Hyderabad: The Muslim community in India is waiting with a lot anticipation for the reopening of mosques on June 8, following a lockdown that has stretched for more than 70 days now in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. However, a debate is also raging on the prudence behind the decision to reopen mosques at a time when the number of positive cases in the country has seen a spike over the last few days.
Religious scholars, political leaders and other prominent members of the Muslim community have raised questions whether the time was ripe for throwing the doors of mosques open, following the Indian government’s announcement that all places of religious worship will be opened as part of ‘Unlockdown-1’.
While a detailed draft note with several safety measures was circulating within the community, to make the re-opening of mosques safe, Asaduddin Owaisi, member of parliament from Hyderabad and president of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, has urged that people above 65 years and those with comorbidities (underlying conditions) should stay away from mosques and instead offer prayers from home until at least the end of this month.
Social distancing inside mosques
A four-page note with several instructions on how to keep mosques safe and stop further spread of the virus was being circulated among mosque committees and other members of the community. The note stressed the need to maintain social distancing inside mosques during prayers and avoid shaking hands, hugging and bringing in prayer mats. ‘Do not rush to the masjid because it has opened,’ the note cautioned. With the second-biggest Muslim population in the world, with more than 200 million community members, India has more than 200,000 mosques.
Addressing a press conference in Hyderabad recently, Owaisi urged Ulemas or Muslim religious scholars to prepare a set of guidelines to be followed in mosques. He also appealed to Telangana Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao to consult scholars and religious heads from all communities to prepare a guideline. “The government should come out with social-distancing guidelines for religious places of all communities,” he said.
Gap between worshippers
He further suggested that youths from the Muslim community should pray at mosques while the elders should stay at home until the threat of coronavirus is over. “The virus was not going anywhere and we have to ensure all the necessary precautions when places of worship open on June 8,” Owaisi said.
He suggested to the Muftis that congregational prayers be offered with a gap between two worshippers. His ideas included removing prayer mats and carpets from all mosques and that prayers should be offered on the stone flooring, closing of the washrooms in mosques and asking people to come prepared from home, doing ‘wudu’ or ablutions at home. He pointed at the precautions being followed upon reopening of mosques in Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries.
Meanwhile, the total number of cases in the country crossed the 200,000-mark on Tuesday, while the number of deaths reached 5,829. India has registered the highest number of cases of 9,228 on a single day on Tuesday, while 226 deaths were also recorded.
In Telangana, there were 99 new infections and four deaths on Tuesday.
“The results of lockdown relaxations will be known only after 20 days,” Owaisi said, cautioning people against becoming careless.
Tirumala temple to open on “trial basis”
The state government of Andhra Pradesh has granted permission to the Tirumala Tirupathi Devsthanam (TTD) to reopen the Lord Balaji temple from June 8 on a trial basis. The Tirumala temple, the richest Hindu temple in India, has remained closed since the third week of March. In a letter, the chief executive officer of TTD, Anil Kumar Singhal, sought permission from the government to reopen the temple. The state government said the temple can be reopened on a trial basis. The government has asked TTD to initially allow only the temple employees and local people inside the shrine with strict social-distancing norms, before opening it for all.
About 100,000 devotees visit the temple every day.
TTD authorities have made elaborate arrangements, including markings on the floor and barricades inside the temple, to regulate the entry and exit of pilgrims in adherence to social-distancing norms.
In the run-up to the opening of all temples under the TTD, authorities have also resumed the sale of the famous Tirumala ‘laddu’ at the Hyderabad temple.
