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At Friday prayers, UP clerics push for vaccination
Lucknow Muslim clerics in Lucknow on Friday held gatherings to bust misinformation surrounding the Covid-19 vaccination process and motivated people to get the doses
Lucknow
Muslim clerics in Lucknow on Friday held gatherings to bust misinformation surrounding the Covid-19 vaccination process and motivated people to get the doses.
Taking the vaccine was the only way to arrest the spread of the virus, the clerics told people at religious gatherings in the city.
“As we know, we are going through tough times. The cases are on the rise. Hence, you are requested to take all possible anti-Covid precautionary measures to keep the infection at bay. Also, those who are above 45 years should compulsorily take the jab as it’s the only way to combat the coronavirus menace,” said Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali, senior member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Imam of the Eidgah masjid in Lucknow.
The Sunni cleric was addressing people at the Eidgah during Friday prayers, after leaders across ideological lines decided to publicise the common message.
The crucial appeal comes at a time when India is firmly under the grip of the second wave of the pandemic. Infections have spiked across the country with experts saying that picking up the pace of vaccination was the best way to counter the disease.
India opened up its vaccination drive to all people above 45 on Thursday. The previous two phases of the drive – the first was aimed at frontline workers and the second at those above 60, or above 45 with comorbidities – were dogged by slow rollout, teething problems, vaccine hesitancy and misinformation. India is home to roughly 175 million Muslims, who form about 14% of the country’s population.
Shia leaders in the city also endorsed the appeal for vaccinations.
Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad at another gathering after Friday prayers said it was “our moral responsibility” to get vaccinated. “It is our moral responsibility to get ourselves and our family members vaccinated. Hence, people are requested to get themselves vaccinated at the earliest,” he said at the Asafi Mosque in Bara Imambada complex of Lucknow.
Similar requests were made at other mosques in the city as well.
“We are spreading the word at almost all religious gatherings, not only in Lucknow but also in the districts like Sultanpur, Lakhimpur Khiri, Hardoi, Sitapur and others. It is the best possible way to connect to the masses,” said Shia cleric Maulana Yasoob Abbas, who is also general secretary of the All-India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB).
