Sturgeon praises Scotland’s Muslims

FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon has praised the efforts of Scotland’s Muslim community during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the past year, a number of mosques have offered their sites as testing or vaccination centres, while others have run services such as food parcels for those in need.

Speaking at the start of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month where many Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, Ms Sturgeon said she hoped Muslims across the country would still be able to meet following the easing of restrictions on inside worship.

Measures aimed at reducing the spread of the virus limited the number of people who could attend services to 25, however the rules were recently relaxed to allow 50 attendees.

“One thing that the pandemic has highlighted and will continue to highlight is the incredible commitment to charity and neighbourhood spirit that characterises our Muslim community – whether that is providing food parcels or going for shopping for the most vulnerable in our society, or offering your places of worship to be used for Covid testing and vaccination,” she said.

“It is through that community spirit that we have been able to vaccinate so many adults in Scotland already, a great tool in our armoury against Covid.

“That hope that is presented by our vaccine rollout means that you can now look forward to marking Ramadan more normally in future.”

She added: “I recognise though that this year’s Ramadan will be exceptionally difficult for so many of you. It will be really tough not to be able to host people in your home or visit friends and family.

“I hope you have still been able to connect with your loved ones, friends and community throughout the past year using video and telephone calls and even letters.”