The Hajj, the Coronavirus, and Islamophobia.

Read this story:

Iran virus deaths rise to 15, deputy minister among infected

Tehran (AFP) – Iran said Tuesday its coronavirus outbreak, the deadliest outside China, had claimed 15 lives and infected nearly 100 others — including the country’s deputy health minister.

The Islamic republic’s neighbours have imposed travel restrictions and strict quarantine measures after reporting their first cases in recent days, mostly in people with links to Iran.

The United Arab Emirates was the latest to clamp down on Tuesday, halting all passenger and cargo flights to and from Iran, a similar move to other nearby countries including Armenia, Kuwait, Iraq and Turkey.

Iran has been scrambling to contain COVID-19 since Wednesday last week when it announced the first two deaths in Qom, a centre for Islamic studies and pilgrims that attracts scholars from abroad.

The country’s deputy health minister put on a brave face as he admitted he too was infected.

Iraj Harirchi had coughed occasionally and wiped sweat from his brow repeatedly during a news conference in Tehran on Monday with government spokesman Ali Rabiei.

At the time he denied a lawmaker’s claim that 50 people had died from the virus in the Shiite shrine city of Qom, saying he would resign if the number proved to be true.

“I too have been infected with coronavirus,” Harirchi said on Tuesday in a video apparently shot by himself.

“I wanted to tell you that… we will definitely be victorious against this virus in the next few weeks,” the official declared.

But he warned Iranians to be careful as the “virus does not discriminate” and could infect anyone.

– Disinfection teams –

Outspoken reformist MP Mahmoud Sadeghi also confirmed in a tweet he had tested positive for the virus, adding that he did not “have much hope of staying alive”.

The health ministry confirmed three new deaths and 34 new infections, bringing the overall tally to 15 deaths and 95 cases.

Two of the deaths were of elderly women in Markazi province, and the other was a patient in Alborz province, state news agency IRNA said.

According to the health ministry, most of the deaths and infections outside Qom are among people who have recently visited the holy city.

Its spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 16 of the new cases were confirmed in Qom, while nine were in Tehran, and two each in Alborz, Gilan and Mazandaran.

The virus appeared to be spreading to new parts of Iran, as one new case was also reported in each of the provinces of Fars and Khorasan Razavi, as well as Qeshm island.

Despite being Iran’s epicentre of the outbreak, Qom has yet to be quarantined.

However, religious events have been put on hold at its main hotspot, the Masumeh shrine revered by Shiite Muslims, while teams were deployed to disinfect it.

Photos published by local news agencies showed masked men in blue uniforms spraying disinfectant on walls and objects inside the shrine, while unprotected worshippers prayed and kissed the ornate structure enclosing a tomb.

In other provinces including Tehran, teams have been disinfecting underground train carriages and municipal buses at night, according to reports.

– Run on masks, gloves –

The sight of Iranians wearing masks and gloves is now common in much of the country.

Sales of masks, disinfectant gels and disposable gloves have soared, with officials vowing to prevent hoarding and shortages by boosting production.

President Hassan Rouhani expressed confidence the authorities were on the right track.

“The reports I have received from the health minister are promising. We are moving towards controlling the virus,” he said.

The United States, however, expressed concern that Iran may have “suppressed vital details” about the outbreak.

“All nations including Iran should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organisations,” said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Iran, which has shut schools, universities and cultural centres until the end of the week, has yet to find the source of the country’s outbreak.

But the health minister, Saeed Namaki, has said that one person who died of coronavirus in Qom was a businessman who had made several trips to China.

A World Health Organization spokesman told AFP that a mission to Iran was “still being planned” but “it is not happening today”.

In Facebook, I made this status:

The Hajj must be abolished! For those who do not know, this is the Islamic pilgrimage in which every Muslim is expected to visit the holy cities of Mecca and Medina at least once in a lifetime. With the coronavirus spreading beyond China to infect people in the Middle East, it is painfully clear that continuing to observe the Hajj every year is a good way to spread that virus, and other diseases around the world!

I was also thinking of these issues:

The Destruction of Islam

The reactions to the first version of my statement included the following:

Jaime Goswick My cousin and her husband went on the Hajj year before last and they both came home with the flu. She said she’s glad she went, but she’s also glad it’s not something she has to do again.

Jamie is an atheist, but has Muslim relatives. Interesting.

Julie Coleman Dude, that’s the same thing as saying people shouldn’t plan a once in a lifetime trip to Disney World.People from all over the world visit daily. Same chances of spreading disease. In fact more so.

This is incredibly bigoted of you.

Ouch!

Michael Zargarov Nothing I enjoy more…than watching stampeding religious fanatics trampling each other in a rush to get to that sacred place.

Not the way I would put it, but…..

Valerie Barlow Horton Maybe not abolished but postponed.

Short, but to the point.

Jozef Bicerano It makes sense to cancel the Hajj of 2020 if a coronavirus pandemic is raging near the end of July when it is scheduled to happen. It is, however, an attack on the religious freedom of more than a billion people, and reeking of islamophobic bigotry, to call for the abolition of the Hajj (meaning that it will never happen again).

Seeing those offers of a compromise, I decided to accept them to be consistent with my philosophy of Honorable Skepticism, thus I had to change my stance as a matter of honesty.

Because I am honorable, I sometimes willingly concede points made by my opponents in debates with them. This should never be seen as a sign of weakness.

So I replied:

Jozef Bicerano You are correct. I wasn’t trying to ban Islam…..just prevent Muslims from dying. But perhaps there should be some kind of compromise in the cause of religious freedom.

Then I rewrote the status:

But this only brought more criticism.

Venetia Spencer Why just that? What about any church service or tourist attraction? Sporting event? Concerts? Airplanes, especially international travel. It all brings in people who wouldn’t normally be together therefore the risk of spreading virus’s.
Even reworded it comes off as you picking on one group of people.

😦

Ketutar Jensen Why do you think you have any say on this matter?
Why do you assume every Muslim is an idiot who cannot think for themselves? Or that Saudi Arabians are idiots?
This was really chauvinistic and narcissistic of you, Dale.

It should be noted that both of these are beloved friends of mine and neither of them are Muslims, so I found their responses quite surprising. I finally decided to answer them with this meme:

13494868_10153701831382263_2510067958798509632_n

And I don’t even like Sam Harris, but boy do I know what he must have felt like! I believe, just as he does, that CRITICISMS OF RELIGIOUS BULLSHIT AND DANGEROUS PRACTICES ASSOCIATED WITH RELIGION ARE NOT EXPRESSIONS OF BIGOTRY.

Because if I were really an Islamophobe, I wouldn’t care about millions of Muslims being exposed to the coronavirus due to the Hajj and many thousands dying later. Sheesh!

2 thoughts on “The Hajj, the Coronavirus, and Islamophobia.

  1. The world is a mirror, it reflects back, you see only what you want to see. You are filled with pessimism and hatred against religion, all religions. I feel sorry for you. Secondly, if people ate only halal food, probably there would be no coronavirus at all since it comes from animals that the Chinese consumed in Wuhan, are prohibited in Islam. Do you see? Islam is a solution for humanity. I have been practicing Islam my entire life, I don’t use any drugs, alcohol, don’t smoke cigarettes, etc. try not to offend others, live my life, all credits to Islam! Yes, you could do that as atheist, but Islam was my source of all good inspiration. Bad news for you: Islam is the fastest-growing religion, remains like that, despite all propaganda and persecution of them left and right.

    “A person who sees the good in things has good thoughts. And he who has good thoughts receives pleasure from life.” -Said Nursi

    Life is short, you wake up every day try to find mistakes in all other beliefs? Live your life man, if you disagree, leave it alone. This is my last quote for you.

    https://www.azquotes.com/author/21932-Al_Ghazali

    • I do not need your pity. If I actually hated ALL religions, I wouldn’t be a Unitarian Universalist, nor would I have invented my concept of “spiritual orientation”. It is based on my belief that religions DO serve a useful purpose in the lives of people, but that doesn’t mean that I have to endorse everything in those religions.
      The coronavirus may have originated in China, but Iran, a Muslim country, has been struck hard by it. Viruses don’t discriminate when it comes to religions or lifestyles.

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