How Muslims, from businessmen to sports stars, are helping fight Covid-19

Uniting to support communities and help contain the coronavirus, these Muslims from all walks of life are offering support across the world.

Iranian medical personnel, wearing protective gear, work at the quarantine ward of a hospital in Tehran on 1 March 2020 (AFP)
AFP

Iranian medical personnel, wearing protective gear, work at the quarantine ward of a hospital in Tehran on 1 March 2020 (AFP)

Reports from the UK that four Muslim doctors have died from the coronavirus is another indication of the sacrifices that different communities around the world are making in a bid to tackle the pandemic.

The deaths of the Muslim doctors was also a tragic rebuke to some of the anti-immigrant rhetoric that has become mainstream in British society in the last few years.

Most recently a Muslim nurse died from the coronavirus in the UK amongst many other health professionals who risk their lives every day.

Beyond the medical profession, Muslim scientists, business people and those from the world of sports have in their way own way sought to help in containing and tackling the spread of the coronavirus.

The Liverpool forward Sadio Mane has shown incredible generosity as his home country Senegal attempts to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.

The 27-year-old donated more than $50,000 to the health authorities in a bid to shore up the country’s defence against the virus. Senegal has more than 250 infections and at least two confirmed deaths

For Mane, this is not the first time he has contributed to his home country. In 2019, he helped to build a mosque, a hospital and a school worth more than $300,000 in his hometown of Bambali.

Other Muslims such as the CEO of Medtronic, Omar Ishrak, a Bangladeshi-American businessman, is at the forefront of working with the Taiwanese business Foxconn to produce breathing ventilators.

Utilising open-source technology the two companies are to start producing life-saving technology as the coronavirus pandemic spreads.

In the field of science two clinical microbiologists from the world-renowned Johns Hopkins University - Dr Karen Carroll and Dr Heba Mostafa have developed a coronavirus screening test that will allow the university to test more than 1,000 people per day.

Dr Mostafa was born in Egypt and trained in medicine at Alexandria University before leaving the country in 2004 to pursue her medical career abroad. She specialised in the field of influenza and the spread of infectious diseases.

It is also an opportunity for Muslim nations to recognise that within the right academic climate that respects and nurtures talent, they may see a reduction in the amount of human capital leaving their countries.

Egypt at the moment has more than 1,500 coronavirus infections and 103 deaths, however, the true number is believed to be much higher.

Conversely, Muslim leaders in Myanmar have approached the viral outbreak as an opportunity to reach out to the largely Buddhist country.

Over the last few years, Myanmar has grabbed world attention because of the plight of the Rohingya Muslims who have suffered genocide at the hands of Buddhist extremists with tacit government backing.

Tin Maung Than, the secretary of Islamic Religious Affairs Council Myanmar has publically said the Muslim community is prepared to be part of the solution in the country.

“There are more than 1,000 mosques in Myanmar as well as several Muslim religious schools. There are also hotels, apartments and buildings owned by Muslim businessmen. These places can be used temporarily in fighting the virus,” Than told Anadolu Agency.

Such moves by Muslim leaders, academics and sports players have the important attribute of bringing people from all backgrounds together to fight a common problem. 

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