Congregational prayers are being held in mosques in Tajikistan after an eleven-month break.
Mosques in Tajikistan reopened for collective prayers on February 1 as President Emomali Rahmon on January 30 declared the country coronavirus-free.
Hundreds of believers prayed yesterday at the main mosque in Dushanbe for the first time since it was closed in April due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The mosque was disinfected on the eve of the reopening and its rugs were marked with special tapes to remind believers to observe social distancing.
The government has said that mosques in the country will reopen on February 1 as long as they meet sanitary requirements. Authorities have warned that those mosques that fail to respect hygiene rules will be closed.
Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service says Tajikistan has 4,000 registered mosques.
Mosques in Tajikistan were closed for collective prayers on March 4 last year but excluding burial rites, following the decision that was made by the Council of Ulema (Tajikistan’s highest Islamic institution) told mosques to suspend public gatherings, including Friday prayers) on March 3 in connection with the danger of a coronavirus epidemic.
The proper appeal was published on the website of the Islamic Center of Tajikistan. “In order to prevent infection and the spread of the virus among the inhabitants of the country, it was decided to temporarily refuse to perform collective prayers, except for performing janaza”, the statement said.
However, the mosques reopened for collective prayers on March 20.
On April 17, the Council of Ulema made a decision to close mosques again beginning on April 18 to protect against the novel coronavirus.
