Ministry Of Religion Disburses Rp6.9 Billion Assistance For Mosques And Musala

ILLUSTRATION/ANTARA PHOTOS

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion disbursed operational assistance funds of Rp. 6.9 billion for mosques and prayer rooms which can be used to meet the needs of implementing health protocols and accelerating the handling of COVID-19.

"For example, for the provision of 5M health protocols such as the provision of handwashing sanitation, masks, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and body temperature measuring devices as well as other COVID-19 prevention facilities. This includes payments for electricity, water, and community development needs carrying out online," said Director of Islamic Religious Affairs and Sharia Development (Urais Binsyar) Moh. Agus Salim as quoted by Antara, Saturday, August 28.

Agus detailed that the total assistance to be distributed includes Rp6.2 billion for mosques and Rp700 million for prayer rooms. The amount of operational assistance to be provided is Rp20 million for each mosque and Rp10 million for each prayer room.

According to him, this assistance was given as a form of government support and presence to takmir and mosque/musala administrators in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Agus hopes that the operational assistance distributed can be a stimulant for the takmir of mosques and prayer rooms to serve the people optimally during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on temporarily limiting and eliminating worship activities and the obligation to implement Health Care Programs. This will certainly affect the operational burden for takmir and mosque/musala administrators," he said.

Meanwhile, Head of Sub-Directorate of Mosques and Directorate of Islamic Religious Affairs and Sharia Guidance Abdul Syukur explained that there are several requirements and procedures for requesting assistance that must be met by takmir and mosque/musala administrators.

"One of the requirements is that the mosque/musala must be registered with the Ministry of Religion's Mosque Information System (SIMAS), have a bank account in the name of the mosque/musala, and be affected/located in an area exposed to COVID-19," he said.

There is also a document requesting assistance addressed to the Minister of Religion through the Director-General of Islamic Guidance/Director Urais Binsyar. The document is then uploaded by the applicant to the https://simas.kemenag.go.id/page/permohonanbantuan page.

Requests for assistance must be submitted online no later than September 12, 2021. He added that to find out more information, visit the official Instagram social media of Bimas Islam @bimasislam.

"All systems and submission mechanisms will be carried out online, as an effort to digitally transform aid management in the Islamic Community Guidance," he said.