Continuing my recent trend of Ramadan-themed posts, I found a piece from Foreign Policy, an American news publication focused on global affairs, current events, and domestic and international policy. The article talks about the current debate about fasting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although fasting is one of the Five Pillars in Islam its connection to COVID-19 has been brought into question. Although fasting would not directly cause the virus many have asked whether fasting from water and food would cause undue stress on the immune system, making an individual more susceptible to contracting the virus. Many countries have placed restrictions on traditional Ramadan practices like prayer, as my previous posts have discussed. But according to the article Al-Azhar University in Cairo, which is considered to be the top religious authority for Sunni Muslims released a statement that said “Not fasting during Ramadan due to coronavirus is not permissible, and fasting is a duty and a must for Muslims.”
While there is no scientific evidence that fasting makes a person more susceptible to contracting the virus, a source from the article even argues the opposite, I still think this is an interesting dynamic between one’s faith and one’s health that is happening in our world right now.