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Social contract theory reflects that a long time ago, people decided to enter into an agreement that would surrender some of their freedoms in exchange for the protection of their fundamental rights (life, liberty and property), This gave birth to constitution, states and defined sovereign authority. The primary responsibility of any government (realised via a constitution) is to protect the people’s right to life, liberty and property. Article 9 of the Constitution of Pakistan states that “No person shall be deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with law”[2]. Likewise, article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person”[3]. Yet suddenly, in Pakistan, the state, its government and the people are at the mercy of some medieval mindset.
The virus does not discriminate between a Muslim and an Infidel, nor does it care about anybody’s social status.
Time and again, the government has tried to persuade the clergy to help them in the fight against Coronavirus. While a few have been cooperative and rational, the medieval mullahs are defiant. Internationally, their tribe has said this was a punishment from God[4][5][6], later they said this is a Western conspiracy against China, Iran and Islam in general[7][8][9][10][11]. Now, that the United States and Europe have been hit hard by the virus, their stance seems to be more convoluted, they are going back to the punishment hypothesis and declaring that since the situation in Muslim countries is not as bad, we are blessed and protected, and that our faith will protect us[12]. I am certain that if things get worse over here, then they would propose that this was a test from God, and that our real eternal life is the one after death, or they could simply come back to the Western conspiracy theory. But haven’t they heard of the verse in the Quran that states, “Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely”[13]. Coming back to social contract, Pakistan’s constitution in its preamble states that “Whereas sovereignty over the entire Universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone, and the authority to be exercised by the people of Pakistan within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust”[14]. So shouldn’t they be saving lives, even if it is just one?
Saving lives, they would argue, is in the hands of God not people. But it is nature that has blessed humans with mental faculties and these are medical professionals who are saving people as part of their jobs. Of course, doctors cannot revive the dead or give an immortal life to anyone but they sure can save lives and Science can help extend them. For instance, it was the discovery of Penicillin and advances in western medical science that paved way for a much longer life expectancy of the average human (from an average of 47 years at the start of the 20th century to 78 in the US currently)[15]. Is anyone going to deny this as well? Can anyone deny the wonders of Science in the form of an electric bulb, the fan, the car, the aeroplane, computers, smartphones, television and internet? Of all the roughly 30000[16] madrassahs in this country, not a single one has produced a basic ventilator to save lives but universities, engineering students and hobbyists are doing it around the world.
Ultimately, we might have to pay a very heavy price for not listening to the real experts and taking things lightly.
Just recently, doctors in Karachi held a press conference pleading with people to take the virus seriously and asked the government to review its decision of easing the lockdown and allowing congregational prayers. They said that the healthcare system in the country is not adequate and they’re already reaching full capacity that too before the peak has reached[17]. The WHO has also warned of complacency in dealing with the virus, and warned that the virus could reignite[18]. Will anyone pay heed to the experts who are supposed to be driving the policy instead of the Medieval Mullahs? A fatwa from Egypt’s Al-Azhar University[19] or the fact that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE and Malaysia have suspended congregational prayers for the public is not helping either[20]. The 20-point congregational prayer plan devised after the President met with religious ulema is not practical[21]. People will not follow the SOPs and eventually the virus cases will rise in Ramzan due to increased religious activity, and the government will be forced to invoke the final point number 20, which is to review the plan and possibly shut mosques for public attendance. But by then the damage would already be done. We have seen incidents in Karachi where police got beaten up by charged mobs for they tried to enforce government orders of not letting congregations take place. We have seen pictures on social media of a packed congregation in the federal capital under the shadow of a private guard with an automatic assault rifle, supposedly to protect the worshippers[22], but from whom I wonder, doesn’t God protect the faithful?
Ultimately, we might have to pay a very heavy price for not listening to the real experts and taking things lightly. The reports coming from several Western countries should be waking us up. The virus does not discriminate between a Muslim and an Infidel, nor does it care about anybody’s social status. People are responsible for themselves but nobody has the right to misguide the masses or play with other people’s lives. There are plenty of good examples we can follow: Germany, South Korea and Taiwan are some of them. It is a test of leadership. A choice has to be made and it is a very simple one: we either choose reason or unreason.
References
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:COVID-19_Outbreak_World_Map_per_Capita.svg
[2] http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1333523681_951.pdf
[3] https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights
[4] https://nationalfile.com/islamic-scholar-who-called-coronavirus-act-of-allah-gets-infected/
[5] https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/3/28/riyadh-arrests-four-over-claims-coronavirus-is-gods-punishment
[6] https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/divine-retribution-the-islamic-states-covid-19-propaganda/
[7] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/iran-leader-refuses-cites-coronavirus-conspiracy-theory-200322145122752.html
[8] https://www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/iranian-commander-suggests-virus-might-be-us-biological-weapon
[9] https://www.investigativeproject.org/8346/islamists-call-coronavirus-a-zionist-american
[10] https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/03/07/620357/US,-Israel-waging-biological-warfare-on-massive-scale
[11] https://www.memri.org/reports/conspiracy-theories-arab-media-coronavirus-part-american-plot-ruin-chinese-economy-and
[12] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pakistan-congregat/god-is-with-us-many-muslims-in-pakistan-flout-the-coronavirus-ban-in-mosques-idUSKCN21V0T4
[13] https://quran.com/5/32|
[14] http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1333523681_951.pdf
[15] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5354621/
[16] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-madrasas/pakistan-plans-to-bring-30000-madrasas-under-government-control-idUSKCN1S517Z
[17] https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/648632-next-few-weeks-critical-doctors
[18] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52386386
[19] https://www.app.com.pk/egypts-al-azhar-issues-fatwa-on-president-alvis-request-permits-suspension-of-friday-prayers/
[20] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/praying-time-covid-19-world-largest-mosques-adapted-200406112601868.html
[21] https://www.dawn.com/news/1550265
[22] https://www.dawn.com/news/1550392/another-case-registered-against-lal-masjid-cleric
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