The ABC had a story about this Imam Abu Hamzi who
was advising his flock no vaccinations or
medications as against aislamic law.
The story was pulled and replaced with poor
man who unluckily got virus and in coma for six weeks.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-21/anti-medication-mosque-leader-abu-hamza-covid-melbourne/100553880With tubes up his nose, the man can barely reach a whisper as he speaks in a 49-second video clip.
Key points:
- An influential religious leader has been reluctant to actively promote vaccines
- Doctors say natural remedies cannot be used to prevent or treat COVID-19
- Vaccine rates have risen, but COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracies continue to spread
His beard and hair are greying, he has dark circles around his eyes and the skin on his face is peeling.
"I've had a really rough month," he gasps.
"I never believed COVID existed … Believe me, it's real … Do the right thing by your family, by the community … I was in a coma for ten days. Please, please, please, don't be naive like me."
The video was uploaded to Facebook by the MyCentre mosque in Broadmeadows, in Melbourne's north, last week and viewed 11,000 times.
The man in the video did not mention vaccines, but the post triggered a flurry of comments, highlighting the ongoing struggle between community members who support the jab and a vocal minority who are determined to instil doubt about vaccinations.
"The vaccine is what I can do best for my family," one person wrote. "Get the bloody vax people," said another.
Others offered prayers to the sick man, but used the platform to double down on anti-vaccination sentiment. "They create the problem then try [selling] the pill to the masses. Don't be fooled into their trickery," wrote one woman, who has previously shared COVID-19 conspiracy videos.
The suburbs around the mosque have been worst affected by Melbourne's Delta outbreak, and there are still about 2,300 residents in the City of Hume battling the virus.
Imam Abu Hamza has urged community members to take COVID-19 seriously, but stopped short of encouraging or promoting vaccinations.(ABC News: Ron Ekkel (file photo))The spiritual leader of the MyCentre mosque is imam Samir Mohtadi, also known as Abu Hamza.
In recent months, as other Melbourne-based imams and Australia's Grand Mufti have publicly urged Muslims to take the jab, Abu Hamza has not publicly encouraged the community to get vaccinated.
A screenshot of an October 15 video, where Abu Hamza talks about the herb collection that helps him "stay healthy".(Facebook: IISNA MyCentre)Instead, in social media videos to more than 40,000 of the mosque's online followers, Abu Hamza has promoted how he "stays healthy", by using the likes of honey, ginger, olive oil and turmeric to boost the immune system.
In a video posted on October 6, titled 'Is it unlawful to take the vaccine?', Abu Hamza acknowledged that he had "upset a lot of people".
"I have been anti-medication all my life. I'm anti-pharmaceutical doctors," he said.
"But I do … seek the natural doctors. I don't take Panadol, Panadeine, Aspirin, Pana-anything.
"Is it forbidden, is it unlawful, is it Haram to seek medicine and doctors? No, don't get me wrong."
"I respect the people that take the vaccine and I respect the people that don't take the vaccine."
At a time when Muslims are over-represented in Melbourne's hospitals, Abu Hamza's reluctance to actively promote the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines is at odds with the leaders of the Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV), who have been staunchly pro-vaccination.
Several Muslim doctors have also told the ABC they have been concerned about the timing of Abu Hamza’s promotion of so-called natural remedies.
Abu Hamza declined to be interviewed, but when contacted by the ABC, he said: "I'm extremely cautious with what I say."
Publicly, the imam has regularly called for the mosque community to get tested if COVID symptoms emerge, and to pray for those suffering from the virus.
Last month, he told people to take to take "extreme precautions" as the virus spread through the community, but stopped short of telling them to get vaccinated.
In April, Abu Hamza hosted a Q&A session at the mosque with a doctor who debunked common misconceptions about vaccines. His own family members fell sick with COVID last year, and he urged people not to break the law by participating in lockdown protests.
'Virtually all patients' unvaccinated in intensive care
