ISIS instructs members to stay away from countries with coronavirus

This  illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Image: CDC via AP

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has issued its own directives for members amid the COVID-19 pandemic — for instance, to avoid countries with cases of coronavirus.

The latest issue of ISIS weekly newsletter al-Naba contains “directives to deal with epidemics” based on Islamic texts, Homeland Security Today reported on Friday, March 13.

ISIS advised “to put trust in God and seek refuge in Him from illnesses” and that “the healthy should not enter the land of the epidemic and the afflicted should not exit from it.” It also says to “cover the mouth when yawning and sneezing.”

It cited too a hadith, or saying of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, on covering water containers: “There is one night in the year when pestilence descends, and it does not pass by any vessel that is not covered or any waterskin that is not tied up, but some of that pestilence descends into it.” 

Hand washing is promoted as well: “[W]ash the hands before dipping them into vessels.”

The militant group has operations in countries with confirmed coronavirus cases, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Indonesia and the Philippines.

ISIS has been keeping tabs on the coronavirus outbreak in its newsletters since January, as per Homeland Security Today. One piece said that “many Muslims rushed to confirm that this epidemic is a punishment from God Almighty” in February, in reference to China’s treatment of Uighurs held in detention camps. Niña V. Guno/JB

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