The number of positive Covid-19 patients in India has witnessed a sharp rise in the last couple of days. The origins of many of the new cases have been traced back to an event organised last month by the Islamic preachers' body Tablighi Jamaat at its headquarters in Delhi's Nizamuddin area.
Questions and criticism have been pouring in, including from Muslim leaders and intellectuals, about the organisation's conduct and handling of the situation. According to officials, close to 2,000 people were found to be staying at the Nizamuddin Markaz (centre) of the group, founded in 1926.
The Jamaat has said it was forced to accommodate visitors stranded by the 21-day nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24, with just four hours' notice.
A report published by the Urdu daily Roznama Rashtriya Sahara’s Delhi edition cites Muslim scholars stating that Covid-19 is a pandemic and that at this time such a situation should not be used to fan communal hatred.
A number of Islamic luminaries have been quoted saying in the article that the fight against the novel coronavirus will be weakened if the Tablighi Jamaat incident is painted in a communal colour and used to further propaganda. They also mentioned that the gathering of people from different countries in the Markaz of the Jamaat is nothing new and moreover the organisation's authorities had already informed Delhi Police about the gathering.
The newspaper has also published a statement of Badruddin Ajmal, President of the All India United Democratic Front and current Lok Sabha member, in which he says that the central government is targeting the Nizamuddin Markaz of the Tablighi Jamaat to hide its own failures. Ajmal says the Jamaat is an elementary organisation which urges people to abstain from evil.
News about the Markaz has been covered by Pakistani media as well. Dawn writes that people attending the congregation in March have tested positive for Covid-19 and search for other participants is underway. Meanwhile, in Pakistan the number of confirmed coronavirus patients linked to the Raiwind Tablighi Markaz rose to 41 on Wednesday.
To avert similar situations, Saudi Arabia has appealed to Muslims around the world to postpone their Hajj 2020 plans. Urdu newspapers across India and Pakistan have carried the statement of Saudi Arabia`s Hajj Minister Mohammed Banten saying: "Saudi Arabia is fully prepared to serve Hajj pilgrims. However, it is clear that we are in the middle of global outbreak the Saudi government wants to protect the health of Muslims and other citizens. We urge our Muslim brothers in all the countries that as long as the situation is dire, please defer your Hajj plans.”
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