Residents urged to pray at home during religious festivals

Issued by the Lancashire Resilience Forum

With Ramadan just days away, Muslim residents are being asked not to visit mosques but to continue to stay at home and pray.

In view of the current situation with the increasing numbers in Covid related deaths, restrictions remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Taking this into account, with the holy month of Ramadan upon us, Imams and community leaders need to prepare the community for Ramadan in isolation.

The Lancashire Resilience Forum is working closely with representatives of all faith groups across Lancashire to communicate a range of issues around faith, religion and culture during this difficult time.

Neil Shaw, Chair of Lancashire Resilience Forum’s Faith group said:

We are consulting with all faith groups. We understand that during Ramadan many Muslims take advantage of this month by engaging in prayers and spending more time at their local mosque. This Ramadan will be different and to help communities fulfil their faith obligations, we would encourage that although national physical distancing measures are in place that communities stay socially connected through non-physical contact such as phone, social media and video.

We know that this is a very difficult time for everyone, but please continue to stay safe and pray at home especially during Ramadan and adhere to the Government guidelines around social distancing, which we know saves lives.

Most Imams are already delivering speeches on a daily basis through their public address systems and may want to continue to use this platform to deliver the key messages and spiritual guidance to the community.

Rafiq Sufi, Chair of Lancashire Council of Mosques added:

Everyone has a duty to follow the Government’s request to stay at home in order to protect the NHS and save lives. I urge residents to follow the instruction and avoid getting together with people outside of their immediate household to partake in Iftaar meals or Taraweeh when Ramadan starts next week.

Other festivals which will be affected by government guidelines to stay at home, include the upcoming Pagan Festival, Beltane, on 1st May. The Pagan Federation will be running an online Beltane festival.

Ascension Day on 21 May and Pentecost Sunday on 31 May are also key dates within the Christian community when there is a tradition for walks and outdoor services.

Neil Shaw added: “We thank the local communities for abiding to what is difficult to sacrifice, as these worships are core to people’s faith. We appreciate these are difficult times and we need the whole community to co-operate and trust the process to be balanced and respectful of the broad needs of the community.”