“Clergymen who prevented the quarantine of Qom must be held accountable”

The governor of Qom called for a quasi-quarantine in the city. At the same time, a member of parliament called for the accountability of clerics and religious leaders who obstructed the implementation of restrictions and prevention of the coronavirus in Qom.

With the number of deaths from the coronavirus in Qom increasing and the city's religious centers not being permanently banned, reformist parliamentarian Gholamreza Heydari called on the judiciary to take action and hold accountable the clerics and religious authorities who have resisted imposing restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Gholamreza Heydari, a member of the Omid parliamentary faction, criticized the failure to implement preventive restrictions and bans in the city of Qom and the entry of people into the city's pilgrimage centers in an interview with Etemad Online on Monday, March 9, and said: "The judiciary should be asked what the ruling of the cleric and scholar who resisted and did not allow the prevention and restrictions for public places to begin sooner is."

The latest official statistics from the Ministry of Health show that 7,161 people have been confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 (the coronavirus) and 237 have died. Kianoush Jahanpour, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said on Monday, March 9, that 595 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been recorded as of Monday afternoon.

According to Jahanpour, 43 new COVID-19 cases have died in the past 24 hours alone. Cases of the disease continue to be higher in the provinces of Tehran, Qom, Isfahan, Gilan, and Mazandaran than elsewhere.

“Clergy and scholars” obstructing quarantine

According to official statistics, Qom is second only to Tehran with 712 patients. Unofficial sources have reported a higher number of cases and deaths from the coronavirus. An hour ago, the governor of Qom announced at the crisis management headquarters that a quasi-quarantine situation should be imposed at the entrances to Qom.

According to Shafaqna, the meeting proposed that the city of Qom be placed under a quasi-quarantine and that entry and exit be strictly controlled. The worsening situation in Qom has even led to the closure of a number of seminary classes, despite some opposition.

The situation that Qom has found itself in, according to Mr. Heydari, the representative of Tehran, is the result of obstruction by “clergy and scholars.” He said that if they had not obstructed the city’s quarantine and imposed restrictions and prohibitions from the beginning, this situation could have been prevented.

Referring to the Attorney General's recent letter to the Minister of Health, which stated that "disruption to the public health system is tantamount to corruption on earth," he asked the judiciary officials, "What is the verdict on the person who prevented the establishment of restrictions in Qom and did not let the coronavirus be smothered in its infancy?"

Heidari also emphasized that “a group of scholars and religious authorities had made certain rituals taboo,” and told Etemad Online: “A group thought that no concessions should be made under any circumstances. It was as if it were blasphemy, a blasphemy that carries the death penalty. But people’s health is important and people’s health cannot be played with through fantasies. In any case, the scholars agreed to close some congregational prayers and Friday prayers, but not others.”

Scholars' "recommendation" instead of issuing a ruling

But the reality is that among the religious leaders in Qom, only Yousef Ali Sanei and Asadollah Bayat Zanjani have so far specifically stated that attendance at religious places is “not permissible.” The other religious leaders in Qom have not yet clearly and directly warned their followers and the public not to go to pilgrimage centers, and have only used the words “recommendation.”

Previously, Ali Akbar Hosseininejad, advisor to the guardianship of the Masoumeh shrine in Qom, told IRNA, the state news agency: "Closing the shrine sends a bitter message. This is a refuge for people, and people sitting in a corner of the shrine and courtyard does not cause a problem."

Another official of this guardianship also considered the structures of this shrine and tomb to have "antibacterial and healing" properties.

The echo of these words has become an excuse for Heydari, the representative of Tehran, to tell Etemad Online that "people's health cannot be played with with fantasies and the authorities should have considered restrictions on travel to Qom sooner."

Despite the warnings of the Ministry of Health, a permanent ban on people's movement and attendance at religious centers in the city of Qom has not been imposed to date. Some provincial officials have indirectly indicated in recent days that they are unwilling to face the issue of closing these centers. The silence of some authorities does not seem to be without reason, because apart from the budget line for the administration of seminaries and seminaries within the framework of the national budget bill, other expenditures are the responsibility of other governmental centers.

Pilgrimage centers closed until the end of May 2020

The situation at pilgrimage centers under the supervision of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts is slightly different. Fakhreddin Saberi, secretary of the “Holy Shrines Headquarters” at the ministry, told the Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the judiciary, today that “the closure of the holy shrines will continue until May.”

Referring to the unscientific nature of some comments about "the remains of the shrine being antibacterial," Saberi said, "These discussions have no scientific justification and most of these statements are made based on religious prejudices."

He did not consider it possible to disinfect all the shrines in Iran, and at the same time, it seems, to agree with those who believe that pilgrimage centers are "houses of healing," he added that helping to spread the coronavirus is "a sin."

The spread of the coronavirus has so far prevented Friday prayers from being held for the past two weeks. Officials also announced that in order to prevent the further spread of the virus, several mass religious ceremonies, such as "Itikaf" and the tradition of visiting the graves of the deceased on the last Thursday of the year, will also not be held in the interest of the country.

"Late measures"

According to some officials and members of parliament, Iran's recent actions could have been taken in the very first days of the coronavirus outbreak. The Ministry of Health is said to have announced at the time that the city of Qom should be quarantined to prevent the entire country from being affected by the virus, but reports have emerged that Hossein Taeb, head of the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence organization, opposed the quarantine of Qom. Officials in the organization have not yet responded to these reports.

The continuation of this neglect has had many other consequences for the country. The closure of the borders of Iran's neighbors, the prevention of imports and exports, and the disruption of Iran's commercial structure in the public and private sectors are some of the consequences of this neglect and the failure to quarantine some cities; as Turkish officials announced, "If Iran had quarantined Qom, there would have been no need to close the borders."

Source: DW