Religion in the Covid-19 lockdown

By: Mohammad Azmi Ahmad Hamaydeh

Covid-19 has caused a global halt - businesses are affected, governments are in debt, life is being lost, and when all hope is gone, many turn to religion. Yet all around the world, houses of prayer closed their doors. Nevertheless, a majority of people went against the government regulation and advice and practised group prayers.

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Time and time over, religion has been used as an excuse for despicable behaviour, in this pandemic We see that nothing has changed, we see extremists, riding under the name of religious people, blurring the lines of right and wrong.

Many governments around the world turned to extreme measures. In India, police officers were wielding wooden sticks to punish any group of people participating in an activity, be that prayer or any other activity.

New India Express wrote “As India recorded the highest-ever single-day spike in COVID-19 cases with over 1.84 lakh new cases on Wednesday, the chairman of the COVID-19 working group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) Dr NK Arora said political rallies, religious gathering and Kisan Andolan are super-spreaders of the disease.”

All around the world, governments within the scope of respect, were trying to educate people on the risks of group prayers and the dangers it may pose to society. For instance, in Malaysia talks about banning the Hari Raya exodus are at play, as cases have started to rise since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.

Malaysia's Covid-19 infection rate has risen in recent days at the start of Ramadan, with experts asking the authorities to ban the annual Hari Raya exodus to hometowns for a second year to prevent a new surge in cases.

On the other hand, with the second wave of Covid hitting, and as a rise of cases has been monitored, many of the public have started to understand and appreciate the dangers of any gatherings. Some religious groups who did not want to lose touch with group prayers have come up with new and innovative ways to share their prayer with their respected religious groups.

“At first, it was so hard. I honestly can only think of two times in all my 77 years that I’ve missed Mass. And I’ve taught religious education for 24 years, so I truly missed being there. However, emailing, texting, Zooming and good old-fashioned letter-writing have kept me in touch with my class and fellow parishioners. After being fully vaccinated, I was able to return on Palm Sunday. I feel blessed,” said Karen Klein Siciliano, a Catholic.

There needs to be a public understanding that religion, whichever religion, will not put its believers at risk at such a trying time. As for people who truly wish to feel like they are part of a community, then there are many safe and innovative ways in which they can do so from the comforts of their home.