Mosques to further streamline arrangement for Friday prayer

1. Congregational prayers have progressively resumed in mosques, in line with the guidelines for religious activities provided by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY). Prayers and other activities are conducted with safe management measures in place, with gradual increases in congregation size in tandem with the national situation and guidance.

2. Since April this year, mosques started offering two sessions for Friday prayer, with booking only required for congregants attending first session. With further easing of safe measurement measures, our mosques can now provide more prayer spaces as there is no longer a capacity limit for congregational worship.

3. Over the past 3 months, MUIS and mosques have been closely monitoring booking and attendance for Friday prayer. Based on the data collected, the attendance for both Session 1 and Session 2 for Friday prayer across the mosques varies. The turnout for Session 2 at some mosques is low, with some mosques registering less than 50% attendance, and some mosque registering attendance below 20%.

4. Taking into these considerations, mosques will streamline booking arrangements for Friday prayer. The changes are to optimise resources based on Friday Prayer attendance for the past few months, while at the same time maintaining the comfort, health and safety of the congregants performing Friday prayers. 26 mosques will continue to conduct two sessions, and overall mosques will still be offering more than 130,000 prayer spaces, which is more than the number of spaces offered before the pandemic.

5. The changes will take effect from Friday 5 Aug 2022. The changes will be as follows:

i. 27 mosques will continue to conduct Friday prayers in 2 sessions, with booking required for Session 1. These mosques have persistently high demand and attendance even with multiple sessions, and include even the large mosques in the East.

ii. 13 mosques will conduct Friday prayers in one session, with booking required. These mosques have had high demand for the first session, but still had spaces available for the second session.

iii. 26 mosques will conduct Friday prayers in one session with no bookings required. These are mosques who have had manageable demand for one session.

6. Full details on Friday guidelines, as well as list of mosques offering the various booking options can be found at go.gov.sg/mosqueprayer.

7. Mosques will continue to retain bookings to allow congregants to have a comfortable worship experience and allowing them to plan and be assured the certainty of spots.

8. As the community navigates towards the post COVID-19 endemic period, MUIS still strongly emphasises the importance of a cautious approach as more religious activities are resuming, and the need for the close cooperation of the community.

9. We seek the support and understanding of the Muslim community to continue to be socially responsible, to show compassion and support to mosques’ staff and volunteers and safeguard public health as we perform our religious obligations in our mosques.

Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura