“As per reports, 27 out of 35 members of the Tablighi Jamaat tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus in Raiwind in Lahore in the Punjab region of Pakistan. The Islamic outfit had organised a religious congregation for 1200 people. The event was later called off thus making it difficult for the members to reach home, amidst the government-sanctioned lockdown. The Markaz was sealed and turned into a quarantine facility, housing 25 people.”

The organizers and many of those who had planned to attend almost certainly believed that Allah would protect them from the coronavirus, as many Muslim preachers have been insisting.

“Pakistan: Tablighi Jamaat member stabs policeman while trying to escape quarantine after 2 dozen members test positive for coronavirus,” OpIndia, March 31, 2020: