Ministry of Religious Affairs and Wakfs announced, in a statement issued Monday, a group of measures related to the partial lockdown decided in 35 provinces of the country, consisting mainly in the suspension of collective prayers in mosques affected by the lockdown schedule.
In an instruction to directors of Religious Affairs and Wakfs in the provinces, the Ministry specified that “the follow-up commission at ministerial level calls for the respect of the suspension of collective prayers in mosques concerned by the health confinement schedules”.
It was also decided to maintain “the call to prayer (El-Adhan) for suspended prayers by adopting the formula (Essalat Fi Bouyoutikom), twice at the end of the call to prayer, in addition to the suspension of Quranic teaching in various spaces and the closure of the annexes of the Islamic Cultural Centre in the concerned provinces.
At the same time, the Ministry called for “the strict application of this decision on the ground, by charging inspectors with the task of monitoring the implementation of these measures, while keeping the General Inspectorate informed of any difficulties encountered”.
This decision comes in application of the measures taken by the Prime Minister’s office to manage the health crisis linked to Coronavirus pandemic for 10 days, including the restoration of partial confinement from 8pm to 6am in 35 provinces.
