they have failed to obey him.
Bashir bin Hassan, a controversial Salafist cleric
in Tunisia, posted on his Facebook account, which has 500,000
followers, that the Chinese are being punished by Allah because of the
siege they have set against the Uighur Muslims. According to the radical
cleric, Allah has many soldiers, including both angels and viruses. He
said that just as Allah drowned Pharaoh’s soldiers in the sea, he is
similarly granting victory to the Uighurs.
Religion as cure
Kuwaiti cleric Othman Khamis stated in a sermon on
his YouTube channel that this is not the first time Allah has visited
his wrath upon the world: he also sent a mosquito to kill Nimrod and
unleashed the ten plagues to punish the Egyptians. The coronavirus is
thus another warning to humanity from Allah. The only solution is to
return to him and follow his ways; only then will the virus disappear.
There is no doubt that coronavirus is a matter of
serious concern not just to the West, but to the Arab world as well.
Unfortunately, Muslim clerics are exploiting the precarious situation
and inciting their constituencies throughout the region. They have
millions of followers on their social media channels and can spread
their messages to huge numbers very quickly. The clerics’ sermons have
the ultimate purpose of instilling fear in their listeners to convince
them to adopt a religious way of life.
This is an edited version of an article that appeared in Israel Today on March 18, 2020.
Source: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/coronavirus-muslim-clerics/
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