[Al Arabiya Latest] A prominent Saudi cleric said the swine flu virus, which has been declared a pandemic, does not exist and said the fuss about the H1N1 virus was instigated by those who were likely to gain financially, press reports said Wednesday. Sheikh Saleh al-Luhaidan made the comments while giving a lecture at a mosque in the Saudi capital of Riyadh and was asked if it was religiously permitted for Muslims to stop going to mosques and pray at home for fear of swine flu, the London-based Asharq al-Awsat reported.
"I am not even sure this virus exists," Luhaidan replied. "For example, this year we did not have more funerals in Ramadan than last year. Where is this virus everyone is talking about?"
Luhaidan said he believed the fuss about the virus was media hyperbole and said it was most likely initiated by a select few who want to achieve material gain by making people live in fear of the virus.
In response to Luhaidan's statement, Dr. Khaled Abdul-Ghaffar, dean of the Medical School at the University of Imam Mohamed bin Saud, said he was sure swine flu existed and that it was a "scientifically proven" virus.
"It is indeed striking that the number of swine flu cases during the holy month of Ramadan was minimal," he said in the same lecture. "It is God's mercy that worshippers in the lesser pilgrimage (known as Omra) were protected from the virus."
Abdul-Ghaffar, however, did stress that swine flu was a virus of medium danger and is sometimes milder than the common flu.
But Luhaidan stressed that he knows a lot of people who were not vaccinated and still have not contracted swine flu.
In response, Abdul-Ghaffar insisted that swine flu is a virus people should worry about and that precautions are necessary.
"If the necessary measures are not taken, the virus becomes life-threatening and it can trigger very dangerous complications," he said.
As countries across the world launch mass vaccination plans many people remain skeptical about the getting vaccinated.
According to a poll on Al Arabiya asking if people would take the swine flu vaccine 48 percent of voters voted "No way -- It is totally unnecessary" and only 17 percent said they thought it was necessary.
Another 20 percent said they were waiting to see how effective the vaccine was and 14 percent voted "Only if I am forced to."