05 June 2020, 23:43
In Chechnya, some believers not allowed to attend first juma prayer within 10 weeks
In Chechnya, collective Friday prayers have been partially resumed after more than a two-month break. A significant part of believers could not get into mosques because of the restriction on the number of worshipers.
On June 1, the Muftiate of Chechnya announced that the ban on collective Friday prayers imposed because of the spread of the coronavirus infection had been cancelled in major mosques. Local residents found no logic in the selective opening of mosques.
Believers and religious figures of Dagestan and Ingushetia interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" say that it is too early to open mosques.
Friday prayer took place in 17 mosques in Chechnya, the "Grozny" TV Channel reports.
Elderly people and believers suffering from chronic illnesses will not be allowed to visit mosques, notes Chechen Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) on its Instagram page. In their comments, most users expressed their joy over the opening of some mosques.
Believers reported that the worship services took place with enhanced security measures in the territories of mosques and a limited number of participants in Friday prayers.
"It was the first time I prayed in such conditions when I had to stand not in a close row with other believers, but had to keep social distancing," said Rizvan, a resident of Grozny.
Earlier, collective Friday prayers were held in Chechnya on March 27, and far fewer people attended mosques than usually. Believers responded to a call for people at risk not to attend worship services.
According to the state-run website "Stopkoronavirus.ru", in Chechnya, the number of coronavirus-infected patients has reached 1306, and 14 people have died already.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 5, 2020 at 07:20 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
