Kashmir’s first Covid-19 victim had returned from a Tabligi Jama’at congregation earlier this month.
Kashmir has documented the first casualty of deadly coronavirus pandemic that has engulfed the entire world and it was a 65-year-old gentleman who was a member of Tablighi Jamaat. As a member of Jama’at he had traveled and visited many places across India and within Jammu and Kashmir. Now police is tracking all his contacts to trace the possible chronology and history of virus infection. This case has further stained the already tarnished image of Tablighi Jama’at as this group is reported to have spread COVID-19 in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Palestine, India and Pakistan, and perhaps many other places.
Tablighi Jama’at is a worldwide Muslim missionary group that was established almost a century ago in India. It is currently followed by millions of people world over, and has a huge presence in South and South East Asia were maximum cases of coronavirus infected people are linked to it. This group works on a global mission to preach Islam, which they do by physically visiting a particular place and staying there in a local mosque. Later the religious instructions are given by the group leader and the others patiently listen and follow, and this is followed by the door-to-door visits to people in various localities.
I have been part of this group when I was at Aligarh Muslim University where some of my close friends persuaded me to spend a few days with them. During my stay with them in a mosque I have observed them closely and I can assure you that these people are not bad. They are not capable of any harm that could brand them as an extremist group except that they live in a world that is more fictitious than real and that is because of their religious ignorance. The lack of Islamic scholarship, and abundance of shallow knowledge on Islam has made this group vulnerable to sharp criticism all over the world.
These people are capable of harming themselves more which we have witnessed in the recent past where many published reports have shown that knowingly or unknowingly they have ignored the lockdown orders and attended prayers in various places throughout the world thereby directly risking their own lives. Perhaps, hardly they knew that this time the disease has traveled with them, and they have turned into active agents of virus transmission, which has potentially infected many more and will sadly continue.
So, here we are, dealing with a group of Muslims that has turned into a coronavirus infection carrier. And they are not alone in this. There are many other similar and largely religious groups that are not listening to authorities and are risking their own lives along with others. And the solution to this ignorance is nothing but the awareness of real Islamic knowledge which will only come from highly skilled and knowledgeable scholars of Islam. Therefore, it is time for such scholars to comes forward and play their role in delivering the right information to people.
I have another important thing to discuss, and that is about our religious scholarship and public facilities e.g. healthcare system in Kashmir. As a dominant Muslim population with a long tradition of daily public donations that go to shrines, mosques and charities, isn’t it the right time to reflect on this and think of how such donations can be properly channelized to establish Islamic scholarship in Kashmir with some key skills in modern education. Only such a group can truly transform this entire region into a centre of excellence in religion, science, philosophy, and what not. And more than ever we must work and contribute on eradication of religious bigotry around us.
Had we used religious donations to establish a few well equipped hospitals we would not be standing where we are now. We are staring at a catastrophe while we can do nothing to stop it. We are unable to help our own family members and forger about sending help to other people in other countries. By not investing in real education and educational institutions that would have produced scholars with skills in scientific research and technology we have literally paralysed our abilities. And the result is in front of us.
There is still time to reflect and we must work on it and start acting right now. Perhaps coronavirus is a harsh reminder to turn back, think, and work in right direction. Let us start by converting some of the mosques and shrines into quarantine facilities. And religious groups could organise online funding campaigns to stock a large number of ventilators, masks, sanitisers and other useful healthcare equipment that we will need now and in the coming days. We ought to help our healthcare staff by equipping them with the right gear and at the right time so that they are properly protected from infection disease.
Remember, there isn’t any prayer bigger and larger than healing someone’s pain and in particular, the agonising pain. The pain that coronavirus patients feel. The pain that goes through our veins right now. We all are a family on this tiny planet that we call home and it is our responsibility to look after each other. There are people around us who have lost jobs, business etc. and it is our duty to make sure no one sleeps with an empty stomach and everyone has a place to rest.
Author is Assistant Professor in Structural Geology, Physical & Geological Sciences at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam. He can be reached at: [email protected]
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