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Coronavirus Pandemic : Should congregational prayers in mosques be stopped?

The capital administration on Monday placed Islamabad's union council of Kot Hathial under quarantine after six members of the Tableeghi Jamaat residing in the area tested positive for coronavirus.

The development comes as four people in Sindh and two Palestinians tested positive for the virus after attending the Tableeghi Jamaat congregation in Raiwind — comprising tens of thousands of people — which was held from March 11 to 15 near Lahore.

It wasn't immediately clear if the Jamaat members who tested positive in Islamabad had attended the Raiwind Ijtima (congregation).

The six patients were part of a 13-member Tableeghi Jamaat delegation — including six Kyrgyzstan nationals and seven Pakistanis — that was staying at a mosque in Kot Hathial in the capital's Bhara Kahu area.

After a man from Kyrgyzstan who was a part of the preaching team tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, samples were sent for testing of the other members of the delegation as well.

The test results of five people came out positive on Monday, said Assistant Superintendent Police (ASP) Bhara Kahu Hamza Amanullah.

He said tests are also being carried out of the seven other members of the Jamaat, which included a madrassah student.

After the confirmation of the cases, the administration locked down Kot Hathial and deployed police at its entry and exit points.

"The entire area has been turned into a quarantine," ASP Amanullah said in a statement, adding that the district administration will get tests done of the residents of the locality.

A spokesperson for the Islamabad police said the Jamaat members who tested positive were quarantined in the mosque they were residing in.

A video provided to DawnNewsTV showed a police official announcing on a microphone that the mosque was being sealed for 14 days and requesting residents of the area to not visit it.

ASP Amanullah said all shops in the neighbourhood except grocery stores, milk shops and bakeries have been closed. The Bhara Kahu Bazaar will also be closed once orders in this regard are issued by the district administration, he added.

Many foreign delegations had arrived in Pakistan to attend the Tableeghi Jamaat congregation in Raiwind.

On Saturday, Gaza's first two cases of coronavirus were confirmed and according to a diplomat from the strip, both Palestinian men contracted the virus while visiting Pakistan to attend the Raiwind Ijtima.

Quoting a diplomat, National Public Radio journalist Diaa Hadid said on Monday that the men were in Pakistan to attend the congregation. She further said that the duo met a lot of people in Pakistan and then made their way home via airplanes and buses.

The United Nations has warned that a Covid-19 outbreak in Gaza could be disastrous, given the high poverty rates and weak healthcare infrastructure in the coastal strip that is under Israeli blockade.

Gaza’s health ministry said the two who tested positive had been held in quarantine since their return from Pakistan on Thursday and had not interacted with the wider population.

Raiwind moot held despite fears
Even though the fast spread of coronavirus in Pakistan had become a known fact at that point, the Raiwind Ijtima had gone on as planned. Punjab government officials had said at the time that all their "pleas" for postponing the congregation in view of the threat of Covid-19 spread had been rejected by the organisers.

While Pakistan has taken some measures to avoid a wider spread of coronavirus, no concrete steps have been taken to temporarily shut down daily and Friday congregations at mosques anywhere except Islamabad.

The capital territory's police on March 22 imposed Section 144 to ban all activities in mosques after sealing two in the Bhara Kahu area.

For the past two weeks, President Arif Alvi and Council of Islamic Ideology Chairman Qibla Ayaz have suggested that members of the public should not go out for Friday prayers if they feel unwell.

Even now, when Sindh is under lockdown for 15 days, no express instructions about daily and Friday prayer congregations were issued by the provincial government.

However, the Defence Housing Authority administration had earlier announced that mosques will be shut in their communities.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1543139/i...5-more-tableeghi-jamaat-members-test-positive
 
Coronavirus: Pakistan Ulema Coucil tells masses to avoid public gatherings, cooperate with govt

The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) on Monday called on the masses to heed the government's safety precautions and stay indoors, as the novel coronavirus continues to spread across Pakistan.

In a press release, the council called on people to stay indoors and do Zikr (remembrance of Allah) to avoid the virus. The PUC directed people to implement the government's safety precautions and cooperate with authorities.

"The safety precautions and directives issued by various Islamic countries against the coronavirus are neither against the tenets of Islam nor Shariah," read the press release. "Islam calls on Muslims to keep themselves as well as others safe. Saving a life is akin to saving the whole of humanity."

The council stated that it was Wajib (obligatory) upon Muslims to follow the directives of prayer leaders or Imams regarding mosques and offering prayers in such times.

The PUC called on Pakistanis to unite in the face of the threat posed by the coronavirus, saying that Islam calls for Tawakkul (trusting in God's plan) and taking actions based on wisdom as well.

The council cited the example of instructions given by Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) against escaping from an area infected by a plague or entering it. The PUC called on Muslims to implement the Sunnah in this regard.

Pakistan Army called in to tackle coronavirus crisis

The PUC's statement comes a few hours after the government called in the Pakistan Armed Forces troops to help control the pandemic which has claimed six lives so far and affected more than 850 in the country.

The interior ministry on Monday issued a notification according to which Pakistan Army troops were deployed throughout the country to help tackle the spread of the coronavirus.

"The Competent Authority, in exercise of the powers conferred under Article 245 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Section I31-A of CrPC is pleased to authorize deployment of sufficient strength of troops of Pakistan Army in Punjab province depending upon the requirement to be worked out by the provincial Government in liaison with the Army authorities in connection with the prevailing situation related to the spread of COVID-19 and matters ancillary thereto, subject to laws enforced in Pakistan," read the notification for Punjab.

Similar notifications were issued for Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/278864-co...o-avoid-public-gatherings-cooperate-with-govt
 
Congregations STILL haven't stopped in Pakistan.

Hope a stop is put to this before juma tomorrow.
 
Unlikely to happen if they keep ‘consulting the ulema’. The consultations have been going on since last Friday when every single muslim country except us had stopped congregations a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes strong decisions have to be taken to protect the people from themselves no matter how unpopular they may be. There is no point of a lockdown if the whole country congregates together once a week.
 
Congregational prayers to be 'restricted', says Noorul Haq Qadri

Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri has said that in a meeting between President Arif Alvi and religious scholars from across the country, it was decided that congregational prayers in mosques will be "restricted".

Old and sick people have been advised to pray at home with their families, Qadri said.

https://www.dawn.com/live-blog/
 
‘Prayers will be performed in congregation as usual,’ top clerics

There you go! Mullahs are refusing to cancel mass prayers. Friday prayers will also go ahead as usual!
 
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noor ul Haq Qadri on Thursday announced that the countrywide mosques would remain open amid coronavirus pandemic with limitations applied to congregation within their premises during five-time prayers and Friday prayer, ARY NEWS reported.

The decision was taken after consultation with the clerics during a meeting with President Arif Alvi via video conference, said the minister who added that top religious leaders had assured their complete support for preventive measures announced by the government.

He said that clerics had an important role to tackle coronavirus spread and they extended their complete support by announcing holidays in seminaries and postponing all conventions.

We are not shutting down the mosques but limiting congregations during prayer timings, he said adding that people aging above 50, children and sick should refrain from visiting mosques for collective prayers.

Citing worldwide examples of limitations being placed at offering collective prayers in mosques, the minister said fatwas have come from clerics of two Holy Mosques in Saudi Arabia and Al Azhar University for restricting collective prayers in time of the pandemic.

“Restrictions have been applied at the two Holy Mosques in Saudi Arabia, Al Aqsa Mosque, Karbala and mosques in other Muslim counties,” he said adding that even Azzan was tweaked globally, asking the people to stay at home for prayers.

He further clarified that the mosques will not be shut completely as recitation of Holy Quran and azkar would continue within their premises.

Speaking on Hajj 2020, he said that they were still in contact with the Saudi authorities on the matter and for the time being all agreements relating to accommodation, travel and other Hajj arrangements have been postponed.

It is pertinent to mention here that Saudi authorities on Thursday barred Pakistan from finalizing agreements relating to Hajj 2020 arrangements amid coronavirus pandemic.

According to a letter written by Saudi Hajj Minister Dr. Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten to Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noor ul Haq Qadri, Pakistan was asked to stop finalizing its agreements regarding housing, food and travel arrangements for now.

https://arynews.tv/en/coronavirus-mosques-open-clerics-restrictions-noor-ul-haq-qadri/
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sanity Prevails! How I wish the federal government had also taken this critical decision today. <a href="https://t.co/sUIfjE6f8z">pic.twitter.com/sUIfjE6f8z</a></p>— Maria Memon (@Maria_Memon) <a href="https://twitter.com/Maria_Memon/status/1243210781526802432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Sindh govt. bans Friday prayers in mosques.
 
Friday congregational prayers banned in Sindh: Murtaza Wahab

Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab has said that Friday congregational prayers are now banned in the province.
 
Wonder if this will go the same way as the lockdown where the provincial govts do what the center doesn't.
 
At the request of President Arif Alvi, the Grand Imam Sheikh of Egypt's Al Azhar University issued a Fatwa permitting the suspension of Friday prayers to control the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Palestine, Turkey, Syria and various other Muslim majority countries have suspended collective prayers but the Ulema of Pakistan have been unable to unite in fighting this virus and are continuing collective prayers despite efforts by the government to stop them.

Earlier, the spread of coronavirus in Palestine was linked to the Tableeghi Ijtima in Raiwind, which is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world. Pakistan was named a "super-spreader" by international media outlets in the Muslim world after failing to take necessary precautions in controlling the spread in its mosques.

Despite the Fatwa by Al Azhar university — which is more than a years old and considered as the Islamic world's most prestigious — Pakistani clerics continue offering collective prayers, ignoring the severe health risks they pose.

Mufti Taqi Usmani who is one of the most revered religious clerics of Pakistan announced on Wednesday that congregational prayers would continue with the exception of people older than 50, young kids and those that showed symptoms of the deadly coronavirus.

"It is not possible to get rid of corona without asking God for forgiveness," Usmani said.

Mufti Tariq Masood, another prominent religious cleric opposed Usmani's view and supported the government in advising a ban on congregational prayers. In an emotional message released on social media, Masood said: "We still don't understand the intensity of this virus. You can pray at home during this time and ask Allah for forgiveness and health."

A few days earlier, Allama Zameer Akhtar Naqvi claimed to possess the antidote for coronavirus. This claim was highly criticised by Pakistanis who believed that this claim showed how non-serious Pakistani clerics were in dealing with this global health crisis.

While scientists and pharmaceutical companies are working to develop a vaccine which could cure the virus, experts believe that such a vaccine could take anywhere between 12-18 months before it reaches the average consumer.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, Senator Sajjad Mir also commented on the Pakistani clerics' position on dealing with the virus. He said, "Please do not introduce a narrow-minded interpretation of our religion. Use common sense when interpreting religious texts".

Various members of the civil society and the government are collectively trying to convince the Ulema of Pakistan to unanimously agree on temporarily halting congregational prayers but as of the filing of this report, no consensus has been reached.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/279347-pa...pts-al-azhar-university-announces-major-fatwa
 
Sanity should prevail, are Pak mosque more important than Makkah and madina nazubillah, and are we more Muslim than rest of the Islamic world. Common sense and Pakistan eternal enemies.
 
Police needs to beat their behind in same mosque where they collect for prayers. Idiots risking all poor people lives on stake.
 
Pakistan Ulema Council welcomes decision not to close mosques

The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) as well as ulema and scholars across the country welcomed the decision not to close mosques.

They said that the decision regarding suspension of congregational prayers in Sindh was taken in light of a declaration from a meeting of the PUC and ulema.
 
3-5 people only in mosques for Juma, congregational prayers: Punjab govt

Following in the footsteps of Sindh and Balochistan, the Punjab government has issued a notification limiting the number of people that can attend Friday and congregational prayers in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

According to the notification, between three to five people including the imam and the muezzin, will be allowed to pray in mosques, while the remaining public will offer their prayers at home.
 
Same thing here in Bangladesh. Friday congregation prayer took place in every Masjid of the country with more people than usual. Many are saying that they are willing to die while praying, others are saying People wont be infected in the masjid. Government has no courage to stop the prayers & probably don't care about the outcome anyway
 
Hyderabad mosques hold congregations despite govt directives

Despite Sindh government's directives that citizens would not be allowed to offer congregational prayers, including Friday prayers, gatherings were seen at Faizan-e-Medina — managed by a religious organisation Dawat-e-Islami, in Hyderabad's Effendi Town.

Worshipers offer Friday prayers in Faizan-e-Medina mosque. — Photo by Umair Ali
A congregation was also reportedly held at a jamaat khana of the Bohra community in Burhani Nagar in Hyderabad. By the time the area's SSP arrived, people had returned home. Police and Rangers personnel were able to restrict congregations in other areas, however.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="ur" dir="rtl">رجعت پسند مذہبی طبقے کی جہالت کی وجہ سے کرونا کی وباء پاکستان میں پھیلی اب ہمیں کہتے ہیں اللہ کا عذاب ہے توبہ کریں، اللہ کا عذاب جہالت ہے جو ان لوگوں کی صورت میں ہم پر مسلط ہے، علماء جو علم اور عقل رکھتے ہیں اللہ کی نعمت ہیں ان کی قدر کریں لیکن جہلاء کو عالم کا درجہ دیناتباہی ہے</p>— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) <a href="https://twitter.com/fawadchaudhry/status/1243067407968677889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Scores defy ban on congregational prayer and flock to one of Karachi oldest mosque, New Memon Masjd.<br><br>Despite police and officials urging people to stay home and closing the mosque entrance, over a hundred people prayed on the premises.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CoronavirusPakistan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CoronavirusPakistan</a><br><br>Video via WhatsApp <a href="https://t.co/WJXU7T0UUi">pic.twitter.com/WJXU7T0UUi</a></p>— The Express Tribune (@etribune) <a href="https://twitter.com/etribune/status/1243494440360185857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
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PESHAWAR: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has urged people to follow guidelines of medical experts and authorities while offering prayers to contain the spread of coronavirus.

“When doctors recommend that people should take maximum precautionary measures and not go near affected people then people are bound to abide by these guidelines and follow instructions of the district administration in this regard,” he said while talking to Dawn from his residence in Dera Ismail Khan on Friday.

The JUI-F leader has restricted movement to his home since cases of Covid-19 surfaced in the country.

A source said that the Maulana has been with his family while his party has suspended activities till April 5. He said the JUI-F chief offered Friday prayers along with his family members at the mosque inside his residential compound.

Maulana Fazl said that scholars representing all schools of thought had already given their unanimous opinion on this issue and recommended that only muezzin, prayer leader and members of mosques’ administration should offer prayers in congregation.

He was of the opinion that if congregational prayers at mosques could result in spreading the virus, then people should not visit mosques and instead offer prayers at home.

He said that the coronavirus had engulfed the whole world and the disease had been declared as a pandemic. “The pandemic has forced every human being to seek blessings of God,” he said, adding that “our religion gives certain relaxations during extraordinary circumstances”. He said that people should not ignore guidelines of health experts and avoid unnecessary movements and activities.

“In the prevailing situation people can offer congregational prayers along with family members at their homes,” he said, adding that he fully endorsed decree of religious scholars in order to contain the disease.

Meanwhile, presence of the faithful in big mosques, including historic Mohabat Khan Mosque, Derwish Mosque, remained very thin during Friday congregations. Ulema urged people above the age of 50, those suffering from any disease and children to offer their prayers at their homes. Sunehri Mosque was closed for Friday prayers.

KHAR: Following the administration’s instruction to avoid visiting mosques, scores of people in Bajaur tribal district offered Friday prayers at their homes.

According to reports obtained from different areas of the district, scores of people did not visit mosques and opted to offer Friday prayers at their homes due to the fear of Covid-19 epidemic in the region.

In Mansehra, many prayer leaders shortened their sermons and recited short verses in Friday prayers in compliance with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s advisory issued to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the province.

“We are bound by our religion to obey government’s advisories and if it decrees not to offer even Friday congregations in order to contain the spread of Covid-19, we would follow its order in letter and spirit,” said Maulana Shafique, the prayer leader of the central mosque on Abbottabad Road.

Prayer leaders during Friday sermons urged worshipers to stay at their homes to follow the government advisory to avoid Covid-19 endemic.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1544352/fazl-endorses-ban-on-congregational-prayers
 
My sister says her church has shut its doors.

I think all British churches have.
 
Five imams arrested in Punjab for violating directions

Four prayer leaders were arrested by law enforcement agencies and police on violation of Friday prayers code at Gakhar Mandi.

The Punjab government had directed all the mosques to be locked for Juma prayer and general prayers for five times except only for five people, including the caller for prayer (muezzin) and prayer leader (imam), who would be allowed to perform prayers.
 
Karachi police register FIRs, detain prayer leaders for violating restrictions

Police in Karachi have registered 88 First Information Reports (FIRs) and detained at least 38 prayer leaders and mosque staff members across the city for violating the Sindh government's restrictions on congregational prayers.

The FIRs were registered under Sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 188 (omission to assist public servant when bound by law to give assistance) and 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 4 of the Sindh Epidemic Disease Act, 2014.

Among those booked were mosque members of the New Memon Masjid in Bolton Market and Baitul Salam Masjid in DHA.

https://www.dawn.com/live-blog/
 
Tableeghi Jamaat mosque in Hyderabad quarantined after member tests positive

Hyderabad police have sealed the headquarters of the Tableeghi Jamaat in the city after one of its members tested positive for the coronavirus yesterday.

SSP Hyderabad Adeel Chandio confirmed that the mosque where the headquarters are located has been placed under quarantine and that no one is allowed to come out as a precautionary measure to stop the spread of Covid-19.
 
KARACHI, Pakistan — Doctors are refusing to show up for work. Clerics are refusing to close their mosques. And despite orders to stay at home, children continue to pack streets across Pakistan to play cricket, their parents unwilling to quarantine them in crowded homes.

Pakistan is facing its biggest challenge ever: how to mobilize its broken state as the number of coronavirus cases rapidly spreads in the world’s fifth most populous country.

More than ever, the epidemic is showcasing weaknesses in the government, and the tensions between it and the country’s powerful military. Many within the country’s clerical establishment have refused to help, rejecting calls to limit mosque gatherings and bringing together at least 150,000 clerics from around the world this month in a religious gathering that helped spread the virus.

By Thursday afternoon, Pakistan’s cases had risen to 1,098, up from some 250 a week ago. Eight deaths have been reported. But many fear that the real numbers are much higher because of a lack of testing and, in some cases, suppressed information.

Already, Pakistan was struggling to provide electricity, water and adequate health care to its 220 million people. Diseases that have been controlled elsewhere, like rabies and polio, still persist here.

In recent weeks, as the coronavirus’s march across the globe was intensifying, Prime Minister Imran Khan played down its dangers. Pakistani officials bragged that the country was virus-free, but little was being done to set up testing anywhere.

Mr. Khan rejected calls from health care workers and provincial officials to enforce a lockdown, saying it would ruin the economy. Instead he urged citizens to practice social distancing and ordered everyone back to work, many returning to the sweltering, cramped factories that are the backbone of the economy.

Finally, the military stepped in on Sunday and sidelined Mr. Khan, working with provincial governments to deploy across the country and enforce a lockdown. They erected a maze of military checkpoints in cities like Karachi and sent baton-wielding police officers to violently disperse crowds.

But the action may be too late. Doctors and nurses are refusing to come to work, fed up with the weak initial response to contain the virus’s spread.

And the extremist clerics who often heckle or march against the civilian government, with the tacit approval of the military, are refusing to help. They largely ignored Mr. Khan’s call to limit Friday prayer gatherings. And even after the military deployed to try to enforce a lockdown, several clerics made videos that went viral in recent days, urging Pakistanis to come back to the mosques to worship.

To avoid mosques on Fridays would only invite God’s wrath at a time when people need his mercy, the clerics warned.

“We cannot skip Friday prayers because of fears of coronavirus,” said Shabbir Chand, a trader who attended a packed service in Karachi, the country’s biggest city. “Instead, we should gather in even larger numbers in mosques to pray to God to protect us from this fatal disease.”

A gathering of more than 150,000 people was held this month on the outskirts of Lahore by Tablighi Jamaat, one of the world’s largest proselytizing groups. The event was eventually called off at the urging of officials, but the participants had already come, sleeping and eating in close quarters.

The gathering proved a perfect transmission point, infecting indeterminate numbers of Pakistanis, at least two Kyrgyz citizens and two Palestinians who flew home and introduced the virus to the Gaza Strip. A similar gathering of Tablighi Jamaat in Malaysia infected more than 620 participants who then returned to half a dozen countries across Southeast Asia.

In Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, doctors and nurses at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, known as PIMS, who were tasked with screening coronavirus patients threatened to walk off the job this week if the government didn’t provide them with basic equipment like masks and gloves, which they received only on Saturday.

In one case at the hospital, government officials who had tested a woman who died there after showing symptoms of the coronavirus disease, Covid-19, refused to share her test results with doctors and nurses there and told them not to talk to journalists about it, they said.

The state has always been too impoverished to provide masks to the doctors and nurses at the emergency rooms of public hospitals, and they have always bought their own. But prices are surging as civilians hoard whatever they can, forcing emergency room doctors at PIMS to spend $70 of their $460 monthly salary on masks, some said.

While many of his colleagues called in sick this week, refusing to work as the virus surges, one doctor said he would continue to scrub in every day.

“We have no other way. We just can’t think about it. If we don’t fight it, who will?” the doctor said, adding that morale was low among his colleagues. “So we tell each other, ‘Our profession is sanctified from God. God will protect us.’ But those are just words.”

If the virus spreads much further, Pakistan’s entire health care system may melt down. In Karachi, a port city of some 20 million, there are only 600 beds in intensive care wards. There are 1,700 ventilators across the country, and last week, there were only 15,000 N95 masks for doctors and nurses, officials said.

“We don’t even have anti-rabies vaccines. How can we deal with thousands of people who will come here for coronavirus treatment?” said one doctor at a state-run hospital, who also complained that they had not been issued protective gear. As a government employee the doctor had been barred from talking to the media, and requested anonymity to express concerns.

In February, it became clear Pakistan was facing a major outbreak of coronavirus, as the disease surged in Iran, which quickly became an epicenter. Thousands of Pakistanis visit Iran every month for work or religious pilgrimage, and the countries share a long border.

Officials closed the border, but hundreds of Pakistanis managed to get back in anyway, either rerouting through Afghanistan to cross the border there, or bribing guards to get back in, witnesses and officials said.

In order to prevent thousands more from illegally crossing, officials decided to quarantine them in Taftan, a border town. But conditions were so bad — cramped and filthy, with the virus spreading quickly — that people being held there rioted, burning part of the camp down.

“We had no proper food, no screening of anyone for coronavirus,” said Syed Haider Ali, a student who had been quarantined at Taftan.

“It was not an attack on the camp, but an attempt to rescue ourselves from the animallike treatment we were receiving,” he said. “We appealed to the government to treat us like humans, but it fell on deaf ears.”

The government kept some 4,600 people under a 14-day quarantine in Taftan and let most go after they developed no symptoms. They returned to their villages and cities across Pakistan, where dozens turned out to have been infected when they tested by local health care workers.

Now the government is trying to build more quarantine centers, but they keep coming under attack by residents who live nearby and do not want the risk of another botched government operation.

In Karachi, military checkpoints have been erected every few hundred yards throughout the city and the police make rounds to enforce a lockdown, wielding batons to beat people back into their homes.

But in the slums, a carnival-like atmosphere has burst out onto the streets, with schools shut down and children playing in the narrow alleyways that are lined with open sewers. During a recent visit by journalists, the police swept through the neighborhood, yelling at people to get back indoors. But residents ignored them, and, outnumbered, the officers soon gave up.

Janangir Baloch, who lives with dozens of family members in a cramped three-story building, pointed at the children playing in the street as he explained why keeping them home was a lost cause.

“Tell me how I can observe social distancing when I live with 40 other people,” Mr. Baloch said. “It won’t work.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/world/asia/pakistan-coronavirus-tablighi-jamaat.html
 
Abdullah719 said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Scores defy ban on congregational prayer and flock to one of Karachi oldest mosque, New Memon Masjd.<br><br>Despite police and officials urging people to stay home and closing the mosque entrance, over a hundred people prayed on the premises.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CoronavirusPakistan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CoronavirusPakistan</a><br><br>Video via WhatsApp <a href="https://t.co/WJXU7T0UUi">pic.twitter.com/WJXU7T0UUi</a></p>— The Express Tribune (@etribune) <a href="https://twitter.com/etribune/status/1243494440360185857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Most depressing video I have seen so far. The police guy was doing a good job causing public awareness. Don't get why he would let them in at the end.

Mosques should have long been closed down. I am surprised they haven't been yet
 
Sirris said:
Most depressing video I have seen so far. The police guy was doing a good job causing public awareness. Don't get why he would let them in at the end.

Mosques should have long been closed down. I am surprised they haven't been yet
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I know what you mean but to be honest I find this video encouraging. I have been to this mosque and it is one of the largest mosques in Karachi. If I were to make a guess it would easily have a capacity of >5000 people and is always full on Fridays. If only these 50 or so people prayed in this mosque, I would count that a big success. And as you mentioned, it is positive how sensibly the police handled this.
 
Jin Chacha said:
I know what you mean but to be honest I find this video encouraging. I have been to this mosque and it is one of the largest mosques in Karachi. If I were to make a guess it would easily have a capacity of >5000 people and is always full on Fridays. If only these 50 or so people prayed in this mosque, I would count that a big success. And as you mentioned, it is positive how sensibly the police handled this.
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Thanks for the info. Good to know that's indeed a positive sign.

The reason I find it depressing is that police guy undermined his own authority. It's like telling a kid you won't get dessert because you are on a diet, the kid starts crying and then you give in and give him his dessert. This just reinforces bad behavior and the kid learns that by crying he can get what he wants. It's a psychological thing. The kid learns that the parent's words hold little meaning.

This could explain why people only listen to danda. They know that unless police gets the danda out they can peer pressure the police and do whatever they like. Hence next time police needs to commit to their stance and no amount of crying by the public should make them give in.
 
Sirris said:
Thanks for the info. Good to know that's indeed a positive sign.

The reason I find it depressing is that police guy undermined his own authority. It's like telling a kid you won't get dessert because you are on a diet, the kid starts crying and then you give in and give him his dessert. This just reinforces bad behavior and the kid learns that by crying he can get what he wants. It's a psychological thing. The kid learns that the parent's words hold little meaning.

This could explain why people only listen to danda. They know that unless police gets the danda out they can peer pressure the police and do whatever they like. Hence next time police needs to commit to their stance and no amount of crying by the public should make them give in.
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That's true. But remember that this issue is so sensitive in Pakistan that even the federal govt was unable to announce a ban on friday congregations for which it is facing a lot of (partly justified) criticism.

If this was a non-religious gathering, believe me the tone of the police officer would have been very different and these same people would have been dispersed very forcefully.
 
conflicting info, some keep saying gov. has allowed mosques to stay open some say not, what is it.

If they are not closing, this will fall on IK, imagine one tableegi **** gets it and spreads it to the rest and all these tableegi parasites roam the country as a virus. If the mullahs are not obeying then action needs to be taken by IK or it falls on him.
 
Abdullah719 said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Scores defy ban on congregational prayer and flock to one of Karachi oldest mosque, New Memon Masjd.<br><br>Despite police and officials urging people to stay home and closing the mosque entrance, over a hundred people prayed on the premises.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CoronavirusPakistan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CoronavirusPakistan</a><br><br>Video via WhatsApp <a href="https://t.co/WJXU7T0UUi">pic.twitter.com/WJXU7T0UUi</a></p>— The Express Tribune (@etribune) <a href="https://twitter.com/etribune/status/1243494440360185857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
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It seems like muslims are most religious of all faiths. Every other religion like churches and temples have closed and not opposed much.
There is a killer contagion out there and they don’t care.

This also tells me that high percentage of muslims don’t have high self belief and they rely on god to rid of all their problems.
It’s true that other religions have same problem but at least it’s a small section.

being overly religious is like you are being led by an invisible hand, and you are dependent on it.

This is just my personal opinion and don’t have any issue if some disagrees.
 
HYDERABAD: Officials of civil administration and police sealed off Noor Masjid in Wahdat Colony, local headquarters of Tableeghi Jamaat, on Saturday after a member of the Jamaat, a 19-year-old Chinese-origin man tested positive for coronavirus a day before and was admitted to hospital for treatment.

Health officials shifted 19 suspected cases who might have remained in contact with the coronavirus-positive man to Kohsar Latifabad quarantine facility and sent samples of eight of them to laboratory before sealing off the worship place.

Personnel of Rangers and police were deployed outside the mosque where 210 faithful, some of them foreign nationals, were staying during the exercise. The measure had been taken for ‘quarantine’ purposes so that nobody could enter or leave the place, contended Hyderabad SSP Adeel Chandio.

The hospital in-charge Dr Suresh said that a total of 28 people were under observation at the quarantine centre under strict surveillance. The infected Chinese man’s brother and eight other persons were shifted to hospital from Noor Masjid on Friday and of them the eight were asymptomatic while the Chinese national had already tested negative.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1544504/m...ad-after-chinese-man-tests-positive-for-virus
 
No ifs or buts the safety of citizens has to come first.

Tableeghi Jamat also really needs to show some responsibility here.
 
LAHORE/LAYYAH: Some 27 members of Tableeghi Jamaat out of 35 screened at the Tableeghi Markaz in Raiwind tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday while another member of the religious outfit put in a quarantine in Layyah stabbed and injured a police officer in a bid to escape.

Around 1,200 people, including over 500 foreigners, were attending the five-day congregation before leaving for three-day, 40-day or four-month preaching missions. They are camped in an open space adjacent to the Markaz.

Earlier, Punjab government officials had requested the organisers to postpone the congregation in view of the virus threat, but they did not pay any heed to it. But when the organisers had a change of heart and stopped the congregation four days ago, the government-announced lockdown had come into effect with no transport and air services available to take them home.

The station house officer (SHO) was injured in Layyah when the Tableeghi Jamaat member attacked him with a knife in an attempt to escape. Later, the police and district administration approached the organisers and with their permission cordoned off the Markaz and no one was allowed to enter or leave the place for the last three days.

A member quarantined in Layyah injures police officer in a bid to escape

On Saturday, the Royal Thai Embassy in Islamabad, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, contacted the authorities to evacuate their 50 citizens from the Tableeghi Markaz. The health department conducted screening of the Thai citizens who tested negative for the virus. They were shifted to Islamabad from where they were flown to their country by a private jet.

Lahore Deputy Commissioner Daanish Afzaal told Dawn that they had sealed the Markaz three days ago and started conducting screening of the people there. He said the health authorities had so far screened 35 members residing at the Markaz and alarmingly 27 tested positive for coronavirus. “We are also setting up a quarantine at the Markaz and if the number of patients increases they would be shifted to the Kala Shah Kaku quarantine centre,” Mr Afzaal said.

He said the suspected persons would be self-isolated at Kala Shah Kaku and those who tested positive for coronavirus would be shifted to a field hospital at Expo Centre in Johar Town.

The Layyah administration had gathered all the Tableeghi teams on preaching missions in the district and declared the local Markaz a quarantine centre housing 235 people.

On Sunday, police were informed that some people were trying to escape from the centre. When SHO Mohammad Ashraf Maakhi reached the spot with a team, a Tableeghi Jamaat member stabbed him and escaped.

Police spokesperson sub-inspector Nadeem said the SHO sustained injuries and was shifted to the DHQ Hospital in Layyah, where his condition was stated to be stable.

Police later apprehended the accused from Swabi district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1544893/27-tableeghi-jamaat-members-test-positive-for-coronavirus
 
Source Hindustantimes



Event's organisers committed a grave crime. Disaster Act & Contagious Diseases Act was enforced in Delhi,no assembly of more than 5 people was allowed. Still they did this. I've written to Lt Guv to take strictest action against them.Delhi govt has given order to file FIR: Satyender Jain

Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said, "We are not certain of the number but it is estimated that 1500-1700 people had assembled at Markaz building. 1033 people have been evacuated so far - 334 of them have been sent to hospital & 700 sent to quarantine centre". ANI

24 people who were present at the Markaz building, Nizamuddin have tested positive for coronavirus, so far: Satyendar Jain, Delhi Health Minister, reports ANI

The Delhi Police on Monday night cordoned off a major area in Nizamuddin West in south Delhi where several people showed symptoms of being infected with the virus after taking part in a religious congregation earlier this month, an officials said, reports PTI.

"As many as 85 people were brought to LNJP Hospital on Sunday from Nizamuddin area and 68 were brought today, so a total of 153 are admitted in isolation wards and being tested for infection," LNJP MS Dr J C Passey said.

Over 2,000 delegates, including from Indonesia and Malaysia, attended the Tabligh-e-Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin West from March 1-15, officials said as the south Delhi neighbourhood was virtually sealed following fears that some people may have contracted COVID-19.
 
Twenty-four people who took part in a religious gathering in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), state health minister Satyendar Jain said on Tuesday, while health officials scrambled to trace the footprints of other attendees who have spread out across the country amid fears of a possible explosion of the infection.

An estimated 1,500-1,700 people, including 227 foreigners, are believed to have attended the annual gathering at the six-storey hostel-like headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat, a Muslim sect, earlier this month, according to Jain.

He said 700 people who attended the congregation were quarantined while around 335 admitted to hospitals after showing signs of the fast-spreading infection caused by the Sars-CoV-2 virus.

A senior bureaucrat in southeast Delhi, where the building is located, said officials will locate, identify and facilitate the quarantine of all Indian citizens who attended the event, hinting at a massive and challenging exercise that will have to cover several states.

“The gathering size was more than 1,500, which include more than 200 foreign nationals…This is the biggest local coronavirus operation in Delhi. We have to first draw out a list of people. We are on it,” the bureaucrat who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Jain said organisers of the gathering flouted Delhi government’s orders issued to stop the spread of Covid-19.

“ The organisers have committed a grave crime. I have written a letter to LG (lieutenant governor) Anil Baijal to take strictest action against the organisers. We have given directions to the police to lodge and FIR as well,” Jain said, a day after the Delhi government ordered the filing of the first information report.

The state banned on March 13 any seminar or conferences having more than 200 people in the city. Three days later, it prohibited any form of religious, academic, political, social, cultural, personal gathering involving over 50 people.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/indi...quarantined/story-gBPEsJCebqicnD5ZM0JUgN.html
 
Sindh Inspector General Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar in a notification issued on Tuesday instructed all police officers to ensure that Tableeghi Jamaat members across the province remain in the Jamaat marakiz (centres) and to consider all such marakiz as quarantine centres.

The development comes after 36 people tested positive for the coronavirus in Hyderabad's Noor Mosque, where some 200 Jamaat members were initially quarantined.

They had returned from the Tableeghi Jamaat congregation in Raiwind — comprising tens of thousands of people — held from March 11 to 15 near Lahore.

Also on Monday, two people died in Karachi after having contracted the virus at the Raiwand Ijtima, according to the Sindh health department.

According to the notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the number of cases was increasing and there was concern that there might be a further increase if adequate preparations to control Covid-19's spread were not made.

The notification also directed police officers to ensure that no person entered or left the premises of the centres. It also directed the superintendents (SPs) of each district to cooperate with the district commissioners (DCs) and health officers and provide rations and necessary items to the centres.

It further directed the police officers to make lists of all the Tableeghi Jamaat marakiz in their areas and the people inside and trace all the members outside, and to send their data to the operations room of the Inspector General of Police.

A total of 830 persons belonging to the Tableeghi Jamaat are currently in the Hyderabad range. "Of these 830, 234 belong to Hyderabad’s Noor Mosque," said Hyderabad range DIG Naeem Shaikh.

Noor Mosque is the second largest centre of the Jamaat in Sindh after the one in Karachi. It was sealed on Friday after a 19-year-old Chinese-origin Tableeghi Jamaat member tested positive for Covid-19.

Meanwhile, some 27 members of Tableeghi Jamaat out of 35 screened at the Tableeghi Markaz in Raiwind tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday while another member was put under quarantine in Layyah. Lahore Deputy Commissioner Daanish Afzaal said that the markaz had been sealed.

The Islamabad administration last week placed the capital's union council of Kot Hathial under quarantine after six members of the Tableeghi Jamaat residing in the area tested positive for coronavirus.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1545268/i...n-marakiz-consider-them-as-quarantine-centres
 
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Tuesday issued directives on Tuesday according to which only five or less persons will be allowed to offer congregational prayers inside mosques across the province.

A notification issued by the KP government's Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department said that an Emergency and Section 144 had already been imposed in the province to ensure social distancing.

"Only five or less people designated for Masjid (Muazzin, Pesh Imam, Speaker) shall offer prayers by Jamaat and that the general public will offer their prayers at their respective homes and that this order shall be effective immediately and shall apply to all congregations, till further orders," read the notification.

The directives come after the Sindh government banned congregational prayers in mosques by more than five people last week and urged masses to pray at their homes.

Pakistani Ulema have appealed to the masses to offer prayers at home in the wake of the pandemic, which has killed more than 20 people in Pakistan and infected more than 1,800 persons.

Calls for social distancing have increased after the pandemic killed more than 35,000 people worldwide and infected more than 750,000. Governments around the world are scrambling to control the virus as economies and industries bear the brunt of the coronavirus.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/280165-co...tional-prayers-in-mosques-rules-kp-government
 
No Jummah prayer at my local mosque for the past 3 weeks. First time in my life I have seen this happening.
 
All madrassa and mosques have been shut down for the next 14 days. Hong Kong has at least 8 thousand students who are studying in madrassas.
 
Complete ban on all public movement in Sindh between 12-3pm on Fridays
Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has said there will be a complete ban on all public movement and activities in Sindh from 12pm to 3pm on Fridays.

A notification to this effect was issued by the home department on Thursday evening.

The movement and activities will resume between 3:30pm to 6:30pm, he said. He added, however, that the normal lockdown timings will continue for all other days of the week.

Earlier, the CM House spokesperson had denied that the provincial government had taken any such move, saying no additional measures had been put in for Fridays.
 
A socially distant jamat the new way forward?

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Strict lockdown across Pakistan to restrict Friday congregations

Police in Pakistan have enforced a strict lockdown to prevent people from going to mosques to offer Friday prayers and fuel a rise in coronavirus infection, Reuters reported, quoting officials.

Health experts have warned of an epidemic in South Asia, home to a fifth of the world's population, that could easily overwhelm its weak public health systems.

The Sindh government has enforced a “curfew-like” lockdown for three hours beginning from 12pm to deter people from coming out of their homes for prayers, officials said.

https://www.dawn.com/live-blog/
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: Violence erupts between locals and police in Karachi's Liaquatabad, apparently on matter of enforcing lockdown<br>some policemen were caught by locals REPORTEDLY when they tried to arrest local imam who was leading Friday prayers <a href="https://t.co/URYfHxUI3H">pic.twitter.com/URYfHxUI3H</a></p>— Khalid khi (@khalid_pk) <a href="https://twitter.com/khalid_pk/status/1246014550572503040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The Peshimam of the Liaquatabad mosque where people attacked the police has been detained - police say he incited the local residents to attack the law enforcement agencies
 
ISLAMABAD: A case has been registered against former Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz and six others for disobeying a government order, spreading fear and inciting people against the state.

The case was registered with the Aabpara police on a complaint lodged by SHO Inspector Mohammad Walyat against Mr Aziz and six others under Pakistan Penal Code sections 505(b) (with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the state or against the public tranquility) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).

According to the Aabpara police, Mr Aziz gathered people at Lal Masjid for Friday prayers despite a ban on prayer congregations imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. He provoked the sentiments of people, they added.

Officials deployed around the mosque informed them of the ban on prayer congregations and the misuse of loudspeakers, but they ignored. They said around 400 people gathered at the mosque whose sentiments were provoked by these actions.

A police officer told Dawn on condition of anonymity that no arrests have been made in the case so far.

Mosque officials brought to police stations across capital for violating ban on Friday prayer congregations released after warnings

A separate case has been registered with the Golra police against a khateeb and two others for disobeying an order issued by the government. The khateeb was arrested after the case was registered, but the other two people remained at large, the police said.

They said the suspects violated the ban on prayer congregations in Bilal Masjid in E-11/4. The violations led to 200 people gathered at the mosque, putting their lives and the lives of others at risk.

The capital administration has asked the police to compile data on mosques, khateebs and imams who violated the ban on prayer congregations on Friday.

The administration and police were lenient towards khateebs and imams who disobeyed the order issued by the administration, administration officials said.

Every police station in the capital arrested three to four imams and khateebs who violated the ban on prayer congregations on Friday, but they were released after they were given warnings.

Police have been asked to compile data on them so action can be taken against them if they ignore the warnings. Obtaining undertakings from them that they will not disobey the order is also being considered.

A total of 121 cases disobeying the administration’s order have been registered in the capital since the lockdown was announced, police said. Some 424 people have been booked and arrested for violating the ban on various activities imposed to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

Violations include social and public gatherings, riding pillion, running passenger vehicles and opening shops - not including those selling food items.

All the alleged violators were produced in the court of the magistrate and assistant commissioners for further action.

Most were released on personal surety and others were fined, officials said. A few, allegedly involved in hoarding and profiteering, were sent to jail.

The officials said that because of the current conditions, most violators are released on personal surety and fines as sending them to jail may put their lives at risk as well.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1546485/maulana-abdul-aziz-6-others-booked-for-violating-govt-order
 
Members of Pakistan's Christian community celebrated Palm Sunday amid restrictions put in place by the authorities to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Palm Sunday celebrations start in the Holy Week leading up to Easter. According to Christian belief, it commemorates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and is the start of the church's most solemn week, which includes the Good Friday reenactment of Jesus' crucifixion and death and his resurrection on Easter.


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For weeks now, mosques worldwide have taken a series of measures aimed at curbing the spread of the new coronavirus.

As an increasing number of countries announced lockdowns, so did mosques, with many closing their door completely and others banning congregations and using their speakers to remind people to stay at home.

With the global death toll from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, exceeding 70,000 and more than 1.28 million cases of infection confirmed, many mosques are trying to keep their communities engaged by using live-streams and local stations to broadcast sermons and classes.

Here's a look at how some of the world's largest mosques have adjusted their services in the time of COVID-19:


Mecca's Grand Mosque

Worshippers have not been allowed to enter Mecca's Grand Mosque nor the Prophet's Mosque in Medinah, the two main mosques for Muslims, since Saudi authorities suspended prayers on March 19 in an effort to combat the spread of the virus.

The ban followed a series of other measures in Mecca including: an initial ban on worshippers praying near the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure in the centre of the Grand Mosque's courtyard which Muslims across the world pray towards; and a ban on the Umrah pilgrimage, which seven million Muslims perform every year.

It remains unclear if the Hajj pilgrimage, which every able-bodied Muslim must perform once in their lifetime, will be held this year.

Only employees at the Grand Mosque are currently allowed to enter its premises, according to locals.

"For several weeks, the call to prayer has included a line at the end asking people to remain home," said Mecca resident Fuad Mohamed.

"No prayers nor Friday sermons are held at the Grand Mosque," added Muhamed, noting that some of the city's smaller mosques live-stream their sermons online.

Saudi authorities imposed a 24-hour curfew in Mecca and Medina on April 2, forcing residents to stay home at all times other than to buy food or access medical care.

With more than 2,400 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 35 deaths, Saudi Arabia is the worst affected by the pandemic among Gulf Arab states.


Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque

Muslim prayers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque have been suspended since March 23 until further notice.

The doors of the mosque and of the adjoining Dome of the Rock were shut a week before implementation of the full ban, allowing worshippers to only gather for prayers in the open areas of the compound.

Al-Aqsa compound is where the al-Haram al-Sharif or the Noble Sanctuary is located. It is the third most sacred site for Muslims and the site they believe Prophet Muhammad began his night journey to heaven.

According to Zeinat Abusbeih, who heads security at Al-Aqsa's female quarters, the compound has been completely shut, with the exception of employees at the mosque

"This has been painful but necessary," Abusbeih told Al Jazeera, adding that a line calling on people to pray at home was added to the end of athaan (call to prayer).

Abusebeih said that while worshippers are not allowed to attend the Friday sermon, it is still held by the imam with employees at the mosque joining in.

"To keep people around the world feeling connected to Al-Aqsa, security personnel have been live-streaming the Friday sermon and prayer," she said.

There are more than 8,600 coronavirus cases in Israel and at least 50 deaths. In the occupied Palestinian territories, the ministry of health has confirmed more than 200 infections.


Turkey's Fatih Mosque

Turkey has cancelled all congregational worship at mosques, including Friday prayers, since March 16.

Many mosques have since added a few lines to the end of the athaan, notifying people of the decision and calling on them to pray at home.

Larger mosques have also been broadcasting prayers through speakers.

While Fatih Mosque, one of Istanbul's largest and most historic mosques built after the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, has kept its doors open, congregational prayers are banned.

"Any group prayers are strictly prohibited, but many activities, including classes and Quran reading, are still conducted online," said Bunyamin Topcu, an imam at the mosque which is also considered a centre for Islamic studies across the Middle East.

"The athaan continues to be called out without additions or omissions. We do not, however, hold Friday sermons nor prayers," said Topcu, explaining that a single mosque in the capital, Ankara, does that on behalf of the whole country.

"In the evening, some prayers and Quran reading is broadcasted through our microphones," he said.

Turkey is among the 10 worst-hit countries world, with more than 27,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 600 deaths.


UAE's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Sheikh Zayed's Grand Mosque has been closed for prayers and visits since March 15.

Located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, the site is the country's largest mosque and the principal place of worship for daily, Friday and Eid prayers.

As well as being a site for worship, the mosque is also considered a top tourist attraction.

According to Amr Salah, an Abu Dhabi resident and frequent visitor of the mosque, the complex has been completely closed off.

"It is only the athaan that still goes off. It always ends with a line calling on people to pray at home," he told Al Jazeera.

"This has been the case for all mosques across the UAE, not just the big ones," he added.

With about 1,800 cases and 10 deaths so far, the UAE has the second-highest number of COVID-19 infections in the Arab Gulf region.


Iraq's Moussawi Grand Mosque

Iraq's top Shia leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has issued several edicts calling on citizens to social distance and avoid religious gatherings in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Like other mosques across the country, the doors of Mousawi Grand Mosque in Iraq's southern city of Basra have been shut to worshippers and visitors.

"The athaan hasn't changed since the onset of the pandemic. But before the athaan or at the end of the day, the mosques always issues a reminder through its speakers that mosques are closed," Hussein Faleh, a Basra-based photojournalist and resident, told Al Jazeera.

As one of its biggest and busiest mosques in the oil-rich city, the mosque has used a local channel to broadcast the Friday sermon and prayers for Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and a central religious figure for Shia Muslims.

"Not all mosques do this, but because Mousawi Mosque is a central one, the broadcast has been an attempt to keep members of the community feeling connected to their place of worship and their spirits high," Faleh said.

Iraq, which has imposed a nationwide curfew since March 17, has more than 950 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 60 deaths.


National Mosque of Malaysia

Malaysian authorities have imposed a movement control order since March 17.

According to Siti Syuhada, a Kuala Lumpur resident, the directive has meant that all mosques are closed off to the public, with only the imam and staff members allowed to enter.

At Malaysia's National Mosque, a tourist attraction and key religious hub in the capital, the mosque has continued to make the five daily calls to prayer.

"At the end of the call, the muezzin [caller to prayer] reminds people in Malay to perform their prayers at home," explained Syuhada, adding that many classes are being conducted online via Facebook, YouTube and Zoom.

"Friday prayers are not being held, and as per the movement of control order, people pray at home with their families," she added.

Malaysia has more than 3,700 COVID-19 cases and 62 deaths to date.


East London Mosque

After taking an initially restrained approach to curbing the spread of the virus, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a nationwide shutdown on March 24, closing public spaces and banning people from leaving their homes unless for necessary purposes.

Before the move, Muslim associations including the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), called on leaders of UK mosques to prepare for a suspension of communal prayers by setting up video links to live-stream sermons and activities.

At the UK's largest mosque in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the East London Mosque (ELM) has banned the entry of all members of the public.

But the ELM, one of the largest mosques in Europe, still broadcasts the five daily prayers, as well as the Friday prayer and sermon via its Adhan Radio and YouTube and Facebook pages, according to trustee Abdallah Faliq.

"In the athaan, we've replaced hayaa ala al-salah [come to prayer] with the words sallu fi buytutikim (pray in your homes)," said Faliq, adding that ELM is the only mosque in London allowed to broadcast the call to prayer from its minaret.

Faliq explained that other services, including talks and classes, are also carried out online.

The United Kingdom has one of the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, at more than 48,000, and nearly 5,000 deaths.


Islamic Cultural Centre of New York

As of March 20, the Islamic Cultural Centre of New York, which is one of the largest mosques in the US city, banned all congregation including Friday prayers as well as weekly and weekend classes, according to its website.

Meanwhile, the building housing New York University's Islamic Centre, which acts as a busy community and student hub for Muslims in New York City, has also been closed.

According to the centre's website, Friday prayers have been suspended, but regular classes and activities are being conducted virtually via Zoom and Facebook Live.

US President Donald Trump issued a travel warning from March 28 for the hard-hit New York area to limit the spread of the virus.

Topping the list of countries with confirmed COVID-19 cases at more than 330,000 cases, the United States has also reported more than 1,500 deaths.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...-largest-mosques-adapted-200406112601868.html
 
We have mosque at our workplace as our organization has 650 employees juma offered in open area with distance of 2m between person and everyone bought their own prayer mat #way4wd
 
Kianig89 said:
We have mosque at our workplace as our organization has 650 employees juma offered in open area with distance of 2m between person and everyone bought their own prayer mat #way4wd
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Sorry to say but that doesn’t make it better. Unbelievable that people can’t pray at home during these times.
 
Indonesia has urged Muslims to practice tarawih, or additional prayers performed at night during fasting month, at home and forgo mass Eid prayers at the end of Ramadan, a move that would dramatically affect the life of millions in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Ramadan is typically such a festive month in Indonesia, where about 85% of the more than 260 million-strong population are Muslims. At dawn, some people take to the roads to give early meals, or sahoor, to the poor, and at dusk people break the fast together at restaurants or mosques. Street vendors line up on the roads, selling light meals such as dates or banana in coconut milk. At night, people go to the mosques for tarawih, Koran reading, or donating zakat or alms.

On Eid day, which falls at the end of May, football fields, parking lots, and neighborhood alleys are used to host mass prayers, where many don their new clothes and prayer dresses. Eid shopping is also important for the economy - last year, domestic consumption during Ramadan boosted Indonesia’s GDP growth in the second quarter to 5.17%.

Ramadan this time will be vastly different. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ministry of religious affairs has issued a circular letter urging Muslims to practice prayers, fast breaking, and Koran reading in their homes. It also asks Muslims to carry out online the country’s own halal bi-halal tradition, or social gathering after Eid, to ask forgiveness from friends and families.
 
Religious festivals related to Shab-i-Barat, Easter are restricted: Sindh govt

The Sindh government has issued a notification banning all religious gatherings, including those on Shab-i-Barat, Easter and other religious festivals, and maintaining restrictions on congregational prayers.

The notification also states that visits to burial places, shrines and cemeteries are also restricted.
 
Every year, Iraq's holy city of Karbala witnesses the convergence of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in the weeks leading up to the holy month of Ramadan as many Shia Muslims flock to its shrines to celebrate the annual Shaabaniya pilgrimage.

Coinciding with the 15th day of the Islamic month of Shaaban, the pilgrimage marks the birth of the ninth century and twelfth Shia Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi, a revered figure who Shia Muslims believe will return as a saviour to humanity.

The pilgrimage is among the most important visits for Shia Muslims along with Ashoura, which marks the day that Hussein bin Ali, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was killed in the Battle of Karbala and the Arbaeen, or 40 days of mourning, that follow.

But with more than 1,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country and at least 64 deaths as a result of the virus, the pilgrimage will be scaled down this year. Iraqi authorities banned public gatherings, including religious visits, and urged people to stay home by imposing a nationwide curfew until April 19.

Many Iraqis have, therefore, opted to perform their visits to Karbala's shrines remotely, using free-of-charge phone services, live streaming on websites and by following satellite television channels dedicated to facilitating the pilgrimage from afar.

In addition to the curfew, Iraq has imposed travel restrictions and shuttered shrines across the country to curb the spread of the virus. Iraq's top Shia leader, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, declared weeks ago that the fight against COVID-19 was a "sacred duty", calling on citizens to practice social distancing and avoid religious gatherings.

But only weeks ago, dozens of Shia pilgrims, mainly from among populist leader Muqtada al-Sadr's followers, defied a weakly enforced curfew in order to visit the shrine of Imam Jaafar al-Khadim in Baghdad on the anniversary of his death.

To ensure stricter adherence this time, local and central authorities have issued several statements banning visits to Karbala ahead of the religious occasion.

"Our security forces are committed to enforcing the law. We've banned visits [to shrines]. Anyone who violates the curfew will be arrested," said Khaled al-Muhanna, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, in a statement on April 1.

Karbala's governor, Nassif al-Khattabi, who closed off the city weeks ago, also urged pilgrims to stay home, declaring the Shaabaniya cancelled this year.

"Our decision is clear and final. We are cancelling the visit," said al-Khattabi in a television statement last week.

"We deeply apologise for this, but Karbala is completely closed off. No one is allowed to enter, not even officials. We are in a battle against the coronavirus."

Many regular pilgrims told Al Jazeera they welcomed the decision.

"We cannot risk our lives nor endanger others' by insisting on religious gatherings. My friends and I agree with the cancellation of the pilgrimage," said Bilal Awwad, 27, from Iraq's southern city of Nasiriya.

Fatima Adel, a university student from Karbala, agreed: "I fully support our governor's decision. We need to limit the number of cases."

Karbala's police department on Tuesday said it deployed additional forces around the city to secure its entry points.

"We've deployed three times the number of police on main and subsidiary roads around the city to prevent people from sneaking in," Alaa al-Ghanimi, spokesman for Karbala police, told Al Jazeera.

"As per the authorities, curfew violators will be arrested and can face up to a month in jail," he explained.

Pilgrims usually perform the Shaabaniya by visiting the shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala and reading select prayers and supplications at his grave.

But this year, many people told Al Jazeera they would perform their pilgrimage through virtual and other remote means because of the continuing coronavirus pandemic.

"The Shaabaniya means a lot to us and it's painful that we're unable to visit the shrines, but like Ayatollah Sistani said, it's our religious duty to abide by the law and safeguard ourselves and others," said Ahmed al-Okaishi, a Najaf resident and regular attendee at the annual pilgrimage.

"Instead of going this year, I will stay home and perform the rituals from my home along with my family using live-streaming and satellite TV channels," he told Al Jazeera.

Ghizwan al-Issawi, also from Najaf, said he would do the same.

"I will be abiding by the law and carrying out my visit through remote means," al-Issawi told Al Jazeera. "I encourage everyone to follow the authorities' instructions. I'm sure God will be more accepting of our prayers this way."

Sheikh Salar Ali, a Shia leader in Diala, explained that the concept of remote visits to shrines is accepted within Shia jurisprudence, and not unfamiliar among Iraq's Shia majority.

"The Shaabaniyah can be performed remotely by carrying out the payers and supplications from one's home.

"To feel more connected, people can use the call-in services on satellite channels to speak to the sheikhs at the shrines and follow the rituals virtually," explained Sheikh Ali, adding he expected many regular visitors to opt for this.

"People have been longing to visit the shrines for weeks amid this crisis. Many will use virtual methods to perform their visits," he said.

In order to facilitate the remote visits and in support of the government's decision, authorities managing the shrines also urged people to stay home while they provide remote services.

Afdal al-Shami, assistant to the secretary-general of the al-Ataba al-Husseiniya, which manages the shrine of Imam Hussein, said many means have been set up for this purpose.

"The pilgrimage is not a religious obligation, but safeguarding everyone's safety and wellbeing is," al-Shami told Al Jazeera. "While the shrines are still open, there are clear instructions from local and central authorities banning any gatherings there.

"People committed to the pilgrimage and the curfew will be able to perform the pilgrimage from their homes," he said.

Al-Shami explained that religious leaders will be present at the shrines to take people's calls on phone numbers dedicated by the authority for call-in services. He added that live streaming from inside the shrines will also be present on its official website, and also broadcast on satellite television channels.

One of the main channels is Karbala TV, which has regularly broadcast the pilgrimage in previous years for people outside of Iraq and others who were unable to attend.

In a show of support for the authorities' efforts, Iraq's media and communications commission said it donated free telephone services to the authorities at shrines in Karbala and other religious sites across Iraq to encourage people to call in during the crisis.

"For those who wished to attend the pilgrimage but remain committed to protecting everyone's safety, we have dedicated free telephone services to facilitate remote visits," said the commission in a statement on April 5.

Muhammad al-Asadi, a spokesman for the commission, told Al Jazeera that authorities managing the shrines in Karbala had welcomed their initiative.

"These phone lines facilitate remote visits by providing free means of communication with the sheikhs at the shrines," al-Asadi explained. "Even those who may not have afforded to make the call can now phone in."

For Ali al-Shimmari, 26, from Baghdad, the remote visit will not feel the same, but he will do it anyway.

"This year the Shaabaniya will be different. We will definitely feel a void for not being in Karbala.

"But our priority is to avoid harm - and so remote visit it is," he said.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020...m-al-mahdi-birth-covid19-200408095252041.html
 
Lahore's Christian community will not hold Good Friday events tomorrow

Lahore's Christian community has decided that it will not hold any Good Friday events tomorrow.

The decision has been taken in the light of the government's orders for citizens to take precautionary measures against the spread of coronavirus.

Announcement of the decision was made after a delegation Christian community leaders met with CCPO Lahore.
 
UAE to extend closure of mosques and places of worship until further notice

United Arab Emirates decided on Thursday to extend the closure of mosques and places of worship until further notice, state news agency reported.

The statement added this decision comes as part of the precautionary measures across UAE to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...of-worship-until-further-notice-idUSKCN21R35W
 
India's 28 million Christians are just waking up to Good Friday under lockdown.

Like in many other countries around the world, there will be no church services today. Instead, people will either have small prayer ceremonies at home or follow church services online.

"This year, for the first time in the history of Christianity, the celebration of Good Friday and Easter will be held without parishioners physically attending the church services," Father Maverick Fernandes, director Caritas Goa, a social wing of the Goa Church, told the PTI news agency.

A few big churches in Indian cities like Mumbai and Delhi, and across states like Goa and Kerala have already announced that they would live stream their services on web platforms, like YouTube and Facebook.
 
We will not allow anyone to seal mosques, JUI-F tells IGP

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl Sindh leaders on Thursday said their party and other religious groups and scholars had been cooperating with the provincial government in the joint efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus, but law enforcement agencies still had “sealed mosques, registered cases against pesh imams and handcuffed them”.

A JUI-F delegation led by provincial secretary general Allama Rashid Soomro met Sindh IGP Musthaq Mahar at his office and expressed the party’s concerns over police actions against clerics who had violated the government’s restriction last Friday.

“Acting upon the agreement, mosques’ pesh imams have already limited their prayers, but they cannot stop worshippers from coming to mosques to perform prayers,” Soomro said. “Stopping the worshippers is the state’s responsibility, not of clerics and pesh imams.”

But despite the cooperation with the provincial government, cases were registered against pesh imams and clerics and mosques were sealed on the basis of violating the government’ restriction, the JUI-F leader said.

He warned that his party would not tolerate acts of sealing mosques and registering cases against prayer leaders. However, he appealed to the clerics and pesh imams to limit their Friday prayers in light of directions from religious scholars.

Soomro also demanded of the government to conduct coronavirus tests on members of Tablighi congregations across the province and issue their results immediately. “Among them, arrange quarantine facilities for those who have tested positive for the virus, and the rest of the people who test negative should be allowed to go back to their hometowns in a respected manner,” he said.

According to the JUI-F’s statement, IGP Mahar told the delegation that the party’s cooperation with police in Sindh was very ideal. He said that all cases registered against pesh imams and clerics had been ended and the police force had been trying its best to avoid any untoward incident on Friday.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/amp/641979-we-will-not-allow-anyone-to-seal-mosques-jui-f-tells-igp
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: Lady SHO in Orangi Town, Peerabad attacked by mob - She tried to restrict people from conducting <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Friday?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Friday</a> prayer in a mosque. Case against those who attacked police, will be registered & they will be arrested, said Police. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CoronaVirusUpdate?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CoronaVirusUpdate</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID%E3%83%BC19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVIDー19</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Karachi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Karachi</a> <a href="https://t.co/Vk4On07xN3">pic.twitter.com/Vk4On07xN3</a></p>— The Times of Karachi (@TOKCityOfLights) <a href="https://twitter.com/TOKCityOfLights/status/1248549706596323328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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I do not understand why Pakistanis pretend to be so jealous?

If they actually followed the teachings of Islam, Pakistan would not be such a hot mess!

Pakistan is a land of hypocrites!
 
Maulana Abdul Aziz booked for leading Friday prayers despite ban

A case has been registered against former Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz for leading Friday prayers despite a government ban on congregational prayers.

A video circulating on social media, verified by Dawn.com, shows Aziz leading prayers attended by a large number of people. Before the prayers, he also asked worshippers to ensure "no gap remains" between them — which is against the government code for Friday prayers.

City SP Sarfaraz Virk said the case against the cleric was registered under Section 144 at Aabpara police station and the first information report was "sealed" on orders of the capital administration.

Maulana Aziz was booked last week as well for gathering people at Lal Masjid for Friday prayers despite the ban.
 
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A view of the Badshahi Mosque today after the government limited congregational prayers and ordered the public to stay home, in efforts to stem the spread of Covid-19.
 
Interestingly:

Paris police find unauthorised Mass

An unauthorised Easter Mass was discovered by Paris police late on Saturday night, according to AFP news agency.

Religious services are banned in France because of the coronavirus crisis, which has killed more than 14,000 people in the country.

The traditional Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet Catholic church went ahead with their Mass - with about 40 people in attendance.

Local residents reported hearing music to police.

The priest was warned and booked - meaning he could face a 200 euros (£176) fine - but the worshippers were not cautioned by the police.
 
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Sunday announced that taraweeh prayers during Ramazan will only be performed at home as the suspension of prayers at mosques will not be lifted until the eradication of the coronavirus, according to a report in Al Riyadh.

The newspaper quoted Dr Abdul Latif Al Sheikh, Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, as saying: “The suspension of performing the five daily prayers at mosques is more important than the suspension of taraweeh prayers.”

“We ask Allah the Almighty to accept taraweeh prayers whether held at mosques, or homes, which we think is better for people’s health. We ask Allah the Almighty to accept prayers from all of us and protect humanity from this epidemic that hit the entire world,” Al Sheikh added.

Saudi Arabia had on March 19 barred its citizens from conducting their five daily prayers and the weekly Friday prayer inside mosques as part of efforts to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Curfew extended
The Saudi authorities on Sunday indefinitely extended a curfew due to a surge in new infections.

Since placing the capital Riyadh and other big cities under 24-hour curfew on Monday, Saudi Arabia has reported more than 300 new cases per day. The nationwide curfew, initially set for three weeks, runs from 3pm to 6am everywhere else. For both this and the 24-hour curfew, residents may go out only for essential needs.

The interior ministry also announced new permits for vital personnel to move around. Violators face fines and jail time.

Saudi Arabia has recorded 4,462 infections with 59 deaths, the highest among the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, where the total neared 14,100 with 96 deaths.

It expects it could reach 200,000 cases in the coming weeks. It has halted international passenger flights, suspended the year-round Umrah pilgrimage, and closed most public places.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/282537-coronavirus-saudi-arabia-to-suspend-taraweeh-prayers-in-ramadan
 
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Sabir Durrani says he offers prayers almost every day at a mosque in the central Pakistani city of Multan. He says that often a dozen or more men are in attendance - none of them wearing protective face masks.

FILE PHOTO: A police officer uses a megaphone, requesting people to go and pray at home, at the locked entrance gate of a mosque during a lockdown after Pakistan shut all markets, public places and discouraged large gatherings amid an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Karachi, Pakistan March 27, 2020. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro/File Photo
Durrani, 52, is among thousands of devout Muslims flouting Pakistan government orders issued late last month banning religious congregations of five or more people to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The disease has so far infected more than 5,300 people and killed 93 in the world’s second-most populous Muslim country.

“Our prayer leader told us that the virus can’t infect us the way it does Western people,” Durrani told Reuters. “He said we wash our hands and we wash our face five times a day before we say our prayers, and the infidels don’t, so we need not worry. God is with us.”

The Islamic lobby holds immense clout in Pakistan, a country of over 200 million people. Religious parties have not been successful in electoral politics but they are able to whip up large, often violent, crowds on matters pertaining to religion, such as in support of the country’s harsh blasphemy law.

“Religion and prayers are an emotional issue for many people in Pakistan, and the government has to be sensitive to that,” Mirza Shahzad Akbar, a special assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan, told Reuters.

More than 60% of the coronavirus cases in Pakistan have so far been linked to Muslims returning from pilgrimages in the Middle East and followers of the Tablighi Jamaat, an orthodox proselytizing group.

But the worry is of a big spike coming from the congregational prayers held in mosques, especially on Fridays, the Islamic sabbath. The numbers in attendance at prayers are likely to increase with the onset of the holy month of Ramadan within two weeks, and authorities are struggling to cope.

While the Council of Islamic Ideology, a body that advises the government on religious issues, has called on clerics and the public to cooperate with government measures, several priests and local leaders have opposed the ban.

A prominent leader of a religious party told a crowd of hundreds of people gathered for a funeral last week that government orders to limit congregations were unacceptable.

“If you do this, we will be forced to think that mosques are being deserted on America’s instructions,” Mufti Kafayatullah told the crowd. “We’re ready to give our lives, but not ready to desert our mosques.”

In Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, police were attacked for a second straight week as they attempted to halt prayers at a mosque last Friday. A policewoman was injured in the clashes, and in the previous week, police fired shots in the air to quell an angry mob.

In other cities, police seem to be turning a blind eye to some mosque gatherings.

Last Friday, one of the top Twitter trends in Pakistan was “Muslims, the mosque is calling you”.

In the capital, Islamabad, hundreds gathered on Friday without any hindrance at one of the city’s largest mosques, located just two miles (three km) from the seat of Pakistan’s government, including parliament and the prime minister’s secretariat.

On March 27, authorities filed 88 cases against mosque administrations in Karachi and arrested 38 people for defying restrictions on Friday congregations, but charges were dropped a day later, and the people were released.

“I think it’s partly appeasement and partly the fact that Pakistan’s governments and politics are locked permanently in an electoral framework in which they don’t want to lose support of the religious elite and religious proletariat,” Pakistani author and defence analyst Ayesha Siddiqa told Reuters.

Akbar, the special assistant to the prime minister, said most mosques were cooperating with the government.

He added however: “This is a sensitive matter, we don’t want to impose it using a stick. And even if we wanted to, there aren’t enough sticks to implement it across Pakistan.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-the-coronavirus-ban-in-mosques-idUSKCN21V0T4
 
Last edited:
More than 50 clerics warn govt not to further restrictions on prayer congregations

Senior clerics of Wafaqul Madaris al Arabia warned the government on Monday not to further the restrictions on congregations in mosques, which have been imposed to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Despite the government's pleas to observe social distancing, more than 53 senior clerics of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, belonging to the Wafaqul Madaris al Arabia, held a meeting in Jamia Darul Uloom Zakria, Tarnol, Islamabad to discuss the matter. The meeting was attended by senior clerics representing various seminaries, banned groups, proscribed persons and political and non-political parties.

The clerics' warning has been issued before the government could come up with a plan to curb the spread of the disease during the holy month of Ramazan.

After much deliberation and meetings with religious leaders, the government has banned prayer congregations of more than five people as part of measures imposed to curb Covid-19.

A video clip released by them today showed clerics belonging to various political and non-political organisations including Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Aalmi Tanzeem Khatam-i-Nabuwat, seminaries such as Taleem ul Quran Raja Bazar and proscribed persons including a representative of banned group Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, sitting in close proximity of each other.

Announcing the decision, Pir Azizur Rahman Hazarvi, president of the Jamia Darul Uloom Zakaria, Islamabad and patron of JUI-F Islamabad said: “The senior clerics have noted that all efforts will be made to avoid clash and confrontations with the government and the state institutions.”

The meeting did not acknowledge the official directives of a maximum of five persons inside mosques for the collective prayers as the clerics said that the testing times demanded more time for prayers and announced that apart from the five times prayers, Friday and Taraweeh congregations will continue. The participants agreed to take other precautionary measures, however.

The precautions to be observed include the use of hand sanitisers, removal of rugs and carpets, washing of floors, cleaning of hands with soaps and social distancing.

Pir Azizur Rehman Hazarvi added, “The closure of mosques, shutting down Friday prayers and Taraweeh is unacceptable to the countrymen.”

He insisted that in order to get rid of the virus, it was imperative to seek forgiveness from Allah and increase the populace in mosques.

Furthermore, government leaders should also abide by religious norms and seek forgiveness, the clerics said.

The meeting criticised the authorities for arresting clerics across the country and demanded authorities to quash all cases against them.

The clerics said that they have cooperated with the government since the authorities starting taking measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak in the country, but claimed that the officials' behaviour with the administration of mosques was not in the same coin.

Red Mosque
Meanwhile, Lal Masjid's cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz continues to challenge the authority of Islamabad Capital Territoty (ICT) administration by openly flouting the stipulated precautionary measures.

Every week, Aziz releases footages of huge congregations gathered for Friday prayers, denouncing the restrictions imposed by the government. As a result, the number of mosques organising large Friday congregations is increasing in Islamabad.

A senior official of the ICT administration expressed helplessness over the defiance by Aziz saying that any strict action could create a law and order situation.

On Monday night, police tried to place concrete barriers to block the entrance of Lal Masjid to stop people from going inside.

But they were stopped as female students came out from the mosque and sat on the road and in front of the heavy machinery. The social media team of Lal Masjid floated the incidents as an act of resistance by the female students.

In a related development, Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Pir Noorul Haq Qadri has announced that the government will contact leaders of various religio-political parties and take them onboard to restrict congregations in mosques for an extended period of time.

After meetings with senior clerics and leaders including Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Allama Sajid Naqvi, Prof Sajid Mir, Allama Nasir Abbas Jafri and Senator Sirajul Haq, the decision will be enforced across the country, Qadri said.

Later, Qadri met Interior Minister Brig retired Ijaz Ahmad Shah to discuss the formulation of a strategy to ensure that preventive measures are observed in the holy month of Ramazan.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1548934/m...-further-restrictions-on-prayer-congregations
 
These Mullahs are a curse on Pakistan!Only in Pakistan would you see a bunch of cavemen holding the whole country hostage. This happens in no other Muslim country.
 
Daily prayers to be held in mosques while taking precautionary measures: Mufti Taqi Usmani

Mufti Taqi Usmani has said that daily prayers will be held in mosques while taking all precautionary measures. Speaking after a meeting of ulema at the Karachi Press Club today, Mufti Usmani urged the elderly to pray at home but said prayers would be held at mosques. "There will be proper space in the rows of people who pray," he added.

Mufti Muneeb-ur Rehman said that the lockdown was not "applicable" to mosques and arrangements would be made for Friday prayers and tarawih in Ramazan.
 
Abdullah719 said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: Lady SHO in Orangi Town, Peerabad attacked by mob - She tried to restrict people from conducting <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Friday?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Friday</a> prayer in a mosque. Case against those who attacked police, will be registered & they will be arrested, said Police. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CoronaVirusUpdate?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CoronaVirusUpdate</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID%E3%83%BC19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVIDー19</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Karachi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Karachi</a> <a href="https://t.co/Vk4On07xN3">pic.twitter.com/Vk4On07xN3</a></p>— The Times of Karachi (@TOKCityOfLights) <a href="https://twitter.com/TOKCityOfLights/status/1248549706596323328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Prayer leader, two others granted pre-arrest bails in woman SHO attack case

A Karachi court has granted pre-arrest bails to a prayer leader and two members of the mosque administration committee, booked in a case pertaining to an alleged attack on a female police official, who attempted to implement government restrictions on Friday congregations last week.

Haqqani Jamia Masjid’s prayer leader, Abdul Rehman, as well as two mosque administrative committee members were booked along with 20 to 25 others for allegedly inciting violence, attacking the cops and violating the ban on religious congregations put in place to control spread of the coronavirus.

The crowd had allegedly attacked the police officers with stones resulting in injuries to the newly-appointed SHO of the Pirabad police station, Sharafat Khan, an intelligence police officer Hayat Gul and Constable Abdul Salam.
 
We are allowed to skip Jummah prayers during plagues. Not sure why some misinformed people are not listening to instructions.

Don't spread the virus!
 
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_CPOcBJJM9/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_CPOcBJJM9/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_CPOcBJJM9/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">A sanitizing gate has been installed at Ali Masjid in DHA’s Phase 6 in Karachi. According to the muezzin, a regular mosque-goer paid for the gate to be installed. #DawnToday</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dawn.today/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Dawn Today</a> (@dawn.today) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-04-16T08:26:11+00:00">Apr 16, 2020 at 1:26am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
 
The Sudanese prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, has sacked the governor of the capital Khartoum after he opposed a ban on religious gatherings imposed to try to curb the spread of Covid-19.

General Ahmed Abdun Hammad Mohammed refused to implement a decision to ban prayers in mosques and churches due to come into force on Saturday.
 
Taraweeh, Eid prayers to be offered at home if coronavirus situation continues: Saudi grand mufti

Muslims will offer Taraweeh prayers during the month of Ramazan and Eid prayers at home if the coronavirus situation continues, said Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al El-Sheikh said on Friday.

“Ramazan’s Taraweeh (evening) prayer can be performed at home if it cannot be performed at mosques due to the preventive measures taken to fight the spread of coronavirus,” he said.

The statement from the Saudi mufti came after the kingdom confirmed 518 cases of the coronavirus on Friday while four people succumbed to the virus on Thursday.

The Saudi grand mufti said that the Eid prayers will be offered at home with a sermon following it.

The coronavirus has affected more than 2 million people around the globe and killed more than 140,000 after spreading to more than 200 countries ever since its first case was reported in Wuhan, China last year.

Saudi Arabia had announced a lockdown last month and directed tourists to leave the country as the pandemic started to gain ground in the kingdom. The Umrah pilgrimage has been suspended in the country while it remains a question whether or not Hajj will be held this year or not.

Saudi Arabia had also suspended passenger traffic through all land crossings with Jordan , while commercial and cargo traffic is still allowed, and the passage of exceptional humanitarian cases.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/283381-ta...us-situation-continues-says-saudi-grand-mufti
 
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