Bengaluru: In the face of the Covid-19 threat, the Karnataka State Board of Wakf has issued instructions to mosques and dargah to impose restrictions on prayer gatherings. Similarly the bishop of Mangaluru has exempted the laity in his diocese from obligation to attend Sunday Mass till March 31.
In a circular, the Wakf Board advised all masjids and dargahs in Karnataka to maintain cleanliness around prayer halls and keep sanitizers available to the faithful. At a meeting of religious leaders two days ago, the Board advised shorter sermons at mosques.
The usual timing of the Friday prayer was of one and a half hour was shortened to ten minutes, as has been done in several Middle East countries. Even the Jamath Salah will be conducted in minimum time and the gathering dispersed at the earliest.
The duration of the Salah prayer has also been minimized to not more than ten minutes. The Ijtema and Urus may be celebrated with minimum attendance, the Wakf Board religious leaders.
The Board advised masjid and dargah administrations to discourage large assemblies on around their premises.
Churches too have adopted social distancing as a precaution to arrest the spread of the coronavirus. Gatherings for Sunday prayers are likely to be minimal on account of this.
The bishop of the Mangalore Diocese, Most Rev Dr Peter Paul Saldanha has exempted till March 31 all faithful from the obligation of attending mass.
"Regular masses will not be held. I am hereby exempting all our faithful in the diocese of Mangalore from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays till March 31, 2020," he added.
