The capacity for Friday prayers in some mosques will be increased to 250, as the Islamic governing body looks to gradually double the weekly spaces to 30,000.
Announcing this yesterday, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) also said seniors who wish to visit the mosques can now do so in the light of the improving Covid-19 situation here.
From next Wednesday, 19 mosques are set to increase their capacity for daily congregational prayers from 50 to 100, in line with national guidelines.
Speaking during a virtual media briefing yesterday on the easing of restrictions on mosque activities, Muis chief executive Esa Masood said that since Friday prayers resumed in June after the circuit breaker, about 85,000 congregants have attended Friday prayers so far.
"Currently, Muis is able to offer 15,000 spaces each week for Friday prayers at our 64 mosques. We aim to ramp this up gradually to provide 30,000 spaces each week. And this will allow congregants to perform their Friday prayers more regularly," he added.
Muslims have to reserve their slots via an online booking system.
Some mosques will run a pilot scheme to accommodate up to 250 congregants, split across five zones, for each of the three Friday prayer sessions weekly. The pilot to further raise the Friday prayer capacity is part of progressive reopening plans announced by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong last Saturday.
Mr Esa said Muis will provide more details about the pilot after it gets more clarity and approval from the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. The mosques will be selected based on whether there is high demand for prayer slots and also if the venue has enough room to split congregants into five zones, he added.
Muis' senior director of mosque and community development Helmy Isa also announced that, in line with the national guidelines for the silver generation, congregants aged 60 and above who are feeling well may return to the mosques.
Previously, when mosques reopened in June, Muis had advised seniors to refrain from visiting.
Mr Helmy, however, urged those who are feeling unwell, vulnerable individuals and children aged below 12 against visiting the mosques and to perform their prayers at home.
Mufti Nazirudin Mohd Nasir noted that some challenges will remain as the pandemic is not over.
"Even with the increase in the number of prayer spaces, we will not be able to perform our Friday prayers... on a weekly basis yet," he said, adding that those who fail to secure a slot can skip the prayers and tune in to the sermons online.
Mr Helmy said aLIVE classes, an Islamic education programme, will gradually restart, with some mosques piloting physical classes from the middle of this month. He added that mosques will organise Maulid, or Prophet's Birthday celebrations, at the month end with on-site activities and live streams.
