Preacher gets dengue

JAKARTA (JP): Celebrated Moslem preacher Zainuddin M.Z. has become the latest victim of the dengue fever outbreak which has spread throughout the country.

Zainuddin was forced to call off scheduled sermons for mass prayer gatherings at the Sabilul Hasanah Islamic Boarding School in Musi Banyuasin (Muba) regency and the South Sumatra capital of Palembang Saturday.

The chairman of the boarding school, M. Mudarris, was quoted by Antara as saying that he was informed by telephone Saturday morning that the preacher had been admitted to the Gandaria Hospital in South Jakarta.

The news came as an obvious disappointment to the large crowd already gathered at the boarding school, many who had traveled from all over Palembang and nearby Muba regency.

The people, however, chanted the Al-Fatihah prayer wishing Zainuddin a speedy recovery. Another Jakarta-based preacher, Sayyid Al Aqil Husein Al Munawar, came to replace Zainuddin.

The dengue outbreak has claimed 207 lives and hospitalized 7,585 people. (byg)