Rabat, Morocco (TMT)- A wave of controversy has been triggered in Morocco following various people calling for the suspension of fasting Ramadan due to the coronavirus, sharing a video of Moroccan Activist Ahmed Assid where he hinted out that fasting during Ramadan can worsen the health of people infected with COVID-19, especially given that the incubation period can go up to 20 days, without any symptoms appearing in the meantime.
“Some religious clerics (in Morocco) said that Ramadan will heal people from the coronavirus, they said ‘you need to fast and this is the solution to the coronavirus,’ but medical doctors are saying quite the opposite,” Assid stressed.
“They (medical doctors) are saying that if the throat remains dry, this constitutes a danger for one’s health, as the virus will easily spread to the respiratory system, rather than go to the digestive system,” Assid added.
“This is why the throat needs to stay hydrated, drinking liquids and warm fluids every hour, or half an hour,” Assid stressed.
The Moroccan Ministry of Religious Affairs did not issue any comment on the issue. But in other Muslim countries around the world, the debate is taking place.
In Egypt, the well-known Al-Azhar university stated in a Facebook post that “a Muslim is not permitted to break the fast in Ramadan unless physicians decide and scientifically prove that fasting will make him vulnerable to infection and death by the coronavirus; a fact which is not scientifically proven until this moment.”
In Iraq, the most senior Shi’a Muslim cleric issued a ruling yesterday waiving the Ramadan fasting obligations for Muslims who cannot practice social distancing.
The Moroccan Times.
