Honourable Prime Minister,
It has been a long time since you have closed our places of worship. Our hearts have been ailing and crying since then. The question on everybody’s lips is: what’s the real reason or motive behind it?
We are a nation that believe in a Supreme God and we firmly believe that He is the one who sends down conditions and to Him shall we submit. We believe that He is our sole saviour against all calamities that befall us and indeed against COVID-19 as well. Our places of worship are truly the magnets of the infinite mercy of Almighty God! Why then have you ordered them to be closed? What’s the rationale behind it? I firmly believe that it should have been one of the first places to be reopened.
Our places of worship are considered to us as the essential of all essentials. We can sacrifice our economy, food, shelter, but never our spiritual link with the sole Creator. We are indebted to Him for the countless favours He has bestowed upon us.
What really hurts us is that you have allowed the re-opening of almost everything and disregarded our place of worship. How unfortunate is that from your side! People are roaming around freely everywhere and yet, deprived of their rights to worship in their places of worship!
As you are well aware, our Constitution provides that:
Article 11. Protection of freedom of conscience (1) Except with his own consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of conscience, and for the purposes of this section, that freedom includes freedom of thought and of religion, freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and both in public and in private, to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.
Clearly in allowing other collective activities but prohibiting practice of religion in our places of worship, you are discriminating against us.
Our places of worship are wide, spacious and clean. We are ordered to wash all exposed parts before praying. We can easily, as responsible citizens, exercise the sanitary precautions that are required. We can even keep the prayers short and concise. Why then this double standard towards us? Why such rigid measures against us when even the WHO has not imposed such restrictions?
What really adds salt to the wound is the footages of you on numerous occasions being in public gatherings of more than 10 people without sanitary measures being really implemented.
Our heartfelt plea to you is to kindly re-open our places of worship and allow us to pray in order to lure that special mercy of the Almighty that will make Covid 19 vanish from our beautiful island.
Bilal Hosany
(Muslim theologian and preacher)
NOTE : Les points de vue exprimés dans cette rubrique ne reflètent pas nécessairement ceux de la rédaction.
