By Allieu S. Tunkara
Tuesday is Eid day throughout the muslim world. Sierra Leone which has an ever increasing population of muslims, joins the world in the muslim festival, but she does so behind closed doors.
The country’s mosques and churches were shut down by a presidential proclamation in July this year. The proclamation was made owing to threats by ‘Third Wave’ or ‘Delta Variant’ of COVID-19.
The ‘Third Wave,’ according to health experts, is much more deadly and contagious than the previous two waves. EID-UL-ADHA is one of the holiest and most revered Islamic festivals. In English translation, it is the ‘Day of Sacrifice.’
Muslims with means could sacrifice rams as a form of worship to Allah. The sacrificed animal is shared to neighbours especially the ‘have-nots’ so that they can be part of the celebrities. The slaughterers hope for a heavenly bliss.
According to holy prophet Mohamed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)’s teachings, muslims take a bath, wear clean garments and fine perfume to attend Eid prayers. It brings blessings to the muslim community with hope of forgiveness of sins from God. After Eid prayers, muslims are expected to visit fellow muslims and eat together.
It is a show of love commanded by the Holy Prophet. On Eid day and Subsequent days, the Takbiratul-Iram, Allahu Akbar (Allah is the greatest) is recited frequently. In every Fardh (compulsory prayer), the Takbiratul-Iram alongside thanks-giving supplications are uttered for days.
Islamic scholars say it is a sunnah done in remberance of the most revered prophets of Allah, Abraham. Prophet Abraham uttered the praises at a time a ram was provided by God to stop him sacrificing his son.
It was an act of great faith to the one God. He holds an esteemed position among the muslims as he is considered the ‘Father of Islam.’ Prophet Abraham is believed to have constructed the ‘Holy Kaba,’ the mosque in Mecca.
Prophet Mohamed traced his descent to Prophet Abraham. In islamic homes, muslim men and women fast as a sunnah in readiness to receive the Eid day. It is also during Eid period that hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca) is done. Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and a muslim who meets the conditions is under obligation to do so once in their life time.
Mecca, the headquaters of Islam, is now busy with several festivities including touching of the stone. But, other muslims in the world do not join them, this time, owing to the spiralling health crisis.
Back home, the euphoria often felt in sierra Leone when Eid approaches is virtually absent. Greetings and best wishes for for the President and Vice President are yet to come or at an all-time low. They are ads for newspapers, but they complement and mesmerise the first two gentlemen. Business entities have been hit hard, and most have gone berserk in the face of COVID-19.
Some corporate entities which manage to cope are on the brink of bankruptcy. Despite the beauty of the Eid, muslim population in Sierra Leone and elsewhere are not happy.
The muslim community could not endure sitting for a month without entering a mosque. They also see it as an abomination for such a holy day to pass by without converging on a field or mosque to glorify Allah.
It is anticipated that a muslim who goes to a mosque or converges on a field runs two risks: either contracting the virus through congestion or risking police raid.
It is therefore better to stay at homes and offers prayers as God is everywhere. The powers of the state should not be under-estimated.
The muslim community however started showing their unhappiness since the proclamation was announced.
In a recent interview with an Imam in a Calaba Town Mosque in Freetown, Sheik Ibrahim Sow told this press that government ought to have allowed mosques to remain open, but with restrictions.
“we would have obeyed any restriction government pronounce as long as prayers go on,” he suggested.
Relying on what he referred to as an authentic hadith, Sheik Sow explained that when calamities struck in the days of the prophet, the muslim community would seek refuge and protection in mosques. “Muslims performed ablution and went to the mosques to ask God for protection during calamities,” he stressed.
By so doing, he went on, Allah would lessen the pain or suffering. He however mentioned that now is the reverse.
Sheik Sow however said he performed his prayers at home and would observe the Eid there.
“It is a sad day for us,” he laments.
Christians are similarly affected by the ban. They too could not go into churches to observe daily and Sunday prayers. Quite recently, the Clergy in Southern Sierra Leone met with the Resident Minister South for a reversal of decision.
Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Edward Samadia was also similarly engaged by the clergy on the ban. Both officials assured the clergy that their messages would be communicated to the authorities in Freetown.
To date, the ban remains in force and mosques and churches continues in lockdown.
However, hopes run high that there would be respite in the religious world after a month.
However, the ban has not weakened Saudatu Jalloh’s faith, an ardent muslim residing in the east in Freetown.
In the face of the ban, she hopes to celebrate her Eid day at home moderately.
In a theocracy, religion regulates the state, but in a secularism, the state regulates religion.