Coronavirus: Defer Hajj, Umrah plans urges Saudi Arabia amid pandemic
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English Wednesday 01 April 2020 Text size AAA
Saudi Arabia is asking Muslims around the world to be patient and delay their plans for the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages amid uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the Kingdom’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah said.
The Kingdom’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr. Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten, said that Saudi Arabia was ready to receive and serve pilgrims at any time, but that the priority is currently placed for everyone’s safety.
“Saudi Arabia is currently providing care for 1,200 pilgrims who could not return to their home countries. We also returned the sums to those who obtained an Umrah visa but could not perform the Umrah,” Benten told al-Ekhbariyah television channel.
Read more: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia records 110 new cases, with two new deaths
Saudi Arabia suspended all prayers in the outer courtyards of the Two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Medina as part measures to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. It also stopped all nationals and residents from visiting Mecca to perform Umrah or visiting the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.
The Hajj pilgrimage is one of Islam’s five pillars, which all Muslims who are financially and physically able must perform at least once in their lifetime.
On Secularization and the Coronavirus in Iran
University of Utrecht: Religious Matters in an Entangled World
Turkey – The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments announces that are temporarily suspended congregational prayers in all mosques
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments took to Twitter on Monday night to announce that are temporarily suspended congregational prayers, including those offered on Friday, in all mosques, prayer facilities and areas of worship across the country, to avoid the spread of the Covid-19 contagion.
The directive, effective from 9pm on March 16 for a period of four weeks, is based on the instructions of the Ministry of Health and Protection and the Fatwa of the UAE Fatwa Council.
The authority appealed to all worshippers and mosque-goers to comply with the directive and perform their prayers at home.
اعلان الهيئة العامة للشؤون الإسلامية والأوقاف.
— الشؤون الإسلامية والأوقاف والزكاة -الإمارات (@AwqafUAE) March 16, 2020
.
.#أوقاف_إمارات
#awqafuae #الجمعة#صلاة_الجماعة
#كورونا#كورونا_الامارات pic.twitter.com/o2gDvQiPRj
Coronavirus kills Iran religious leader
From Al JAZEERA:
COVID-19 has killed a member of the clerical body that appoints the supreme leader, according to Iranian state media, the latest official in the country to die of the highly infectious disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Ayatollah Hashem Bathayi Golpayegani, 78, died two days after testing positive for the new coronavirus and being hospitalised, state news agency IRNA reported on Monday.