This article from the Al Jazeera Magazine details the extremely sad and difficult decision that has had to be made in Jerusalem over whether or not to close the Al-Aqsa mosque for the holy month of Ramadan. “Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, the Jordan-appointed council that oversees Islamic sites on the sacred compound, called the decision “painful””. This decision will affect the religious lives of tens of thousands of Muslims during the month when Ramadan starts on April 23rd. One sign of normalcy is that the Muslim call to prayer will still take place five times per day at the site, and religious workers will still be allowed in the site in order to make that happen. However, the council has asked that all Muslims remain at their home and pray at home rather than at the site. “It typically draws tens of thousands of Muslims daily to the mosque and the adjoining Dome of the Rock for evening prayers known as Taraweeh”. Tens of thousands of Muslims will be affected by this order, but it is for the good of the whole that no one gets infected by attending the holy site. I think it would be a good idea for religious gatherings across the globe to be stopped as another further way to stop big crowds from being together. Many places have moved to online worships or services, and some have even stopped everything all together, but there are still a great deal of places of worship that remain open and risk the health of us all by doing so.
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