NAIROBI—Kenyan Muslims today join the global Muslim fraternity to celebrate the Eid ul Adh’ha, the National Muslim Covid19 Response Committee (NMCRC) has issued guidelines for conducting the prayers as part of the efforts to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Eid Al-Adh’ha commemorates the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to Almighty Allah. The event is ob- served with feasts and family visits, which could cause the virus to spread between people.
As a precautionary measure, the committee has urged Muslim faithful across the country to adhere to coronavirus counter measures and to follow the health and other protocols issued by the authorities.
According to the guidelines issued by the NMCRC chair Prof. Muhammad Karama, Eid Al-Adh’haa prayers will be performed in mosques with strict adherence to the set guidelines and protocols aimed at pre- venting the transmission of the Covid-19 infection.
“A Muslim should not be oblivious about a situation and do nothing. Taking the necessary means and then relying upon Allāh is something which is emphasized in Islam.
“Therefore Muslims must take precautions as advised by Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him,” Prof Karama said.
The guidelines emphasized that the prayer area should clearly be demarcated to ensure safe spaces of at least 1.5 meters separation and further recommended multiple Eid prayers at selected intervals to allow more people to pray.
All congregants must have their temperature taken before accessing the mosque or prayer areas and wear a mask at all times. Further, mosque management committees are required to provide hand washing facilities and sanitizers at multiple entrances to reduce crowding.
The committee also recommended separate entrance and exit points especially if multiple prayers are conducted and urged Imams to shorten the time of prayers. The Imam and Khatib were urged to remind the worshipers about precautionary measures such as maintaining safe distance, refraining from shaking hands and hugging and avoiding all forms of physical contact between congregants.
The National Muslim Covid19 Response Committee (NMCRC) has been actively involved in advising and guiding on steps to be taken in safe reopening of mosques in line with the Ministry of Health guidelines, to prevent rapid spread of Covid-19 pandemic.
