Unapologetic take on Nizamuddin Markaz controversy: Why #coronaJihad is trending?
It’s not a time to blame each other, we should stand united against the deadly coronavirus
India is currently on a massive search to track down the people who were present at the Tablighi Jamaat organized at the Alami Markaz Banglewali Masjid in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area. It all started after few attendees were found coronavirus positive and some of them died due to the coronavirus COVID-19.
By the Tuesday evening, about 100 people who either attended the event or were close to contacts of those who attended a mid-march event at Nizamuddin Markaz were tested positive for the coronavirus. 50 cases in Tamil Nadu, 24 cases in New Delhi, 18 in Kashmir, 15 in Telangana and 9 in Andaman and Nicobar Island have tested positive for the disease. Reports suggest that 10 people have died who attended the event. They all are somehow connected to the prayer gatherings organized by Tablighi Jamaat – a global Islamic evangelical movement of Indian origin.
Health Minister of Delhi, Satyendar Jain said , a total of 1548 have been evacuated from the Tablighi Jamaat. 441 of them have been sent to different hospitals and 1107 people have been put in quarantine centres. Out of the total 97 cases in Delhi, 24 cases are related to Nizamuddin.
When the world was preparing for the war against the deadly virus, people from various countries kept assembling at the Nizamuddin venue. Reports claim that the congregation was scheduled at the Markaz sometime between March 8 and 13, but there is no official word for this. A total of about 3000 people belonging to countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Jordan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Saudi Arab, Yemen, Ukraine, China and Sri Lanka were in the Markaz between March 10 to March 15.
Many of them left the place but about 1600 were stranded inside the building including 200 foreign nationals.
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Actions taken against the organizers of the event
Delhi Chief Minister called gathering a criminal negligence. The Delhi Police Crime Branch has lodged a case on 31st March against Maulana Saad and other members for violating the orders of government on restrictions.
According to a media report, Tablighi Jamaat denied accusations of breaking the law of social distancing saying that they were forced to accommodate the visitors stranded by the sudden announcement of lockdown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
But what we are witnessing on social media is wrong. People of a certain group are attacking the whole community for spreading the virus. #Coronajihad trended on Twitter after the news of Nizamuddin Markaz broke out.
Coronavirus is a very serious issue, we should not blame a whole community for the spread because they are dying too. Not everyone from a community would want to spread the corona by carrying it on themselves. It is a very crucial time for us, we should stand united at the time of crisis rather than blaming each other.
Some feel that it has given the right-wing government and media to diverse from the difficulties of thousands of migrant workers who started travelling to their hometowns and villages. These migrant workers were left with no way to earn their living.
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