Canadian Imam Council Offers Raffle For Mecca Tickets As Incentive For Muslims To Get Fully Vaccinated

The Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC), a leading Muslim organization based in Calgary, Alberta, is urging Canadian Muslims to get vaccinated against COVID-19 - and is offering a spiritual inducement to do so.

ISCC says that anyone who gets fully vaccinated between August 1 and October 31 will be eligible to enter a lottery to draw two tickets for a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

In a joint statement, the organization voiced its support for the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Life is a precious gift of Allah. We are responsible to protect our own lives and the lives of fellow humans. Similarly, health is a major blessing of Allah. We are responsible to keep ourselves healthy and do not cause any harm to other people’s health. A healthy person can serve almighty Allah and the community better than an ill person. Therefore, taking care of our own health and the health of other people is our Islamic duty. Several Ahadith are available on the importance of keeping healthy,” it read.

Pictured: Mahmoud OmarMahmoud Omar, the imam of Al Rashid in Edmonton, Alberta, told AMT why he was in favor of the vaccine.

“My message to you and my encouragement to you is go take the vaccine,” he said. “We here in the masjid see over three thousand brothers and sisters coming for the Jumu’ah prayer. They are praying foot to foot, shoulder to shoulder, they were socializing, but my brothers and sisters, we want this to continue. We don’t want to go back on social distancing and restrictions, so my advice to you is to go take the vaccine.”

The ISCC, which includes a combination of imams from all denominations of Islam that aim to help the government, media and Canadians, in general, understand Islam and the issues concerning Muslims, said there is “overwhelming undeniable scientific evidence” that the virus and its variants are dangerous and contagious, and strongly advise all Canadian Muslims to get vaccinated.

“During this fourth wave of COVID-19, the majority of people who are getting sick due to COVID-19 variants are unvaccinated people. Therefore, it becomes our Islamic duty to get vaccinated as early as possible in order to protect health and save lives. Unless a medical expert has advised someone not to get vaccinated, delaying or avoiding vaccination puts life in danger, which goes against the teachings of Islam,” they said. “Therefore, we strongly urge unvaccinated Canadian Muslims (if there is anyone left) to get vaccinated. This will certainly help in saving lives.”

Several Canadian scientists believe the country is “officially” entering its fourth wave of infection. Canada’s seven-day average for new cases is nearly 1,300 per day, with a majority of cases occurring in Alberta, British Colombia, Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan. Among the high cases are also high vaccination rates, with about 60% of Canadians being fully vaccinated.