Ljubljana - Nevzet Porić, mufti of the Islamic community in Slovenia, stressed in his address marking Eid al-Fitr on Monday morning that the Covid-19 epidemic had brought all the weaknesses of the society to the surface in the last couple of years. He warned that the Islamic community in Slovenia had received no Covid aid form the state.

Porić pointed to domestic violence, poverty, lack of solidarity, double standards and the selfishness that many nations attested during the distribution of medical equipment and vaccines.

"We used to live in a world where we thought there were certain standards between nations and between people in general that were the same for everyone. This was particularly emphasised in the European community of nations.

"With the emergence of the epidemic, it has become clear that we live in a cruel time and a place of selfishness", added the mufti, pointing to the harmful impact of misinformation on peoples' opinions about the epidemic and its containment.

The epidemic has also affected relations between people, and within families and young people, he said. Meanwhile, unemployment has increased and many people in Slovenia are living below the poverty line, he added.

"As a community, we have helped people to the best of our ability. I would like to stress that the Islamic Community in Slovenia did not receive any aid from the stimulus packages adopted by the Slovenian government to mitigate the consequences of the epidemic," Porić pointed out, thanking believers for their support during this time.

Turning to the situation in the world, he assessed it as worrying: "We stand for peace and sympathise with all those who are displaced from their homes, no matter which part of the world we are talking about. We must respect the dignity of all, regardless of ethnicity, religion, nation or colour."