Eid Mubarak: PM Narendra Modi extends greetings on Eid-ul-Fitr; Jama Masjid remains closed for devotees amid COVID-19 lockdown
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (May 25) extended greetings on Eid-ul-Fitr. He took to social media to give his message as the festival is being celebrated today across the country following social distancing and other requisite guidelines amid COVID-19 lockdown.
The Prime Minister tweeted, “Eid Mubarak! Greetings on Eid-ul-Fitr. May this special occasion further the spirit of compassion, brotherhood and harmony. May everyone be healthy and prosperous.”
Earlier on Sunday, prominent Muslim clerics in Delhi appealed to people to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr on Monday adhering to social distancing and lockdown norms in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
Shahi Imam of Fatehpuri Masjid Mufti Mukarram Ahmed said the moon was sighted and Eid will be celebrated on Monday, marking the end of the holy month of Ramzan.
Jama Masjid Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari appealed people to celebrate Eid with simplicity and help poor people and their neighbours during the pandemic crisis.
“Due to the coronavirus Eid Namaz can not be held as per tradition but people need to realise that the virus can be defeated only by taking precautions,” he said.
The mosques in the city have been closed down due to the pandemic and the clerics have urged people to offer Eid Namaz at their home.
“The Eid Namaz will be offered at Fatehpuri Masjid by me and staff of the mosque. We have asked people to offer Eid Namaz and also avoid hugging others and shaking hands,” the Shahi Imam of Fatehpuri Masjid said.
He said people should pray the almighty to free the country and the world from the scourge of the virus.
Meanwhile, Muslims around the world on Sunday began celebrating Eid al-Fitr, a normally festive holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, with millions under strict stay-at-home orders and many fearing renewed coronavirus outbreaks.
The three-day holiday is usually a time of travel, family get-togethers, and lavish daytime feasts after weeks of dawn-to-dusk fasting. But this year many of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims will have to pray at home and make due with video calls.
Some countries, including Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan, have imposed round-the-clock holiday curfews. But even where many restrictions have been lifted, celebrations will be subdued because of fears of the pandemic and its economic fallout.
Saudi Arabia, home to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, is under complete lockdown, with residents only permitted to leave their homes to purchase food and medicine.
