SINGAPORE - Mosques across Singapore will offer up to three sessions of prayer on the morning of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan draws to a close next week.
Muslims can attend prayers at 7.15am, 8.45am or 9.45am.
Out of the 68 mosques, 12 will offer three sessions, 51 will have two sessions, and five will offer a single session at 8.45am.
The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) said in a media briefing on Thursday that the arrangement is to meet an expected surge in congregants on Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
In addition, 20 supplementary spaces will be provided for prayers. The venues will be announced next week.
The 88 locations – mosques and supplementary spaces – can accommodate up to 240,000 people.
All the mosques except five will do away with the booking system implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic. Booking in the five mosques will be required only for the 7.15am session.
The mosques are: Masjid Darul Ghuran, Masjid Al-Mawaddah, Masjid Sallim Mattar, Masjid Wak Tanjong and Masjid Yusof Ishak.
Hari Raya Aidilfitri, also known as Hari Raya Puasa, falls on April 22 in Singapore.
Executive chairman Khalid Shukur Bakri of Masjid Yusof Ishak, a mosque in Woodlands, told The Straits Times that even though the supplementary prayer spaces may be marginally less convenient than congregants’ preferred mosques, they will go a long way towards solving any issues of overcrowding.
“I hope that Muslims will exercise due diligence in terms of caring and providing for the needs of others,” he added.
On the lifting of the booking requirement in most mosques, Mr Khairul Anwar, deputy chief executive of Muis, said most mosques have limited manpower and are unable to properly enforce the system.
“Policing a booking system where you are letting in 100 to 400 people is a very different experience to letting in 1,000 or 1,500 people,” he said.
Mr Khairul added that even without the booking system, the overall goal of all mosques is to optimise their capacity in a safe manner.
Muis also urged Muslims to consider going to less crowded mosques to perform their prayers.
The 13 less crowded mosques are: Masjid An-Nahdhah, Masjid Muhajirin, Masjid Hajjah Rahimabi Kebun Limau, Masjid Abdul Hamid, Masjid Omar Salmah, Masjid Al-Muttaqin, Masjid Al-Huda, Masjid Hussain Sulaiman, Masjid Hang Jebat, Masjid Ahmad, Masjid Tentera Di Raja, Masjid Jamiyah Ar-Rrabitah and Masjid Al-Amin.
The council is working closely with the Ministry of Manpower to arrange prayer sessions at dormitories and recreation centres for foreign workers, with sermons conducted in English or Bengali.
Mufti Nazirudin Mohd Nasir advised against praying in public spaces, which could inconvenience others, and urged Muslims who cannot get into a mosque during the first prayer session to attend other sessions or go to the supplementary venues.
“Public spaces are not meant for prayer... It is not a good practice and should not be encouraged,” Dr Nazirudin said.
He added that the effort to maintain safety for congregants stemmed from lessons learnt during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“While the pandemic may be over, these values must remain... It would be a very big tragedy and shame to lose these values now when we are blessed with peacefulness,” he said.
