No Free Takjil At Istiqlal Mosque During Ramadan This Year

Istiqlal Mosque (Photo: setkab.go.. id)

JAKARTA - Starting today, Istiqlal Mosque is re-opened to the public after being renovated. However, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia does not provide iftar (takjil) food during Ramadan this year.

Grand Imam Masjdi Istiqlal Nasaruddin Umar said Istiqlal Mosque can only be used for five-time prayers and tarawih prayers.

"We do not do iftar, there is no sahur together. So, it is only used for tarawih, five-time prayer, and witir for those who want witir," said Nasaruddin Umar at Istiqlal Mosque, Central Jakarta, Friday, April 9.

In addition, after tarawih prayers, Istiqlal Mosque will be sprayed with disinfectants to minimize the transmission of coronavirus. "Every night we do spraying in Istiqal," he said.

In addition, access to opened doors is not all. Because, in the eastern part is still used for the construction of tunnels and still in the excavation stage.

"What we open is the north and south sectors. God willing, the use of Istiqlal maximum as we have made as before," he said.

Continuing, Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan stated that the restriction on the number of worshipers for tarawih prayers is at most 50 percent of the building capacity.

Anies appealed to all administrators and managers of mosques in the capital to discipline health protocols. In particular, in prioritizing worship services for the needs of the people around the house of worship concerned.

"For (administrators) mosques in Jakarta, we recommend to be used for worshipers from the relevant areas, so that those in the mosque are relatively familiar citizens, so that we can control if there is a case (COVID-19). This is very useful for prevention, so it is recommended only used by the surrounding community," explained Anies.