France Halts Visas for Foreign Imams During Ramadan Amid COVID-19 Restrictions

A tradition not renewed. Imams and reciters from Morocco, Algeria or Turkey will not be able to travel to France this time to perform the Tarawih prayers and Quranic recitations during the month of Ramadan.

The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) had also explained to Muslims that several activities falling within the framework of the month of Ramadan could be suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic and the confinement measures imposed on the French.

"According to the health authorities of our country, the confinement related to the covid-19 crisis is likely to continue until the beginning of June 2020. The ban on any physical gathering of people, as well as the closure of places of worship throughout this confinement period, will result in the suspension of many activities of the month of Ramadan, at least in their usual forms," the CFCM had indicated in a statement dated March 26.