11:39am Tuesday 28th July 2009
By Alex Lewis
MUSLIMS working for St Albans District Council have been thrown into the national media glare for declining to combat swine flu with alcohol-based disinfectant on religious grounds.
The Mail on Sunday reported that council employees had refused to use the gels because alcohol is banned by the Quran, and claimed the alcohol- free alternative which the authority allowed them to use have been proved by “studies” to be less effective in killing bugs.
It also claimed there was no reason why pious Muslims should not use the gels, as the Quran allowed alcohol for medicinal purposes.
Comments on the paper's website call for the Muslim workers to be sacked for putting their principles before their duties and the health of colleagues and the public.
But Rose Child of the West Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust said there was little evidence on the comparitive effectiveness of different hand gels.
She said: “Individuals should clean their hands frequently, especially after coughing, sneezing and using tissues. Soap and water is a perfectly effective means of cleaning hands; however microbicidal hand-rubs can be used as an alternative.”
Council leader Robert Donald told the Review: “We offered staff the option of using alcohol-free gel, not just for religious reasons but because some people are alergic to alcohol, and two took up our offer.
“The Mail on Sunday must have been desperate for a story.”
Abdul Hakim,who represents the multilingual mosque in Hatfield Road, St Albans, said individual Muslims had to make up their own minds on whether touch alcohol and follow their consciences.
He said: “I think it depends on an individual basis and the person. Everyone's beliefs are different when it comes to faith.”
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