15-minute time limit placed on Friday sermons in Kuwait
Rule put into place to avoid worshippers exposure to the sun amid blistering heat
Kuwait City: The duration of the Friday sermon in Kuwait’s mosques must not exceed 15 minutes due to the summer heat, religious authorities have said.
The Ministry of Awqaf instructed that the Friday sermon should not take more than 15 minutes in residential areas where worshippers sometimes have to do the prayers in the open space due to overcrowding inside the mosque, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas reported.
The ministry also ordered the sermon run for a maximum 10 minutes in mosques located in border areas where temperatures are usually higher, the paper added.
Kuwait has been sweltering in a heatwave expected to continue through the summer.
The country recorded this month the world’s highest temperature with 52.2 degrees Celsius, according to local media.
The government is enforcing a seasonal midday ban on outdoor work in the summer heat.
The ban takes effect from June until the end of August, peak months of the summer in Kuwait.