Page 16 - Pakistan Link - May 28, 2021

P16 – PAKISTAN LINK – MAY 28, 2021 COMMUNITY
Synagogue, Mosque and Church under One Roof in Berlin EFFORTS FROM P1
sit at the dialogue table are opening
channels to express mourning over the
Berlin: A group of Muslims, Jews loss of innocent life, lower tensions and
and Christians joined on Thurs- help our communities better under-
day to lay the foundation stone for stand the other.”
a center that will house places of Gordon said despite the conflict,
worship for each religion in a sym- such efforts were “firing on all cylin-
bol of interfaith dialogue in the ders.”
German capital. The 11-day war largely took place
Days after protests in Berlin after Ramadan had ended, though ear-
over the attacks by Israel in Gaza, ly clashes occurred in April. Muslims
and at a time when politicians are around the world observe a daily fast
warning of rising anti-Semitism in from dawn till dusk during the month
Germany, the “House of One” of- of Ramadan. The iftar meal meant to
fers a beacon of hope for dialogue, break the fast each day has become
said its founders. an important vehicle for interfaith
“It is important that dramatic dialogue in the American context. The
world conflicts can be discussed in AJC has participated in several such
the German capital and that peo- events and co-hosted them as well, with
ple have a stage to highlight prob- this year being no different.
lems in their countries and express “As a religious minority, Jews un-
their opinions,” said Berlin Mayor derstand the importance of making our
Michael Mueller at the ceremony. faith and practices understood to the
“But hatred and violence, broader American public. As with an-
anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, tisemitism, anti-Muslim prejudice per-
racism and incitement have no sists in the United States,” Gordon said.
place in our society,” he added. The conflict produced new in-
The building, with a tall cidences of antisemitism and anti-
square tower, will contain separate Muslim hate in the United States and
rooms for religious services and a (L to R) Pastor Gregor Hohberg, Rabbi Andreas Nachama and Imam Kadir Sanci pose during the groundbreaking ceremony of globally, in ways that often overlapped.
common area for meeting. the multi-religion building “House Of One”, Berlin, Germany, May 27, 2021 — AFP In an interview with CNN during the
The heads of Germany’s Cen- will take four years and cost 47.3 The center will be built on the head of the Protestant church in fighting, Pakistani Foreign Minister
tral Council of Jews and Central million euros ($57.67m). The Ger- site of a 13th century church which Germany, told RND media. Shah Mahmood Qureshi was chided
Council of Muslims have wel- man government is contributing was destroyed by the Communist “Anti-Semitism and Islamo- by correspondent Bianna Golodryga
comed the project and the reli- 20m euros ($24.39m), the city of East German government in the phobia are increasing. But they for antisemitic comments made on
gious exchange it aims to make Berlin 10m euros ($12.19m) and 1960s. take people in the wrong direc- air. Elsewhere, Hollywood actor Mark
possible. the rest will come from other con- “The House of One project tion, they fuel hatred and poten- Ruffalo posted an apology Monday
Construction work, which tributors, including donations sends an important signal at this tially lead to violence,” he added. (May 24) for comments made on social
started after 10 years of planning, from abroad. time,” Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, - Reuters media regarding Israel conducting a
Umrah in a Pandemic: Lessons from Makkah on Containing Covid-19 “genocide”; Ruffalo acknowledged that
such comments could be used to justify
n By Ahmed Kalebi or take a PCR test after 48 hours of quar- is a high risk situation for the virus used. It’s a social-distancing app which, antisemitism.
In the United Kingdom, both
antine and, if it was negative, could leave transmission. using bluetooth, can check on the Jewish and Muslim groups reported
s a Muslim, at least once a year the hotel. Travelers from countries cat- Also, unlike the past when people Tawakkalna app of people around you. It increased hate directed at their respec-
I go on pilgrimage to Makkah, egorized as “high-risk” were required to would crowd to collect ZamZam holy essentially warns of people nearby who tive faith groups during the recent war.
AIslam’s holiest city, located in do a mandatory seven-day quarantine, water from watering points, it was dis- have tested positive. Indeed, a 2019 study published by Cali-
Saudi Arabia. Muslims perform the and were also needed to have a negative pensed by mobile porters. They poured As a pathologist, I see these apps fornia State University San Bernardino
short “Umrah” pilgrimage at any time PCR test upon completion. water from portable backpack tanks and as crucial in preventing the spread of found that anti-Muslim hate and anti-
of the year, and there could be over 19 In addition, all pilgrims who want- also dished out sealed bottled water. the new coronavirus. They limit crowd- semitism incidences tend to rise when
million pilgrims each year. I have also ed a permit to enter Haram — the Grand Mobile apps ing and also allow for the movement there is a prolonged conflict in the
been to Makkah a couple of times for Mosque of Makkah — needed to have a An innovative intervention was the of those who are safe while restricting Middle East that captures the public
“Hajj” — the annual major pilgrimage. Covid-19 vaccination certificate. use of mobile apps to record, track and those who are unsafe. eye.
Held once a year, this is a mass gather- It’s important to use all these mea- monitor all Covid-19 related personal Apps that track people’s move- “The presidency of Donald Trump
ing of over 2.5 million Muslims. sures as they add layers of protection records. These included test results and ments — and that store their medical and the policies it pursued made it OK
Both the Umrah and Hajj pilgrim- and prevent situations from becoming vaccination status. The apps were also and personal data — do raise privacy for some
ages weren’t possible for most of 2020 super-spreader events. A negative PCR used to apply for access to move around concerns, particularly if the data falls people to
due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 test alone may not be enough. There’s in public places. We were told which into the wrong hands or is misused. attack Mus-
pandemic. always the risk of a false negative for apps to download by our Umrah travel However, I also feel that their use lims and
However, Saudi Arabia as a whole technical reasons or due to fraud. There agent. is a price that we need to pay in these the recent
has fared well in handling the pandemic. have been reports of large number of The Tawakkalna app is being used unprecedented times, and steps can be conflict in
It had low mortality rates and minimal travelers testing positive at their desti- across the country for contact tracing. taken to protect the data. the Middle
social and economic disruption. There’s nation points after testing negative at It’s the most important app, needed to Avoiding superspreader events East has
been widespread testing and vaccine ac- departure. access every place you go, for instance In the past, Makkah was a con- made it OK
cess. This allowed it to open up for pil- Social distancing every shop, restaurant, hotel and vehi- vergence point for millions of pilgrims for some
grims. Before Covid-19, there would be cle. This app required a record of PCR and has always been a flashpoint for the people to attack Jews,” said interfaith
I had avoided travel to minimize congestion and crowding. This time the results and vaccination to enable entry. spread of various contagious diseases, activist Anila Ali. “We have forgot-
unnecessary exposure to the new coro- flow of people within the Grand Mosque Those with a positive PCR were including cholera. ten, God meant Jerusalem for all of us.
navirus, Sars-Cov-2. But information was well organized. A limited number barred from moving around. The app Strict and decisive steps taken for You can’t have Jerusalem without Jews,
on stringent rules to ensure the safety of worshippers were allowed in at a has a constant location tracker and mass gatherings can prevent them from Muslims and Christians together.”
of pilgrims in Makkah encouraged me time and there was clear demarcation to warns if someone is out of their allowed becoming superspreader hotspots, as Ali, who is president of the Amer-
to go. ensure physical distancing. Police and zone. has happened in India and Iran. ican Muslim and Multifaith Women’s
As a pathologist who has been at mosque orderlies monitored and direct- If groups wanted to gather for so- Saudi Arabia’s handling of the pil- Empowerment Council, said many of
the forefront of tracing the spread of ed the pilgrims. cial events, they would use the Tawak- grimage provides many lessons worth her Jewish friends “went into hiding”
the new coronavirus in Kenya, I was im- Face masks — which provide a bar- kalna app to apply for a gathering per- emulating by sectors and events that during the conflict as they stayed off
pressed by what I experienced in Saudi rier and keep the new coronavirus from mit. The app would then provide contact bring together large numbers of of social media to avoid the vitriol. She
Arabia. spreading — were mandatory. Harsh tracing in case of any positive case people, including sports, religion, says in the aftermath of the war, the
I believe there are valuable les- penalties were imposed on anyone not emerging after the event. entertainment and hospitality in- work of organizations like hers remains
sons here for other countries where wearing a mask or trying to enter the For pilgrims wanting access to dustries. important.
mass religious gatherings take place. Haram without a valid permit. Daily text the Haram, there is an app called Eat- People wishing to use these fa- The human costs from the con-
The strategies could also be emulated by messages reminded us about the penal- marna. Created by the Ministry of Hajj cilities would have to accept that to flict are difficult to calculate. More than
specific industries — such as hospitality ties and public health measures. and Umrah (the government’s ministry enjoy these privileges they would 100 were wounded in Israel and over
and tourism, sports and entertainment. The markedly restricted number dedicated to pilgrim matters) the Eat- need to be checked and monitored a dozen more killed, including at least
These also handle large numbers of peo- of pilgrims — to 50,000 a day from a marna app allows pilgrims to book a — for the welfare of everyone. one Israeli solider. More than 250 were
ple and need to balance public health huge capacity of hundreds of thousands specific time-slot for access to the Grand Of particular interest is the use killed in the combined Palestinian ter-
and the protection of people’s livelihood. — made it easier to manage people and Mosque, meaning numbers are capped. of mobile phone technology which ritories and over 2,000 wounded, the
Test and quarantine enforce measures. The app is also linked to the Tawakkalna could be a very potent tool in com- overwhelming majority of them civil-
For starters, the Saudi authori- In addition, the iftar meal was app which means access is granted based bating the pandemic in all countries, ians. A further 72,000 Palestinians in
ties required foreign pilgrims to have a provided in neatly sealed packages. In- on Covid-19 status. including those in Africa, where in- the Gaza Strip have become internally
negative PCR test result. These had to be dicated by a label, these were prepared As a foreign pilgrim, I was issued ternet and mobile phone penetra- displaced as a result of the conflict. The
taken within 48 hours before arrival in under stringent hygiene conditions with a bar-coded wrist band that could tion is high. – The Conversation clashes were sparked after an Israeli Su-
Saudi Arabia. eliminating the risk of the Sars-Cov-2 be scanned to confirm my status in case (Ahmed Kalebi is an indepen- preme Court ruling in early May paved
Upon arrival, all pilgrims either transmission from handling. In the past I couldn’t display my Tawakkalna or Eat- dent consultant pathologist & Hon. the way for several Arab families to be
had to do a mandatory quarantine at a pilgrims would eat these meals together, marna status. Lecturer, Department of Human Pa- evicted from Eastern Jerusalem. – The
government approved hotel for six days, sometimes from communal plates. This Tabaud was another app that was thology, University of Nairobi) Washington Post
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