Masked and socially distanced to combat the coronavirus, Muslims all over the world held prayers on Friday to mark the celebration of Eid al-Adha, with mosques at reduced capacity and some praying in the open air.
Saudi Arabia‘s King Salman bin Abdulaziz, 84, whose country is house to two of Islam‘s holiest sites, tweeted vacation congratulations a day after leaving health center in Riyadh. The Haj expedition is being held in the nation with attendance drastically minimized.
In Istanbul, Muslims held Eid al-Adha prayers at Hagia Sophia for the very first time since the historical building was reconverted to a mosque this month following a court judgment revoking its status as a museum that drew criticism from Western countries
In Lebanon, ravaged by economic crisis, many discovered it tough to manage conventional Eid customs. In Tripoli, the nation’s 2nd city, there were no decorations or twinkling lights, and no electricity to power them.
Instead, a big billboard read: “We’re broke.”
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Worldwide, the festival needed to fit in with the realities of the coronavirus.
In Indonesia, the spiritual ministry asked mosques to reduce ceremonies, while lots of cancelled the routine of slaughtering livestock and distributing meat to the neighborhood.
Rather sheep, goats and cows were being killed in abattoirs to mark the ‘Banquet of the Sacrifice’, celebrated by Muslims to commemorate Prophet Abraham’s determination to sacrifice his child Ismail at God’s command.
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” This year’s Eid al-Adha is very various from previous years because we require to follow health procedures as we carry out prayers, like preserving social distancing,” said Devita Ilhami, 30, who was at the Sunda Kelapa mosque in Jakarta.
She stated they needed to bring their own prayer mats, with markers on the ground to reveal where they should be laid.
Muslim worshippers go to Eid al-Adha prayers in Hagia Sophia, Turkey, for the first time after the historical building was reconverted into a mosque pic.twitter.com/A4F2JylqeQ
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 31, 2020
In Malaysia, while some mosques cancelled the ritual of slaughtering animals, 13 cows were eliminated in the traditional way, but under rules limiting the number of animals and people at the Tengku Abdul Aziz Shah Jamek mosque in Kuala Lumpur.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani went to prayers in Kabul.
” Only little groups of worshippers will be permitted into mosques,” said Shafique Qasim, a senior cleric at the Nakhoda mosque in the eastern city of Kolkata.
Meanwhile, in Ireland, Irish Muslims performed prayers to mark the festival of Eid al-Adha on Friday at Dublin’s Croke Park Gaelic sports arena, a website of historic importance for Irish nationalists who constantly had a deep connection with the once dominant Catholic Church.
With Muslims not able to hold big events in mosques due to Covid-19 social-distancing rules, Shaykh Umar al-Qadri, chair of Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council, approached the management of Croke Park, who he said did not hesitate to use the venue.
Irish President Michael D. Higgins explained the occasion as an essential moment in Ireland’s story. Leaders of Catholic, Protestant and Jewish faiths participated in and spoke at the occasion, which was relayed live on tv for the first time.
( FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
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