• Muslims will be able to resume congregational prayers from June 26
• Limited to 50 spaces at each session for each mosque
• Slots must be booked through an online prayer booking system, on a first-come first-served basis

SINGAPORE — Muslims will be able to resume congregational prayers from Friday (June 26) with prayer spaces limited to 50 at each session for each mosque, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) said on Sunday.

To do so, congregants must book a slot through an online prayer booking system developed by Muis, which will open at 9am on June 24. The slots will be given out on a first-come first-served basis at ourmosques.commonspaces.sg.

Only those with a valid booking will be allowed to enter the mosques. Walk-ins are not allowed in order to prevent congregants without bookings from gathering outside the mosques, Muis' chief executive officer Esa Masood emphasised at a virtual press briefing.

The new rules follow an advisory from the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth last week to allow congregational and other worship services to resume from June 26 in Phase Two of Singapore’s reopening roadmap.

Mr Esa said: “I fully understand the desire of many Muslims in our community to participate in the congregational services, given the extended period of suspension.

“However, we urge continued caution and patience as we progressively resume our congregational services in a gradual manner. This is to avoid a second wave of infection and the possibility of us having to be closed again, something which we all want to avoid.”

To allow more congregants to perform the Friday prayers, two prayer sessions — each 30 minutes in duration — will be held every Friday, with a half-hour interval between the sessions. Congregants can only book a Friday slot once every three weeks.

Sermons and prayers will be shortened to a maximum of 20 minutes each, and congregants will pray in marked spaces at least a metre apart. Imams delivering the sermons will stand at least 2m away from the first row and will be required to don a face shield.

Worshippers are expected to wear their masks at all times, including during the prayers. They should also bring their personal prayer items, such as prayer mats, prayer garments for women and sarongs for men.

Congregants should not mingle with others and leave the mosque immediately after the prayer session, Muis said in a statement.

The same rules will apply for the five daily congregation prayers occurring after each day’s Azan, or prayer call. Beyond these sessions, private worship will continue to be available, and also limited to 50 people at any one time.

A total of 66 mosques will be reopened in this way, Mr Esa said.

FOUR MOSQUES TO REMAIN CLOSED

Only four mosques — Masjid Abdul Ghafoor, Masjid Bencoolen, Masjid Ba’alwie and Masjid Burhani — will remain closed for the time being as they may be undergoing upgrading or are still working with Muis on safe management measures, he said.

An Islamic religious guidance, or fatwa, was also issued to excuse groups from performing Friday prayers for those unable to attain prayer slots, as well as to allow multiple sessions and safe distancing between congregants during the prayers.

Online sermons and religious talks will continue, as will home-based learning for children in weekend Islamic learning classes, Muis said.

Mufti Nazirudin Mohd Nasir said: “When all spaces have been taken up, it means there are no more safe spaces available. And those who are not able to book a space are therefore excused from attending the Friday prayers. We certainly know that after such a long hiatus, many are looking forward to join the Friday prayers.

“There will be limitations and I would like to urge everyone to continue to be patient and play our part in ensuring that we get through this phase safely. Because if we do this well, better times will come and we can perform Friday prayers more frequently.”

It will be “sufficient and permissible” for those unable to obtain a slot for the Friday prayers to perform the regular noon prayer — or the Zuhur — at home instead, according to the Fatwa committee which is chaired by Dr Nazirudin.

As larger numbers of congregants will now be expected at the mosques, Muis said enhanced safe management measures will be needed.

These include a one-way flow of people within the mosque and safe ablution points, which will be modified to allow sufficient distancing between people and reduced water flow to prevent splashing of water.

All congregants are required to use the digital SafeEntry check-in system to enter the mosques and are strongly encouraged to use the TraceTogether mobile application to facilitate contact tracing, Muis said.