Muslims are naturally immune to coronavirus – Islamic scholar says as he asks the authorities not to stop Mosque prayers amid coronavirus crisis

An Islamic Scholar, Dr. Abubakr Imam Aliagan, has asked the President Muhammadu Buhari government, the Sultanate Council and Muslim authorities, not to shut down mosques in Nigeria over the coronavirus crisis.

Aliagan, a Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Ilorin said on Wednesday that Muslims are immune to the coronavirus, and as such, Mosque prayers should not be banned over fear of worshippers contacting the deadly virus.

He said this while reacting to the suspension of congregational prayers at Saudi Arabia.

Saudi had on Tuesday stopped the performance of the customary five daily prayers and the weekly Jumuat prayer at other worship centres excluding the two holy mosques in Makkah and Madina.

Aliagan told PRNigeria that Nigerian Muslim males should be allowed to observe their compulsory prayers in mosques.

He claimed that Muslims have already been endowed with a natural immune system to fight coronavirus.

Aliagan stated that health officials advise people to wash their hands which Muslims do five times daily before observing their obligatory prayers.

He added that Muslim women already cover themselves and, as such, are safe.

He said: “Again, our sisters are always adorned in Hijab, some even use Niqab and gloves. So, we the Muslims already have a potent immune system against coronavirus. That is to say that we don’t have any problem.

“Even in France, I learnt that those that are completely free from contacting coronavirus are Muslim ladies and women who cover their face, use hand gloves and don’t shake hands with people.

The cleric, who is also an Imam of a Jumuat (congregation) Mosque, noted that the action of the Saudi Government is in line with Islamic teachings on preventing the spread of an epidemic in any area.

He said the Holy Prophet specifically mentioned that if there is an epidemic at a certain location, people should not go close to that danger area or place.

“While those that are living there should not come out until the epidemic is wiped out. The prophet, by implication is saying we should avoid the spread of epidemics with necessary precautionary steps.”

Aliagan argued that the Saudi authorities’ directive is only aimed at forestalling the wildfire spread of the disease.

He said: “I don’t think the Muslim Ummah and its authorities in Nigeria should toe the line of Saudi by banning congregational prayers in mosques.

“The situation in our country is quite different from what we have in the Arab world or even at some western countries. The killer scourge easily ravages their immune system and body. However, I am still saying we should go along with what the Prophet counselled.

“Which is that we should not take epidemics or any killer disease for granted. We should take all necessary precautions. Any advice from health officials should strongly be adhered to and abided by.”

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Plot to bomb London cathedral revealed

A 36-year-old woman who swore allegiance to Islamic State on Friday pleaded guilty to plotting a bomb attack at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral and a nearby hotel.

Safiyya Amira Shaikh entered her plea at London’s Central Criminal Court, or Old Bailey, and will be sentenced on May 11 for preparation of terrorist acts  and dissemination of terrorist publications.

Shaikh, who was born Michelle Ramsden, was arrested after discussing the preparation and planting of explosives with two undercover police officers.

The Metropolitan Police said she researched methods and decided on a plan to carry out a terrorist act, and travelled to central London and stayed at a hotel in order to conduct reconnaissance.

Shaikh handed an undercover officer two bags that she wanted to be fitted with explosives, and she  prepared the words of a pledge of allegiance to Daesh  Islamic State , the police said.

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Islamic State Group In Nigeria Reportedly Executes Christian Hostages

 

Nigerian soldiers are on patrol in October, after gunmen suspected of belonging to the Islamic State West Africa Province group raided the village of Tungushe, killing a soldier and three residents.

An affiliate of the Islamic State says it executed 11 Christians in Nigeria in retaliation for the killings of leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his spokesman earlier this year, according to Agence France-Presse.

The terrorist group released a video on Thursday through its online news agency, Telegram, that reportedly shows masked militants from the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) shooting and stabbing 11 blindfolded men, the AFP and Reuters report.

ISWAP is an offshoot of terror group Boko Haram and declared its loyalty to ISIS in 2016. The group is now the most prominent Islamist terrorist group in the region, with more than three times as many fighters as the next-largest Islamic State faction in Egypt, according to research by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.

Reuters reports that the group also claimed responsibility for an attack on a military outpost in Burkina Faso earlier this week.

On Tuesday, the United Nations released a statement condemning the group for increasingly targeting civilians, including Christians, aid workers and security officials, in northeastern Nigeria.

ISWAP is known for abducting aid workers in the region, the BBC reported. Two midwives working for the International Committee for the Red Cross were taken hostage and later killed by the group in October.

ISWAP's attack on Christians this week is suspected to have been planned to coincide with Christmas. "This is a message to Christians all over the world," said a masked man in the video, according to the AFP. The man went on to say that the killings were carried out in order to exact revenge for the deaths of Baghdadi and ISIS spokesman Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir.

In October, U.S. special forces conducted a raid on Baghdadi's compound in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib that resulted in the ISIS leader's death. Muhajir was killed later the same day in a U.S. airstrike near the Syria-Turkey border.

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