Why Muslim Nations Can’t Handle the Coronavirus
The Muslim world's reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic helps to highlight some important aspects of the Islamic faith. It also reveals some important differences between Islam and Christianity.
Of course, there are similarities as well. The main one is that Muslims, like Christians, are praying to God to spare them and their loved ones from the contagion.
Still, the differences are quite instructive. One of the chief differences is that many Muslims have a fatalistic attitude toward life. When a Muslim says inshallah-"if Allah wills"-it's not quite the same thing as a Christian saying "God willing." Ours is a God of reason; if He permits something, even if we don't understand why, we can be sure it's for a good reason and, ultimately, for our own good. In other words, He's not capricious, and He abides by the laws He has established. In Islam, on the other hand, Allah is conceived of as pure will, unbounded by reason or the laws of nature. Things happen, not because there are natural causes and consequences, but because Allah wills each event directly.