Appeal people not to visit places of worship during lockdown: Islamic Centre to religious leaders

New Delhi, Apr 5 () The India Islamic Cultural Centre on Sunday urged all religious scholars and leaders to appeal to citizens not to visit places of worship during the lockdown period, saying the situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic is "unprecedented" and tough times call for tough measures.

In a statement issued by the organisation's vice president, S M Khan, all stakeholders were asked to show "complete discipline" and refrain from activities which can cause damage to the dedicated efforts of the government.

The statement from the office-bearer of the four-decade-old organisation, which was set up to promote mutual understanding and amity amongst the people of the country, came after reports of some patients taken for quarantine from Tablighi Jamaat headquarters in Nizamuddin allegedly misbehaving with the medical staff.

Khan, an Indian Information Services officer who had served as the press secretary to the then President A P J Abdul Kalam and was also the face of the country's premier probe agency CBI for over a decade, said the current situation is "unprecedented".

"Tough times call for tough measures and this is exactly what our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has done by ensuring a complete lockdown which was imperative to tackle this pandemic," he said, calling everyone to fight the "common enemy together".

Khan thanked all essential service providers who are ensuring continuity of supplies and especially saluted the medical professionals who are taking care of those affected and also the police/administrative personnel and media for doing a remarkable job.

"I take this opportunity to request all religious scholars and leaders to appeal to citizens not to visit places of worship during the lockdown period...stay safe and take care!" Khan said.

Natural disasters such as these do not discriminate between people in terms of religion, caste, creed, region among others, he said, adding "this phase should be a learning experience for all of us, that how we can support each other for humanitarian causes." CPS SKL TIRTIR