On April 11, the UN-secretary general, Antonio Guterres, urged religious leaders of all faiths to unite and work together to fight the common battle against COVID-19. “We are on the same boat … each of us in need of comforting the other”, said Pope Francis to encourage interfaith solidarity during this pandemic. Eboo Patel, the founder of Interfaith Youth Core, has recently started the ‘Bridging Divides’ campaign to remind us how saving our common humanity from the virus requires co-existence of- and co-operation from diverse faith groups.
The call for interfaith solidarity is echoing at a time when governments are discouraging or even forbidding all kinds of public gatherings including religious festivals, rituals and large congregations. The major places of worship- mosques, churches, synagogues and temples- are either closed down or providing very limited services. Pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina for Muslims and to the Vatican City for Christians were suddenly halted.
Regardless of our faith, this pandemic has certainly affected how and where we worship and express our religious sentiments. Due to strict stay-at-home orders and social distancing measures, millions had to be separated from their friends, neighbours, religious communities and even families on Passover, Easter, and Shab-e-Barat (the night of forgiveness), the major religious occasions for Jews, Christians and Muslims respectively. These are occasions traditionally celebrated by gatherings of communities, communal prayers and shared meals among families and friends. As the coronavirus is increasingly disrupting lives, religious communities are struggling to maintain their traditional practices.
