There is a saying popularised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) constitution: “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.”
This is what underpins the campaign by the Religious Forum against Covid-19 which is an interfaith collaboration of various religious communities standing together to fight the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the heart of the drive is the goal to ensure that at least seven out of every ten worshippers from different faith traditions are vaccinated under the banner #VaxuMzansi. The forum wants to dispel the mistruths, especially in religious communities, pertaining to fears associated with getting the Covid-19 shot.
The forum feels morally bound to eliminate the trust deficit and scepticism which exists among congregants in the work of science. Moulana Ebrahim Bham, the secretary-general of the Council of Muslim Theologians, explains that the Islamic faith had been providing a theological perspective to its congregants that there was nothing impeding the people of the faith from vaccinating.
“The hesitation with regard to vaccination is not specific to the Muslim community or adherence to the Islamic faith. We all know that there has been a great amount of hesitancy about vaccines because of the sceptics who have become a loud voice within the social media space,” he said.
Bham explains that anti-vaccination sentiments were fuelled by people within the faith communities who had created doubts from a theological perspective but they are now dismantling this deadly assertion. “The Council of Muslim Theologians, taking lessons from a theological perspective, is driving a message that there were no ingredients in the vaccine which forbid people from taking it,” he said.
Bham says while driving the message, the faith community has also taken solace in the fact that people often rely on the counsel of their faith leaders for guidance on spiritual decisions or anything that has a bearing on their lives.
“We all know that there were restrictions which had a major impact on the faith communities. Communities rely greatly on interaction with their faith leaders. In the Muslim and Islamic faith, we are adopting to prevent harm. In our teachings, we emphasise extensively vaccination as part of our key religious duties.” T
he targeting of faith communities has also been identified as a key strategy to minimise infections when worshippers gather after a new surge in Covid-19 infections driven by Omicron sub-variants. The forum continues to drive similar messaging through the Faith Meets Science workshops around the country.
Sponsored by The Religious Forum Against Covid-19 comprises various religious groups namely: Bantu Church of Christ, Believers in Christ, Council of African Independent Churches (CAIC), Council of Muslim Theologians (Jamiatul Ulama), International Federation of Christian Churches, Nazareth Baptist Church (Shembe, Thembezinhle), The Muslim Judicial Council, The South African Hindu Maha Sabha (SAHMS), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Evangelical Alliance of South Africa (TEASA), The South African Council of Churches (SACC) and the Union of Orthodox Synagogues
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