Turkey Lifts Social Distancing Rules at Mosques

Ankara, MINA – Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) eased Covid-19 restrictions by lifting social distancing rules that had been in place at mosques since last year.

As quoted by Republika from Daily Sabah on Saturday, the decision was made following the improving situation related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

President Diyanet Ali Erba said, in a circular sent to muftiats across the country on Friday that prayers at mosques can be performed in the order of “shaf” (lines or straight lines of worshipers who must be as close as possible to each other during prayers).

However, Erbas still appealed to the people to continue to comply with hygiene rules and to wear protective masks when performing prayers in mosques. He then praised the absence of serious problems stemming from the pandemic in mosques thanks to the vigilance of mosque staff and the ummah.

He cited the reason for removing social distancing rules for fardhu prayers inside mosques because as winter comes, which will make it difficult to perform prayers outside or in the mosque’s courtyards. In addition, the decision was made based on increasing vaccination rates across the country.

Turkey had closed mosques for congregational prayers in the early days of the pandemic, but mosques reopened in May 2020 subject to social distancing. However, the Friday prayer turned out to be a challenge in its current implementation.

The implementation of prayers in the mosque is now crowded and most of it is done outside the mosque because the number of worshipers who attend is getting bigger.

Therefore, worshipers who want to pray at the mosque and have to maintain social distance are forced to pray with their own prayer mat which is sometimes done on the streets. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)