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Muslim Leaders in Belgium Call for Mosque Closures Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
Saturday 14 March 2020, by
In unison, the Executive of Muslims of Belgium (EMB) and the Coordination Council of Islamic Institutions of Belgium (CIB) called, on Friday, March 13, on all mosque leaders in the country to close their doors and cease all worship and educational activities. This, "until at least April 3, 2020", in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
In a joint statement, the two Muslim organizations recall the measures taken by the National Security Council on Thursday, March 12, to effectively deal with COVID-19. These include the suspension of classes in schools, the closure of cafes and restaurants, and the cancellation of all recreational activities, whether sports, cultural or folkloric, regardless of their size and nature.
"In order to contribute to the collective effort to limit contamination between people as much as possible, we urgently call on the imams and leaders of all mosques in Belgium to close the doors of places of worship to the public and suspend all their activities, from this Friday, March 13, and until at least April 3: the five daily prayers, Quranic, religious and Arabic language courses for adults and children, as well as conferences and any other group activities," launch the EMB and the CIB.
For these two Muslim organizations, "it is important that the entire Muslim community understands and scrupulously respects all the recommendations and decisions issued by the Belgian public authorities in this critical period to preserve public health."
For its part, the Catholic Church of Belgium has suspended all public liturgical celebrations, from the weekend of March 14. In total, three deaths related to the virus have been recorded in the country.