Mosques to take in more congregants for Hari Raya prayers

More than 206,000 spaces are on offer for Hari Raya Aidilfitri prayers, instead of the 153,000 announced by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) last Friday.

A total of 66 mosques will hold at least two prayer sessions, which require prior bookings, on the morning of Hari Raya Aidilfitri on May 3. Fifteen of them expect more people to attend and will hold a third session, which is open to walk-ins.

The rise in the number of places comes after the multi-ministry task force tackling the Covid-19 pandemic lowered the disease outbreak response system condition level from orange to yellow last Friday, and eased community safe management measures from Tuesday.

This also means that religious organisations can now carry out activities at full capacity, instead of the previous limit of 75 per cent at places of worship.

But Deputy Mufti Mohd Murat Md Aris said the booking system will remain. "Until we understand the situation and are sure that mosques have enough space, we will continue with the booking system. Slowly, in time, we hope to discontinue it, but for now the system remains until further notice."

Speaking to the media at Yusof Ishak Mosque, he noted that Muslims have been orderly in mosques amid the changing restrictions over the past two years.

The mosque's executive chairman Khalid Shukur, who was also at the media interview, spoke about the importance of booking systems to manage the overwhelming turnouts at mosques every Hari Raya, even before the pandemic. Back then, congregants would end up praying outside the mosques.

Ustaz Murat also advised the Muslim community to pray at home with their families if they cannot secure a booking.

A total of 50 mosques will implement vaccination-differentiated safe management measures, while the remaining 16 mosques will be open to unvaccinated Muslims. The list of these mosques can be found on Muis' website.

Mr Khalid said: "We welcome the numbers and restrictions, but at the same time, certain guidelines and precautions for safety need to be followed. We will be ensuring that our staff and volunteers are able to manage the queues and check-ins for bookings."

Bookings for the prayer sessions open at 10am today. They can be made at https://ourmosques. commonspaces.sg or via the Muslim.sg app, both of which will display the number of available places at each mosque.