MUI Urges Idulfitri Prayers at Home Following COVID-19 in History Today, May 12, 2020

JAKARTA - Today's memory, six years ago, May 12, 2020, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) urged Indonesian Muslims to perform Eid al-Fitr prayers at home. The appeal was taken into account given the high transmission of the corona virus and could bring about human casualties.

Previously, the COVID-19 pandemic changed all kinds of patterns of community activities. All sectors were affected. Activities that invite crowds are prohibited. The ban was taken because the crowd of people has the potential to be the center of virus spread.

The world was never ready for the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus from Wuhan was able to make the whole world panic because of its massive transmission. This condition makes many countries unable to hold back the rate of its spread.

Take the example of Indonesia. The government actually seems to underestimate the presence of COVID-19. The corona virus is equated with the common flu. Alias a disease that does not need special treatment. There is also the assumption that the corona virus cannot develop in a tropical climate.

Everything changed when the COVID-19 virus was detected entering Indonesia in early March 2020. The government panicked. So did the Indonesian people. Efforts to stop the spread of the corona virus have not been seriously dug and Indonesia has no example from other countries that have successfully fought COVID-19.

This condition is also seen from the stuttering of the World Health Organization (WHO) in issuing instructions. The government is also trying to implement reasonable steps in breaking the chain of transmission.

The government then determined the status of public health emergency in the wake of the corona virus. The option of large-scale social restrictions or PSBB was taken.

This policy makes the public urged to stay at home and avoid chaos. All of this is done so that the transmission of the corona virus is not massive. The biggest step is that the government prohibits the tradition of Eid homecoming.

"The government has designated COVID-19 as a type of disease with risk factors that cause public health emergencies. And therefore the government has set the status of public health emergencies. To overcome the impact of the outbreak, I have decided in a cabinet meeting, the option we choose is PSBB," said Jokowi as quoted by lamandetik.com, March 31, 2020.

The government's decision to ban homecoming was supported by MUI. The cleric institution considers that Muslims must adapt to the impact of COVID-19. Adaptation is not only a matter of homecoming. MUI thinks about how the Eid al-Fitr prayers on May 24, 2020, which may be different from previous years.

As a result, MUI agreed to appeal to Indonesian Muslims to pray Eid al-Fitr at home on May 12, 2020. The appeal was applied to areas with high transmission of the corona virus. For areas that are not high, Eid al-Fitr prayers in mosques or fields are still allowed with distance. The appeal was then made a fatwa by MUI a day later or on May 13, 2020.

"Just like Friday prayers that are replaced by afternoon prayers at home, Eid prayers can be done in their respective places. The law of Eid prayers is a sunnah muakkad," said Chairman of the MUI Fatwa Commission, Hasanuddin, as quoted by the detik.com page, May 12, 2020.