Friday prayers held under the shadow of virus

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: From occupied Jerusalem to Makkah, Muslims across the Middle East held Friday prayers under the shadow of the new coronavirus, with some gatherings cancelled and others subdued because of the deadly outbreak.

The highly contagious disease is believed to be transmitted through close contact and authorities globally have moved to restrict large gatherings, including public prayers.

In Makkah, Islam’s holiest site was uncrowded after reopening on Friday following disinfection.

The area around the Kaaba was closed on Thursday for sterilisation.

Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque normally attract hundreds of thousands of worshippers, while this week only tens of thousands attended.

The mosque’s imam prayed for an end to the epidemic during his sermon, while praising Saudi Arabia’s decision to suspend the year-round Umrah pilgrimage over fears of the new coronavirus.

“God, I seek refuge in you from the calamity and the epidemic,” said Sheikh Abdullah Awad Al Juhani.

In Iran, which has the most COVID-19 cases in the region, authorities have faced accusations of mismanaging the response to the outbreak.

Authorities cancelled weekly prayers in Tehran and provincial capitals.

In Iraq, prayers were cancelled in the holy Shiite city of Karbala, home of the mausoleum of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH).

For the first time since 2003 no one delivered the sermon of Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the highest authority for millions of Shiite Muslims.

In the city of Najaf, however, campaigning by cleric Moqtada Al Sadr forced authorities to re-open the Imam Ali mausoleum, which had been closed for disinfection.

The first new coronavirus case in Iraq was identified in Najaf, which attracts millions of Iranian pilgrims annually.

In the Palestinian territories, the first seven

COVID-19 cases were confirmed on Thursday, with a further 19 reported so far in Israel.

At Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, weekly prayers proceeded despite the Palestinian government announcing a state of emergency on Thursday evening.

Jerusalem’s Old City was unusually quiet at Friday lunchtime, a journalist said, with only a few tourists wandering around, some wearing masks.

In Bethlehem, a Palestinian city about 10 kilometres south of Jerusalem, authorities closed the Church of the Nativity, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.