The Islamic call to prayer (adhan) will be broadcast in Australia’s largest mosque to motivate the Muslim community during the holy month of Ramadan as Down under struggles to cope with the coronavirus epidemic.
The adhan will be broadcast every night and last until the end of Ramadan on May 22, at the Lakemba Mosque in Sydney.
“With the coronavirus restrictions and the closing of mosques and places of worship, people were denied the special atmosphere of Ramadan,” Ahmad Malas, the executive director of the Lebanese Muslim Association, told SBS.
The holiest month in the Islamic calendar is one of family and togetherness – community, reflection, charity and prayer.
The Muslim call to prayer being broadcast from a loudspeaker is common in many Muslim-majority countries, but it is not widespread or generally permitted in Australia.
Malas stated that the mosque hosts evening prayers and celebrations during Ramadan every year, but this is the first time the adhan has been broadcast in the evening, underlining the mosque’s great efforts to obtain a permit for the call to prayer before Ramadan.
“Many residents in Lakemba are Muslim, and they were surprised to hear the adhan when they were breaking their fast. People came out of their houses to see what was happening,” he said, pointing out that the call was welcomed with overwhelming support from the community.
“Some people drove from different suburbs, parked their cars around the mosque to see it happening, they filmed it and the videos were circulated widely, even in the Arab countries,” he added.
Additionally, Lakemba Mosque, which has been hosting hundreds of people every night for prayers and a Ramadan market, was forced to cancel its attractive Ramadan events to maintain social distancing rules due to the novel coronavirus.
However, the Lebanese Muslim Association has announced that the Ramadan program will still be available on their website and Facebook in both Arabic and English.
Australia has so far reported 6,823 COVID-19 infected cases of whom more than 5,800 have recovered.
Over 211,00 people have died due to COVID-19 after first emerging in China's city of Wuhan last December. It has spread to 185 countries and territories, affecting over 3.05 million people, according to data compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.
