S'pore mosques to resume Friday prayers from June 26

Singapore, June 21 (IANS) Mosques across Singapore will resume Friday prayers from June 26, which will be limited to 50 people per session, it was reported on Sunday.Mosques will provide two half-hour prayer sessions every Friday, with a half-hour interval between the two sessions to ensure safe crowd management, the Straits Times quoted the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) as saying on Sunday.Congregants will have to reserve prayer spaces for daily and Friday congregational prayers using an online prayer booking system developed by Muis. Without a booking, congregants will not be allowed into the mosques.Meanwhile, sermons and prayers will be shortened to a maximum of 20 minutes.When delivering the sermons, imams will have to stand at least 2 metres away from the first row, and will be required to wear a face shield.Congregants will also have to pray in marked designated individual spaces 1-metre apart.Seniors aged 60 years old and above, as well as children below the age of 12, are strongly discouraged from attending Friday prayers for the time being.
--IANS ksk/