Parliamentarian Maulana Badruddin Ajmal has urged Indian Muslims to refrain from going out for Eid shopping amid the threat of coronavirus spread. Scheduled for 24 May, Eid will mark the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan.
"Please refrain yourself from shopping for Eid. Wearing new clothes during Eid is not important, so kindly stop endangering your own and other people's lives by crowding the market places in the time of COVID-19. Else it won't be shopping for Eid but you would be shopping for death", the cleric said.
Mentioning incidents where people went shopping and did not maintain social distancing, Maulana said it is unfortunate and that such things should not happen.
Earlier, Muslims, who have been fasting during Ramadan, were hesitant to give swab samples fearing it would break their fast. But following an order as per Islamic law from Darul Uloom Deoband – an Islamic University in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh – the community members were assured that giving samples wouldn’t break their fast.
The Islamic holy month of Ramadan usually sees large prayer gatherings in Mosques and community dinners as part of the festivities. But this year due to the COVID-19 lockdown and compulsion to maintain social distancing, Muslims in India are observing all these festivities and prayers inside their houses.