24-hour mosques during Ramadan

By Diana Al-Jassem Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH – The Ministry of Islamic Affairs is ready with new plans for the holy month of Ramadan. Many mosques will be open 24 hours for people to worship at their convenience.

“Spending long hours worshipping Allah is a priority during the holy month especially for those who want to perform I’tekaf (retreating into the mosque for worhship),” said Tawfik Al-Sedairi, undersecretary at the Ministry.

“The ministry is ensuring the safety of Muslims by hiring more staff for night shifts.”

“Imams and workers in the mosque will be present everyday during Ramadan. In case of an emergency absence someone else will be there,” Al-Sedairi said. “Imams have a great duty. We have informed them of the necessity of their presence at all times during Ramadan.”

In the last few years Muslims faced the problem of missing Isha prayer’s time. “We suffered a lot because of this problem, hencethe (Grand) Mufti decided that the Isha prayer will be performed two hours after Iftar,” he said. “The decision was to maintain (uniformity) and give enough time (to relax) after Iftar.”

The Ministry has restricted mosques with four loudspeakers to avoid disrupting nearby mosques.

“In the past many citizens complained of losing their concentration because (nearby) mosques used booming loud speakers,” he said.

Many Islamic lectures have also been organized from the beginning of Sha’ban (August) and will continue till the end of Ramadan, he said.