Saudis wonder if Covid-19 will end another custom
Shops not closing during prayer times in kingdom as country sees 2,691 new cases
As the call to noon prayer sounded at a shopping mall in Riyadh, a woman was having her temperature checked as she walked into a boutique. Another was sniffing the perfume that a salesman had just sprayed on her wrist. A man pushed his trolley into a supermarket.
The monotone of the muezzin beckoning Muslims to worship five times a day is usually accompanied by a rush to close stores. But in the time of coronavirus and government curfews, another hallmark of Saudi life appears to have been dispensed with. Some locals now hope the change will become part of the massive social overhaul they’ve experienced since Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman became their de facto leader in 2017.
Before the pandemic, most shops, pharmacies and gas stations in the kingdom halted for at least 30 minutes for each prayer session, the only country that enforced such closures. Until a few years ago, the religious police checked to make sure everyone complied.
With Saudis free to move only from 9am to 5pm, many businesses have decided to remain open during prayer time to make the most of the hours. Those with only one employee close briefly to allow that person to pray.
“It makes business sense,” Iman Abdullah, 40, who manages a cosmetics store, said a couple of minutes before noon prayers on a quiet day this week during Ramadan. “So far, no one has objected to us remaining open.”
She and a colleague take turns praying in a back room. Abdullah said she hoped the situation would remain the same after the Covid-19 crisis is over.
Another shopper at the mall said prayer time closures may eventually become a thing of the past. “Those who want to pray will find a way to do so”-work or no work,” said Mohammad, 45.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, reported 2,691 new cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 62,545, the Ministry of Health announced yesterday.
62,545 total number of infections in Saudi Arabia 1,491 new cases Qatar announced in the last 24 hours 804 new cases in Kuwait, taking the infection tally to 17,568