President Donald Trump said Saturday he hopes US Muslims will be held to the same social distancing standards during Ramadan as Christians at Easter when a number of faithful chafed against coronavirus-related restrictions on large gatherings.
The US president made the comments after being asked to defend a retweet of a conservative commentator who seemed to question whether Muslims would be treated with the same severity as Christians who broke social distancing rules.
“I would say that there could be a difference,” Trump said during his daily coronavirus press conference. “And we’ll have to see what will happen. Because I’ve seen a great disparity in this country.”
Ramadan, which begins at sunset on Thursday, falls a week and a half after Easter when some Christians bucked public health regulations to attend illicit services.
Asked whether he thought imams would refuse to follow social distancing orders, Trump responded: “No, I don’t think that at all.”
“I am somebody that believes in faith. And it matters not what your faith is. But our politicians seem to treat different faiths very differently.”
More than 700,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the United States, forcing religious communities across the country to shutter their doors.
The Islamic Society of North America, alongside Muslim medical experts, has urged the suspension of group prayers, among other gatherings.
Jewish Americans were likewise forced to turn traditional Passover seders into virtual affairs when the eight-day holiday began at sundown on April 8.
And pastors at two megachurches in Florida and Louisiana have been arrested on misdemeanor charges for flouting stay-at-home orders.
“The Christian faith is treated much differently than it was,” Trump added on Saturday, “and I think it’s treated very unfairly.”
