Mosques in Santa Clara, California have created safety protocols to allow the Muslim community observe Ramadan without compromising health measures.
“It’s a very special time for the Muslim community,” said Abdullah Ibrahim, outreach secretary for the Muslim Community Association, NBC Bay Area reported.
“And the mosque is a place for everyone to feel encouraged and for everyone to grow with each other… It’s sort of like the combining of hearts.”
Ramadan is the holiest month in Islamic calendar. It started this year on Tuesday, April 13.
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Before the pandemic, mosques were open for 24/7 during Ramadan. Worshippers would go there for community ifrars, suhoor, and congregational prayer.
After last year’s total lockdown, mosques will open with limited capacity with spaces marked for social distancing, sign-in sheets for possible contact tracing, and shorter prayer times to limit potential exposure to the virus.
There will be no community dinners, activities or long nights together in the mosque.
“We want our community to be safe, more than anything,” Ibrahim said.
“And we want them to feel safe as well, that we’ve put in the initiative and tried to think of how we can eliminate any sort of spread of COVID.”
The Muslim Community Center, one of the largest mosques in the nation with the capacity to host up to 5,000 individuals, is opening to the public at nearly 25 percent capacity, despite guidelines allowing those in the orange tier to open at 50 percent capacity.
“So, we’re looking at possibly up to 1000 people we can accommodate,” Ibrahim said.
More Measures
The Santa Clara mosque updated its air filtration and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems so it could safely utilize the main prayer halls and banquet rooms inside.
It also added additional speakers to its outside facilities to transform the soccer field and basketball courts into prayer areas.
The safety protocols enacted by the Muslim Community Center are almost unanimous in South Bay mosques.
The Evergreen Islamic Center, located in south East San Jose and Blossom Valley Muslim Community Center are also having special protocols for this year.
“It was very difficult spiritually and mentally for many Muslims last year because we didn’t have anything available,” said Husam Hammad, treasurer and administrator at Blossom Valley Muslim Community Center.
“I got many calls of people who were struggling with the isolation. During Ramadan especially, we always yearn to go to the mosque and be with our brothers and sisters.”
“There is some apprehension in the community because we couldn’t accommodate everybody,” Hammad said. “But that’s the only drawback…our community is excited and ready to go.”
In Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.
Muslims dedicate their time during the holy month to become closer to Allah through prayer, self-restraint, and good deeds.
