By IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, 21 May 2015: Taking a departure from traditional use of mosque pulpit only for religious issues, India’s most influential Muslim organization has called upon the Muslim community to use Friday Sermons to spread public awareness about health issues also particularly deadly diseases like cancer which is spreading in the country like an epidemic.
Newly-appointed Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Mohammad Salim Engineer on Thursday expressed deep concern over the steep rise in cancer disease in the country – medical experts have recently issued a warning that by 2025, there could be 500 percent increase in cancer cases in India.
While expressing serious concern over the grim health situation caused by the extraordinary rise in cancer disease in the country, he termed the warning as “shocking and disturbing”.
IIT-Kanpur alumnus and Associate Professor at NIIT-Jaipur, Salim Engineer, who was appointed to Jamaat’s second most powerful position earlier this month, has demanded the central government to take effective steps to check cancer at national level and “ensure necessary budget and implementation of comprehensive plans in order to improve overall health of the people.”
Mohammad Salim Engineer (in black cap) speaking to media in Jaipur on 20 May 2015 over killing of Dalits in Nagaur district of Rajasthan.
Besides advising the government to effectively ban items that cause cancer and implement schemes to create public awareness about them, the Jamaat leader also called upon the Muslim community to execute its responsibility to check the deadly disease.
“The Muslim society can play a big role in controlling this deadly disease; especially through Friday Sermons, awareness can be created about smoking – the main cause of cancer,” said Salim Engineer adding that such awareness campaign could reduce the threat level of spread of cancer.
He made a special appeal to youths to use social media platforms for this social cause also.
“Youths should use social media also for campaign against cancer so that the message about protection of human life could be spread,” said the Jamaat leader.
