UK mosques adapt for Ramadan amid coronavirus pandemic

The East London Mosque and London Muslim Center is broadcasting Qur’an recitations and talks daily during Ramadan. (File/AFP)

• The East London Mosque will deliver iftar meals to people who need it most this Ramadan as the mosque remains closed
• The MCB has encouraged mosques to find ways “to be a virtual hub of community activism”

LONDON: Mosques in the UK are increasing their online presence and adapting the services they offer this Ramadan to help Muslims stay connected to their local places of worship amid the coronavirus lockdown.
They will be broadcasting special talks, Qur’an recitals and prayers for worshippers to listen to during the holy month, when Muslims aim to increase worship, acts of charity, gratitude, self-discipline and self-improvement.
Mosques during Ramadan usually heave with worshippers who break their fasts together at sunset and perform the Maghreb prayer shortly after.
Congregation members gather again for the Isha and Taraweeh prayers later on after it is completely dark outside.
The other prayers are also attended by more people, as Muslims who would usually pray at home or not at all strive to connect to God and practice their faith better during the holy month.
This year, however, mosques in the UK are closed to worshippers in line with government restrictions that aim to curb the spread of coronavirus.
British mosques are being advised to increase their digital presence so that members of their congregation remain spiritually linked to their local mosques at a time when they are unable to attend them.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has encouraged mosques to find ways “to be a virtual hub of community activism,” and to “continue to offer support” to worshippers.  
The East London Mosque and London Muslim Center, which had an online presence long before the pandemic and has a room dedicated to broadcasting online, is livestreaming Islamic talks daily between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. during the holy month.
The mosque’s imams and guest speakers will speak about a variety of Ramadan-related topics, and listeners can tune into these on the website, by downloading the broadcasting app Mixlr, or on Facebook. 
“The East London Mosque has taken steps to keep up people’s spirits during Ramadan,” media and communications manager Khizar Mohammad told Arab News.
“Our daily online talks, by both resident imams and guest speakers on a variety of topics, will replace talks that used to be held after the Asr prayer at the mosque.”
The Qur’an is divided into 30 parts, and during Taraweeh prayers the imam will recite approximately one of these parts so that the entire holy book is recited over the course of Ramadan.
Given that all congregational prayers have been suspended, the mosque is broadcasting live recitation of the Qur’an daily so worshippers who would normally have listened to the entire book during Taraweeh prayers can still listen to it during the month. 
“Sheikh Mohammed Mahmoud will recite one part of the Qur’an everyday live on our Mixlr channel between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.,” Mohammad said.  
In addition to this, the adhan (call to prayer) will be broadcast, and the sermon for Friday prayers can be viewed on the mosque’s YouTube channel. 
The mosque usually provides iftar to more than 500 worshippers every day during Ramadan. Due to the lockdown, iftar will not take place in the mosque. Instead, it will deliver meals to people who need it most.
“Our community iftar has instead been refocused toward providing iftar for those who otherwise would be in difficulty, such as the elderly who are isolating alone, vulnerable people and fasting NHS (National Health Service) workers,” Mohammad said. 
MCB Secretary-General Hared Khan praised the community initiatives run by Muslims that have “sprung up to help the vulnerable.”  
He said in a statement: “Mosques are using the power of the Internet to serve the religious and spiritual needs of communities.”
He added: “Ramadan is the best time to continue this valuable work in supporting the people around us, regardless of faith and color.”
Masjid e Tauheedul Islam in the town of Blackburn, northwest England, is another mosque that has been keen to keep connected with members of its congregation. 
All prayers are livestreamed via the mosque’s website and Mixlr channel, and talks given after prayers are also broadcast. 
“Masjid e Tauheedul Islam is trying to deliver a program that benefits the community throughout the day,” the mosque’s Imam Suhail Adam Manya told Arab News.
“Before Ramadan, we used to broadcast a talk after every prayer, but during the holy month this is being ramped up,” he said. 
“We’ll be starting a children’s hour broadcast soon, where kids can listen to stories and will be given challenges to complete online. There will be prizes and it will keep them occupied.”
The mosque’s Mixlr channel is proving to be very popular, with “more than 165,000 listens since the lockdown started,” Manya said.
The mosque, like others across the country, “launched a huge community care program in Blackburn when the lockdown was announced,” he added.
“We delivered leaflets with boxes of dates to houses in the community when the lockdown came into effect. We told people that if they had coronavirus symptoms, couldn’t get to the shops or needed any kind of help, they could ring the number on the leaflets and a member of our team would help,” Manya said. 
“We have our own call center, and this initiative will continue throughout Ramadan. This weekend, we’ll be distributing food-pack drops to the wider community and hot iftar meals to Muslims. We’ll also be delivering medication to those who are self-isolating,” he added.
“Our call center is extremely busy, and we’re proud to say that 50 percent of the calls that we take are from non-Muslims,” he said.
“We have over 500 volunteers working with us, and since the lockdown we’ve visited up to 7,500 Muslim and non-Muslim homes. We’ve distributed nearly 1,500 hot meals, and we’re supporting the elderly and the sick.”