Umm Muhammed Umar

Radio Islam spoke to Mufti Zeeyad Ravat, who resides in Australia, about that country’s handling of the pandemic, on the Under the Radar slot. Admittedly, there is a perception that the regulations in Australia regarding the pandemic are quite stringent.

Mufti Ravat said that Melbourne alone witnessed a difficult 264 days in lockdown. He added that, however, Western media dictates how a place is portrayed. Currently in South Africa, Mufti Ravat said that he receives dozens of calls and messages from Australia, warning him not to leave home in South Africa. This was due to the media reporting negatively about the pandemic situation in South Africa. Australians are getting about South Africa in a very negative way. He said, “Of course we need to take caution………… but it’s not that bad. And walking around and meeting people and doing shopping.” He added, “Honestly, protests are happening. There is a large amount of the population that does not want to vaccinate, and they feel it’s their freedom that has been taken away from them. And the government is pushing very hard for vaccination.”

Mufti Ravat explained that he had had to remove his children from their school this year, as being vaccinated was a requirement at that school, and place them in another school which did not require learners to be vaccinated. Nevertheless, he said that those who were not vaccinated were living a peaceful life, and were not being harassed. Mufti Ravat said that the protests are growing, “Honestly, it’s happening so often now, that no one even cares.” He said that what he had been missing was being able to travel, but that his life under the COVID restrictions was easier and more peaceful than prior to the restrictions. There was much more time available to reflect and teach.

Further, according to Mufti Ravat, while the Australian government had been stringent in applying its pandemic rules, businesses that were losing money were recompensed. He said, “The Australian government, every month, paid your rent for you. They gave large packages to people. People that had the COVID, to take a test, they were getting $500 each. So, they did get a lot of money out of it.” He added, “So I think it’s fair to say, yes, they overreacted to it.  Definitely it was difficult, but balancing it off, I think the people also got a lot out of the government’s giving them grants and giving them benefits.”