Today, humanity, including the Member States of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), is experiencing a trying ordeal not seen for a long time, at a moment of technological developments and unprecedented scientific breakthroughs in various fields. The quick emergence and spread of Covid-19 around the globe and its toll of thousands of deaths have frightened everyone and caused a state of panic, horror, and fear.

While civil and military authorities in Member States are exerting great efforts to contain this pandemic and ensure the safety of people, fake news and false information proliferate to open a new front against rumors and lies which further aggravate the repercussions of this virus and disturb the efforts deployed by governments to reduce the repercussions of the spread of Covid-19.

In this regards, ICESCO calls upon the ministries of religious affairs and the competent bodies in Member States to make use of minarets of mosques and other places of worship to raise people’s awareness of the precepts and purposes of sharia regarding good hygiene and the prevention of diseases. The Organization also stresses the importance of involving religious leaders in awareness-raising campaigns among citizens and disseminating the messages of reassurance, serenity, and compliance with the safety instructions given by the official and competent authorities in Member States. Likewise, ICESCO calls for the need to have a sense of responsibility, respect the law, promote the values of solidarity and unity, facilitate the action of the authorities in charge of managing this pandemic crisis to provide help for patients and verify information through obtaining it from its reliable and official sources.

Thus, such efforts would surely contribute to the containment of this pandemic, promote the spiritual safety, raise awareness of the values of social solidarity and national unity, strengthen the family and social relations, rekindle hope among people, bring people together around the love of Allah and His prophets, and keep beseeching and asking Allah’s forgiveness, and doing good deeds until this plague is gone and the Mercy of Allah prevails.