No mass gatherings for Eid’l Fitr
All rites that involve mass gatherings in public places or in mosques during the Eid’l Fitr are prohibited, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said yesterday.
“There is a marching order from the Philippine National Police to guard mosques and implement directives from the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) that no gatherings would be allowed to welcome Eid’l Fitr,” NCRPO chief Maj.
Gen. Debold Sinas said in an online presser yesterday.
Sinas, citing quarantine restrictions as per the IATF, said he had already spoken to Muslim leaders and mosque administrators to keep mosques
closed during the holiday.
Police district directors in Metro Manila have been ordered to deploy men in traditional places where Muslims celebrate Eid’l Fitr like Luneta, Quirino Grandstand and other open spaces to remind them that no gatherings should take place.
The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) had earlier reminded Muslim communities that mass gatherings are not allowed in areas under modified enhanced community quarantine.
“Imams and other religious ministers are allowed to provide home religious services, provided that proper health and safety protocols are observed,” read the statement.
Sinas, who landed in hot water for his birthday celebration early this month amid strict quarantine restrictions, said he trusts that Muslims would follow the IATF directive.
Gatherings
The NCMF and an Islamic policy group have appealed to Muslims not to converge even outdoors to prevent exposure to the deadly coronavirus during the Eid rites to end Ramadan on May 25.
Malacañang has declared Eid’l Fitr a holiday on Monday, but Muslims in the country are likely to end Ramadan either on May 23 or 24, depending on the sighting of the new moon according to the lunar-based Islamic Hijrah calendar.
The NCMF and the Darul Iftah or the House of Opinions of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said the restriction on outdoor Eid prayer rites is a protection measure allowed in Islam to contain the spread of coronavirus 0-disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Abu Huraira Udasan, grand mufti (preacher) in the Bangsamoro region and figurehead of the Darul Iftah, told reporters yesterday there is nothing wrong with performing Eid’l Fitr prayers inside the Muslim faithful’s homes in keeping with quarantine protocols.
The Darul Iftah is comprised of top clerics in the Bangsamoro region, among them graduates of Islamic universities in the Middle East and North Africa.
NCMF head Saidamen Pangarungan also called on Muslims to hold Eid’l Fitr prayers at home.
He said IBC-13 shall air on May 24 an Eid’l Fitr khutba (sermon) by Muslim theologian Julkipli Wadi of the University of the Philippines’ Institute of Islamic Studies.