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Places of worship reopen as Jakarta eases restrictions
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he Jakarta administration, claiming that the rate of infection has dropped, has welcomed a period of fewer restrictions, including the reopening of houses of worship on Friday.
Muslims in the capital, the first epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic in Indonesia, rejoiced as mosques reopened for the first Friday mass prayers after months of praying at home.
Denny Faizal, a 22-year-old university graduate, joined the weekly congregational prayers, which are mandatory for Muslim men, at Teladan Mosque in Tebet, South Jakarta.
It was his first time participating in Friday prayers at a mosque since mid-March, just weeks before the city administration imposed large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) to curb the spread of COVID-19.
He said the mosque administrators had followed all the necessary protocols mandated by the city administration, including temperature spot-checks before entry, keeping a safe distance from other worshipers and wearing face masks.
Members of the congregation were required to bring their own prayer mats and bags to store their footwear, and the sermons given before the prayers were quicker than usual.
“Alhamdulillah [thank God], I can perform Friday prayers again. I feel very happy,” Denny told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
“I hope that we can continue holding Friday prayers at the mosque and that the PSBB will be over soon.”
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan announced on Thursday that houses of worship may resume their activities beginning on Friday, as long as they observed the necessary health protocols.
The change falls in line with the rules of Jakarta’s PSBB extension, which contains provisions on gradually easing restrictions throughout the month of June.
The policy also applies to musholla (prayer rooms), as well as churches, viharas, temples and klenteng (Chinese temples).
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo performed Friday prayers at Baiturrahim Mosque, situated within the Presidential Palace complex in Central Jakarta. Kompas.com reported that Anies prayed at Fatahillah Mosque located in the City Hall compound, just a stone’s throw from the State Palace.
Some mosques in the city, such as Al Azhar Mosque in South Jakarta, were at full capacity. Former vice president Jusuf Kalla, who as chairman of the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI) welcomed the plan to reopen mosques earlier in the week, was also present, tempo.co reported.
To prevent overcrowding in mosques during the weekly prayers, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a fatwa allowing prayers to be conducted in two separate groups in turns, as opposed to in a single group simultaneously at noon.
Besides mosques, the Jakarta administration also allowed other houses of worship to operate during the transition phase.
The Jakarta Archdiocese, for example, prepared for its churches a new worship protocol following the religious affairs minister’s announcement that places of worship would gradually reopen.
“We are making sure that our parishes are ready to follow the worship protocol,” Jakarta Archdiocese secretary Adi Prajoso said in a letter issued on Wednesday.
“When the new protocol and our parishes are ready, we will gradually open the church.”
In largely conservative Indonesia, where religion plays a significant role in the fabric of society, worshipers have had to refrain from mass religious gatherings to curb the spread of the disease.
Places of worship have proven to be a fertile breeding ground for COVID-19. A recent report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict found that the lack of an early response to ban mass religious gatherings had contributed to the emergence of infection clusters in South Sulawesi and West Java.
Indonesians have since turned to virtual congregations as the outbreak temporarily shuttered various houses of worship, though a government ban on public congregations did little to stop people from observing mass Idul Fitri prayers last month.
The government’s plan to gradually reopen places of worship has also drawn a mixed response from the general public, with many insisting that any possible easing of curbs anywhere should be contingent on whether the risk of transmission is low.
The Jakarta administration revealed that 66 community units (RW), 2.48 percent of the city’s total number of RWs, were considered red zones due to the growing number of COVID-19 cases.
Haedar Nashir, the chairman of the nation’s second-largest Muslim group, Muhammadiyah, said the group had called for Muslims in red zones to continue praying at home.
“[Muslims] should prioritize their health, weigh the benefits [of their actions] and account for safety and security considerations […] to prevent mafasadat [harm] and to curb COVID-19 transmission,” he said in a circular distributed on Thursday.
