ME religious leaders adapt to coronavirus

OCCUPIED-AL-QUDS: In the Middle East, where the three main monotheistic faiths shape daily life, the coronavirus pandemic has seen religious leaders support constraints unthinkable just a few weeks ago.

Top Islamic clerics in the region and in majority-Muslim North Africa have endorsed the closure of mosques to avoid large gatherings where the risk of contamination could be high.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, custodian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre -- believed by Christians to house Christ’s tomb -- has told congregations to receive communion in their hand, instead of on their tongue. And Israel’s chief Sephardic rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, issued a decree ordering followers to keep their mobile phones on through Shabbat so they can receive urgent information about the COVID-19 disease.

Leading Muslim clerics have widely backed scientifically-based measures to contain the virus, notably by supporting crowd size restrictions through promotion of home prayer. Authorities in the Gulf Arab states of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain have halted prayers in mosques.

In Egypt, the most populous Arab country, religious authorities have ordered a two-week closure of mosques and churches and banned mass communal prayers. The government in Tunisia -- where some worshippers have been praying in front of shuttered mosque doors -- said messages from imams will be broadcast to reinforce essential health protections.

In Algeria, the azan, or call for prayer which the muezzin issues for the obligatory five daily Muslim prayers, has been modified. Muezzins are now encouraging worshippers to pray at home.

In Iran, authorities closed four key religious sites. The Islamic republic is one of the three countries hardest hit by the virus with an official death toll of more than 1,500 and over 20,600 confirmed cases.

The pandemic re-ignited a long-standing dispute between the roles of science and religion in Iran, but supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei intervened in support of medical professionals, effectively closing the debate. In Lebanon, the head of the Iran-backed Hizbullah movement Hassan Nasrallah urged people to abide by government measures.