There are always religious responses to plague and pestilence. They can be found in the Qur’an, the Bible and many other religious scriptures. When faced with grave danger people inevitably turn to religion and religious leaders for guidance. This is as true now when the world is confronted with Coronavirus pandemic as it was centuries ago when more deadly pandemics like the Black Death swept across Asia and Europe.
Humanity has vastly more effective science based tools for combating epidemics than it did even a century ago. Religious responses can, however, still be weapons in the Jihad/Crusade against the microbial enemy. Some of these responses will prove to be beneficial and others are worse than counter-productive.
Some Christian and Muslim groups, including a few American Evangelical Mega-Churches and the Muslim revivalist Tablighi Jamaat, claim that God will spare the faithful and continue to hold mass religious gatherings. This doesn’t make sense. Many people have gotten sick and some have died because of them. Authorities have little choice other than to take action to prevent these mass infection events.
In Florida, a Mega-Church pastor has been arrested for holding mass prayer services in defiance of quarantine orders. In Indonesia, the government cancelled an international Tablighi Jamaat gathering after more than 500 people were infected at a similar event in neighbouring Malaysia.
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There are other religious responses that make a great deal of sense. These include offering people guidance on how to fulfil their religious obligations while at the same time protecting themselves and the public from the contagion. Religious guidance is especially important now because Holy Week during which Christians commemorate the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ and Ramadan during which Muslim fast during daylight hours, gather for prayers and socializing at night and celebrate the end of the month with communal prayers are rapidly approaching.
Churches and Mosques are normally filled at these times. For people of both faiths seasonal religious observances would normally make social distancing, which is now the most effect weapon we have against the virus, difficult, if not impossible. Many people worry that they will fall into sin and face divine retribution if they do not fulfil their religious obligations. There are also many non-religious social events – parades, parties, family gatherings and others that people are reluctant to cancel.
At times like these religious advice can make for sound public health policy and practice. They are also times when people of all faiths can learn from the wisdom and experience of others.
I’m posting this article about how the Indonesian Muhammadiyah movement has responded to the challenge for those of you who can read Indonesian. I’ve summarized its major points for those who cannot.
First, some background. Muhammadiyah is one of the two largest Muslim organizations in Indonesia, the country with the world’s largest Muslim population. It has approximately 30,000,000 followers in a country with a total population of approximately 260,000,000. To put these numbers in perspective there are approximately 50,000,000 Baptists in the United States which has a total population of approximately 330,000,000. The Coronavirus is spreading rapidly in both countries requiring urgent action to contain it.
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Muhammadiyah is what some Americans might call a “soft” fundamentalist version of Islam. It teaches that the Qur’an and Hadith (traditions concerning the Prophet Muhammad) are the only sources of religious authority. This teaching is very similar to Luther’s doctrine of sola scriptura (scripture only) that is one of the foundational principles of American Protestantism.
Muhammadiyah’s fundamentalism is “soft” because unlike some other Muslim and Protestant fundamentalist groups, it strongly supports science and rational approaches to problem solving. In this respect Muhammadiyah theology resembles that of the 19th century German Protestan theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher who prosed an “eternal covenant” between science and religion.
Too many American Protestants ignore, or more likely have never heard, Schleiermacher’s message to the modern world. Similar modernist Muslim teachings formulated by Muhammad Abduh in the early 20th century are frequent themes in Muhammadiyah sermons. Muhammadiyah also operates a vast network of schools, universities, clinics and hospitals. In this respect Muhammadiyah’s social programs are similar to those of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.
Muhammadiyah’s leadership is well aware that strong action is necessary to limit the spread of the virus and that social isolation is one of the few effective measures at our disposal. On March 24th they issued a fatwa (legal opinion) suspending the normally obligatory congregational Friday noon prayers. It advised Muslims to pray at home instead. On March 26th a press release offered guidance for Ramadan observances. It made four basic points:
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• The special evening prayers (tarawih) that are normally performed in mosques can be done at home. Religious events including sermons and speeches are not necessary.
• Fasting is obligatory for Muslims except those who are sick. The sick should follow the normal Shari’ah (Islamic Law) regulations for making up missed fasting days at a later time.
• Healthcare staff are not required to fast while on duty. They should follow the normal Shari’ah regulations for making up missed fasting days at a later time.
• It is not necessary to perform the communal prayer on Idul Fitri and the end of the month. People should not engage in customary celebrations, including mudik returning to their home towns and villages to visit relatives at the end of the month, parades and social gatherings.
These rulings were not based on public health considerations alone. Muhammadiyah provided what it holds to be sound religious justifications for them based on quotations from the Qur’an and Hadith. These are called dalil. They are what Protestants call proof texts. This same sort of religious logic is available to them in efforts to contain the pandemic.
Some of Muhammadiyah’s recommendations require painful sacrifices. Tens of millions of Indonesians usually return to their home towns and villages to celebrate Lebaran, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan. It is the same sort of custom that “going home” for Thanksgiving or Christmas are for Americans.
Muhammadiyah leaders would not advised Indonesian to Stay Home without careful consideration of the risks posed by pandemic and the social, cultural and religious importance of Lebaran festivities. Postponing family reunions is the most important thing Indonesians can do to slow the spread of the Corona contagion. It will mean that many people who would otherwise have died will live to join in them next year.
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We all hope that by the time Christmas comes the pandemic will have passed and that Christians will not be faced with similar painful choices between religious tradition and public safety. If they are, there is much that American Protestants can learn from the wisdom and determination Muhammadiyah has shown.
There are two basic points. The first is that sacrifices are necessary. The second is that people will find them easier to accept when religious leaders use scriptural reasoning to explain why they are necessary.
