Minister Of Religion Asks For Help From CSOs Reminds People Not To Go Home For Eid Al-Fitr During Emergency PPKM

JAKARTA - Minister of Religion (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas asked for help from community organizations such as Nahdatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, the Indonesian Ulema Council, and other mass organizations to urge people not to go home for Eid amid the Implementation of Emergency Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM).

Moreover, community mobility such as going home can trigger the massive spread of the COVID-19 virus.

"The Ministry of Religion will immediately coordinate with Islamic organizations such as NU, Muhammadiyah, MUI, and other Islamic organizations to jointly urge people not to go home for Eid because we know that this homecoming will trigger the spread of COVID-19," Yaqut said at a press conference after holding the meeting. limited edition with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and other line ministries which was shown on the Presidential Secretariat YouTube, Friday, July 16.

He said this had been reported to President Jokowi and coordination with the mass organizations would be carried out as soon as possible even in the afternoon.

"Soon this afternoon we will coordinate and hopefully this (appeal, red) can be well received by the community," said Yaqut.

For information, the Ministry of Religion announced that this year's Eid will fall on July 20, 2021. This decision is based on the stipulation of 1 Dzulhijjah 1442 Hijri which falls on Sunday, July 11, 2020.

Returning to Yaqut, he then reminded the Ministry of Religion that it had issued Ministerial Circular Letter No. 17 of 2021 regarding the Implementation of Eid al-Adha. In the circular, a number of matters related to Eid al-Adha celebrations have been regulated, such as worship activities in houses of worship to slaughtering sacrificial animals.

Regarding worship activities, said Yaqut, in the midst of this Emergency PPKM, people were asked to worship in their respective homes. "This means that the activities of houses of worship are temporarily not carried out, there are congregations, for example," he said.

Likewise with takbiran activities that become a habit before Eid al-Adha. Yaqut said that people can only do takbiran in their respective homes.

While takbiran in mosques in a crowd, even processions on foot or using vehicles are prohibited.

"We arrange and invite the Muslim community to continue to carry out takbiran but only at home because it does not reduce the meaning of takbiran at all," said Yaqut.

Not only that, the Eid prayer can only be done at home. "There is no prayer in the mosque or in the field during PPKM," he said.

Furthermore, this circular also regulates the slaughter of sacrificial animals and their distribution. Yaqut said, slaughtering activities should only be carried out in slaughterhouses.

However, if the condition of the slaughterhouse is very crowded, then the slaughtering of the animal can be done alone but it must be in an open, wide area, and may only be witnessed by those who perform the sacrifice and the committee.

As for the distribution, it is no longer allowed to use a coupon system to cause crowds. "It is arranged so that the sacrificial animals are delivered directly to those who are entitled," he concluded.