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Georgia Mosques to Remain Closed During Ramadhan, Despite Governor Kemp's Latest Order, Following Advice of Health Officials

April 22, 2020  

VIDEO, CAIR-Georgia Director, Abdullah Jaber, Responds to Governor’s Plan to ‘Reopen’ State Amid COVID-19 Pandemic	Masjid of the Dalton Islamic Center, Dalton, GA, USA

 

CAIR-GA: Georgia Mosques to Remain Closed During Ramadhan Despite Governor Kemp’s Latest Order

By Ibrahim Hooper April 22, 2020 3:12 pm

(ATLANTA, GA – 4/22/2020) —

The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia), the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Muslims of the United States of America (MOUSA), and Majlis Ash-Shura today announced that a coalition of Georgia’s largest mosques have agreed to remain closed during the month of Ramadan, which begins on or about April 24, despite Governor Kemp’s new executive order permitting Georgians to return to houses of worship.

During the Islamic holy month of Ramadhan, Muslims fast between dawn to sunset. Muslims also normally engage in communal acts of worship, including special evening prayers (tarawih prayers) and community dinners (iftars).

However, Islamic theology teaches that the “highest objective is to protect and preserve life,” and that “avoiding harm takes precedence over acquiring benefit.” Despite Governor Kemp’s announcement that houses of worship can hold limited religious services, Georgia’s largest mosques are advising all American Muslims to continue practicing social distancing to protect members of the public from the spread of COVID-19.

In a statement, CAIR-Georgia Executive Director Abdullah Jaber said:

“During the holy month of Ramadan, Georgia Muslims normally gather at houses of worship to perform extra prayers to God, host community dinners, and engage in other acts of devotion. However, Georgia Muslims also recognize that protecting human life is more important than visiting our houses of worship.

“Based on medical and scientific advice, we firmly believe that re-opening houses of worship right now would pose a danger to the public. Major mosques across Georgia, therefore, plan to remain closed until medical and scientific experts confirm that it is safe for us to return to houses of worship.”

The coalition of Georgia mosques recommends that all mosques and community centers implement online and other creative platforms to engage and fulfill the spiritual, social, and educational needs of their community. Moving these services to virtual platforms fulfills a communal need while limiting the possibility of harms occurring from the lack of social distancing.

CAIR-Georgia is a chapter of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.

CONTACT: CAIR-GA Executive Director Abdullah Jaber, 404-464-6612, ajaber@cair.com

https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-ga-georgia-mosques-to-remain-closed-during-ramadan-despite-governor-kemps-latest-order/

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Will places of worship go back to in-person services?

April 21, 2020 By Shelia Poole Ty Tagami,

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Gov. Brian Kemp’s Monday announcement reopening businesses included confirmation that Georgia’s houses of worship could hold in-person services if safety protocols, including social distancing, are met. But some are reluctant to meet in person this weekend wondering whether they could do it safely with many people still falling ill and dying of the coronavirus.

Kemp has wrestled with banning in-person religious services and has not ordered churches to close during the pandemic. Instead, he has recommended houses of worship hold services in alternate ways.

“I urge faith leaders to continue to help us in this effort and keep their congregations safe by heeding the advice of public health officials. Of course, online, call-in, or drive-in services remain good options for religious institutions,” he said Monday.

Many faith institutions have switched to livestreaming services, others are holding services in parking lots — drive-in movie style — with members listening through radios from their cars. Still, a few continued to hold regular services.

Several outbreaks around the nation have been tied to church-related events and services, ranging from choir rehearsals to funerals.

In early April, state troopers interrupted a service at a Statesboro church after its congregation defied the governor’s ban on large public gatherings. Leaders of Redeeming Love Church of God the Bibleway and its parent organization said they plan to continue meeting.

“We haven’t stopped,” said Clayton Cowart, who leads the organization, and said no one from their church has died or gotten sick from the virus. “I’m more disappointed with the people of faith,” he said. “It seems that now we’ve become people of fear.”

Many still refuse to gather, especially those who are older or have underlying medical conditions, since both raise their risk of death from infection.

“I don’t care what the governor says. I don’t care what the president says,” said Evelyn Benton, 72, who attends Nimno AME Church in Nicholson in Jackson County. “I have sense to stay out of harm’s way. I only go to the grocery store and the pharmacy.”

Mike Griffin, spokesman for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board in Duluth, said the board is developing guidelines for its 3,600 member churches, a process that was already in the works.

“I think churches are going to be extremely cautious about moving towards person-to-person,” he said.

Those that do will likely hold only brief services with church members spread wide apart, careful not to touch things. Churches that do hold services are advised to deep clean, carefully consider bathroom access, supply masks and check the temperature of all who enter.

What churches decide to do may vary from church to church.

Some were critical of Kemp’s decision.

“We‘re deeply concerned that black, brown and poor people will bear the brunt of this,” said The Rev. Shanan Jones, senior pastor of The Gathering Baptist Church in College Park. His church moved online March 22 will not hold in-person services for the foreseeable future. “I’m going to continue to listen to the epidemiologists. This is totally backwards. We’re going to see a spike again and we’re going to be right back where we were.”

Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, presiding prelate of the 6th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, which comprises more than 500 churches in Georgia, banned Sunday gatherings.

“This decision by the governor puts economic interest above the safety and well-being of the citizens of Georgia,” he said. “There is no data which justifies or gives credibility to the governor’s decision.”

Jackson said churches have either held services online or held conference calls with congregants and will continue doing so.

Other religious leaders are reviewing Kemp’s plan.

Dr. Naseer Humayun, who speaks for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Norcross, among Georgia’s largest Islamic groups, said prayer at mosques must be done shoulder-to-shoulder. That clearly violates public health advisories and the governor’s mandate for people in groups to remain 6-feet apart, so there are no plans to open their mosque for services this weekend. His community is awaiting guidance from the national leadership in Maryland. “I’ve not heard anything from the headquarters about opening,” he said.

Bishop Robert C. Wright, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, plans a videoconference with clergy this week before deciding when and how to reopen the diocese’s 117 worship locations. A similar meeting is planned for Catholic leaders of the Atlanta Archdiocese.

Some have found solace in the shift to online services, since more people may be watching. Rev. Victor Morgan, the rector of St. Lukes Church Episcopal Church in Blue Ridge, has been holding drive-in services that have been broadcast online, and people have been watching from as far as England.

People are anxious for a return to normal services, he said, but many in his church are retirees or have medical issues. He said he is not ready to decide when he will reopen and is focused instead on preparing for his Sunday service.

“The people can still watch at home on the computer screen,” he said.

https://www.ajc.com/news/local/will-places-worship-hold-person-services-this-week/Xb1qTGByAaknyH65Z06HxN/

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President Trump says he disagrees with Gov. Kemp’s decision to reopen certain businesses

WTOC Staff, April 22, 2020

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) -

President Donald Trump said he's prepared to announce new guidelines allowing some states to quickly ease up on social distancing even as business leaders told him they need more coronavirus testing and personal protective equipment.

President Donald Trump mentioned Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s directive to begin reopening select businesses as early as Friday during a news conference.

President Trump stated that he thought the governor’s order was too soon and could be in violation of the suggested guidelines from the White House. President Trump continued to say that it was up to governors to do what they thought was best.

“I told the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, that I disagree strongly with his decision to open certain facilities which are in violation of the Phase 1 guidelines for the incredible people of Georgia,” Trump said.

Gov. Kemp tweeted Wednesday night that he did have a conversation with President Trump about Georgia’s plan.

In one of Gov. Kemp’s tweets, he states “our next measured step is driven by data and guided by state public health officials. We will continue with this approach to protect the lives - and livelihoods - of all Georgians.”

Gov. Kemp stated Monday that gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, barbers, cosmetologist, hair designers, nail care artists, their respective schools and massage therapists can begin basic operations on Friday, April 24.

According to the governor’s office, minimum basic operations include but are not limited to screening workers for fever and respiratory illness, enhancing workplace sanitation, wearing masks and gloves, separating workplaces by six feet, teleworking if possible and staggered shifts.

Theaters, private social clubs and dine-in services at restaurants will be allowed to reopen on Monday, April 27, with specific social distancing guidelines and sanitation mandates..

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/president-trump-says-he-disagrees-with-gov-kemps-decision-to-reopen-certain-businesses/ar-BB133Jec

Health officials worry Gov. Kemp reopening Georgia too soon

Ryan Kruger

CNBC, April 22, 2020

Some leading health experts are criticizing Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to reopen several businesses on Friday.

“We were late to close the state and now I think we’re definitely erring on the side of rushing to re-open the state before we have the pieces in place to do that,” said Dr. Harry Heiman, a Public Health Expert from Georgia State University.

Tuesday, Heiman took part in a virtual townhall meeting with Gwinnett Democratic congressional candidate Carolyn Bourdeaux.

Heiman said the governor was making a decision based on economics and not health.

“What’s good for business isn’t always good for the people working in those businesses. And for the communities in general,” Heiman said.

Kemp has said businesses like gyms, barbershops and nail salons can open on Friday.

While restaurants can reopen their dining rooms this upcoming Monday.

The Governor says there will be increased guidelines about cleanliness and social distancing.

But others worry those measures won’t be enough.

“Many people, including myself, are really worried about whether the state is ready to do this,” said Bourdeaux.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/health-officials-worry-gov-kemp-reopening-georgia-too-soon/ar-BB130BOZ

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Georgia Risks Second Coronavirus Wave With Sudden Reopening of Businesses

Ed Kilgore

The Intelligencer, April 22, 2020

When Brian Kemp was running for governor of Georgia in 2018, he made a point of boasting that he enjoyed offending people who didn’t share his right-wing views, calling himself a “politically incorrect conservative.” The not-so-subtle message was that he’d thrill supporters by going as far as possible to be a jerk, just like his beloved President Trump:

Well, in the great emergency that he and other governors are facing right now, Kemp is living down to the image he projected back then. With coronavirus cases still rising in his hard-hit state (just under 20,000, with 775 deaths), Kemp has hearkened to Trump’s pleas for the earliest possible easing of countermeasures by taking the national lead on reopening businesses, as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported:

The governor’s order will allow gyms, bowling alleys, salons and some other indoor facilities closed under his shelter in place order to resume operations by Friday if they comply with social distancing requirements and meet other safety standards. 

And restaurants, which were banned from in-person dining, will be allowed to reopen on April 27 if they meet guidelines his office will release later this week.

Churches will be allowed to resume in-person services as well. And Kemp doesn’t care if the secular-socialist hippie scientists and public-health experts don’t like it:

“I don’t give a damn about politics now,” said Kemp, who said he’s more concerned about Georgians “going broke worried about whether they can feed their children and make the mortgage payment….”

Pilloried by public health experts and others for waiting for weeks before imposing a statewide shelter-in-place order, Kemp is now facing mounting pushback from critics who say he should immediately restart sectors of the economy that languished during the lockdown. 

So Kemp’s acting before anybody can get to his right by parading around the state capital with shooting irons and Trump signs demanding an end to the lockdown.

It’s either a huge gamble for Kemp or a blunt decision that jobs and profits matter more than lives. As CNN notes, it flies in the face of what epidemiologists would suggest:

The move, which is even more aggressive than President Donald Trump’s optimistic call for a May 1 reopening, came after a week in which total US pandemic deaths doubled to more than 42,000. There is also no genuine sign that the Peach State’s duel with the virus is anywhere near over. Kemp acted as fellow southern states South Carolina and Tennessee also announced plans to ease some social distancing measures….

Kemp’s decision also appears to fly in the face of evidence from foreign states and territories such as Singapore and Hong Kong, and the city of Harbin in China, which saw coronavirus infections quickly erupt after social distancing restrictions were lifted or when residents returned from abroad.

There’s nothing symbolic about the reopening, either: Kemp made it clear his plans would preempt any local shutdown plans or ordinances. Mayors appeared to have been blindsided by the governor’s action as the New York Times reports:

Atlanta’s mayor, Keisha Lance Bottom, urged residents to ignore Mr. Kemp’s order and continue to stay at home, relying on her bully pulpit as mayor because she said she did not have the authority to supersede the governor’s decision inside city limits….

In an interview with CNN, Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. of Augusta, Georgia’s second-largest city, said that he had been caught off guard by the governor’s decision and questioned the wisdom of it.

He pointed out that gyms, barbershops and salons were “places where we’re all in close proximity to one another,” adding, “Without a series of educational efforts to those industries, it’s going to be extremely difficult for us to continue to flatten the curve.”

And the reaction among public-health experts in and beyond Georgia hasn’t been positive, as Greg Bluestein reports:

Dr. Harry Heiman of Georgia State University’s School of Public Health said he was skeptical that Georgia was ready for a “worst-case scenario” if the disease re-emerges. And Dr. Marc Lipsitch of Harvard University said it’s “almost for certain” Georgia would be hit again by another wave of the disease. 

Georgia is far behind the curve in testing capacity, though Kemp is pledging to play catch-up in that arena — perhaps too late.

Kemp’s defenders will likely cite his words conditioning the reopening of businesses on checking off “20 guidelines set out by the governor’s office, including screening workers for symptoms of the disease, improving workplace sanitation, wearing masks and gloves if appropriate, separating workspaces by at least six feet, and teleworking when possible.” That sounds nice, but who, exactly, is going to enforce these conditions among tens of thousands of businesses after the governor has made it clear that getting the economy going is the most important priority?

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis at the peak of the state shutdown found that “the Department of Public Safety had issued just 18 citations from April 3, when the order took effect, through Tuesday [April 14]. The other main state agency enforcing the law, the Department of Natural Resources, reported just one criminal charge.” Local police were generally laying off violators on the grounds of minimizing their own exposure to COVID-19 and because the last thing they want to do is add to the population of dangerously crowded jails.

As someone who has been in Georgia since early March, in and out of quarantine, I can attest that citizens are just now beginning to observe social-distancing norms with any seriousness. An “all-clear” sign from the governor is all many will need to go back to the status quo ante.

Brian Kemp is playing with fire. But in fairness, he never promised Georgians anything but recklessness from the get-go.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/georgia-risks-second-coronavirus-wave-with-sudden-reopening-of-businesses/ar-BB12YNqh

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