S'pore Mufti on mass gatherings: Religion about priorities too, priority now is not to endanger community

He cautioned the Singapore Muslim community to refrain from attending any mass religious gatherings.

Syahindah Ishak | March 19, 2020, 07:53 PM

On Mar. 18, a religious event in Indonesia, which involved thousands of pilgrims across Asia, went ahead as planned despite rising Covid-19 concerns.

Mass religious gathering in Indonesia continued despite health risk

The event organisers had refused a formal request from the Indonesian authorities to postpone the gathering.

About 8,695 people had already gathered for the event, some of whom had travelled from Arabia, Thailand, India and the Philippines.

When asked about the health risk of the mass gathering, one of the event organisers said that they were “more afraid of God”.

The event has been cancelled after the outcry.

Selangor mosque cluster in Malaysia

This situation is particularly concerning after a similar mass religious gathering in a Selangor mosque lead to the spike in infected cases.

According to Malaysia's Ministry of Health, the country reported 110 more cases on Mar. 19.

63 of the cases were related to the mosque gathering.

The event had also been attended by some Singaporeans, some of whom had tested positive for Covid-19.

Singapore Mufti urged Muslims to be socially responsible

On Mar. 19, Singapore's Mufti, Nazirudin Mohd Nasir, uploaded a post on the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS') Facebook page, urging all Muslims to be socially responsible amid the increasing spread of Covid-19.

He noted that some "foreign religious organisers" continued with their religious gatherings as they fear God more than viruses.

But Nazirudin added that this is not the time to be "senseless and irresponsible".

He also cautioned the Singapore Muslim community to refrain from attending any mass religious gatherings.

He stated:

"We fear God by being responsible human beings. We fear God by not causing harm to others. We do not fear God by being reckless and by ignoring safety precautions."

You can read the full Facebook post here:

Top images from Gov.sg/YouTube & MUIS/FB.