Click to play videoJammu: Those who indulge in sexual relations outside marriage will not be spared. Their bodies will rot in hell on the day of judgement.
Those are quotes from the Quran that prohibit promiscuous behaviour. And Imam Mohamad Ashraf Qasim knows the impact they have on listeners.
A booklet on AIDS and teachings of Islam has become a regular discussion point at madrassas and mosques in Jammu and Kashmir.
“There are different dimensions to HIV awareness which doctors tell you,” says Mohamad Ashraf Qasim.
Sikh scholar Dr Gurmeet Singh gives the same message but a different avatar.
“A true Sikh has to follow the path of faithfulness. There is no space for the other woman in his life,” says Gurmeet Singh.
Dr Gurmeet Singh has culled 57 phrases from the Gurbani that preach faithfulness to one's life partner and saying no to drugs. It will now be compiled into a booklet by the State AIDS Control Society
"Self discipline is very important and that's what all religions preach. And this can play an important role in preventing this epidemic,” says Singh.
Jammu and Kashmir was the first state to involve religious leaders and teachings in its AIDS awareness campaign.
“When we talk about HIV/AIDS, it is not only about disseminating awareness and sustaining awareness and bringing it to a threshold where it can initiate behaviourial changes. And religious leaders have the power to do that,” says Director, State AIDS Control Society, MA Wani.
840 Imams have already been trained to spread the message. Now Sikh granthis will form a core group of the next phase of the campaign.
If religion has the power to move masses then the teachings here are clearly making a difference. If nothing else, bridging this gap between science and religion will hopefully be the right antidote to the HIV virus.
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