Muslims in Salford are criticising and outraged at the government for tightening the rules “midnight before Eid”.
Tightening the rules last minute is like taking a child’s gift on Christmas day, Aziz Iqbal a Muslim leader has said.
Mr Iqbal Head Imam of Eccles Mosque said: “The timing of the announcement seems very sceptical and I’m very angry but this will not stop the celebrations.”
The Department of Health stated that the ban separate households meeting each other indoors in parts of the country.
This rule applied for places such as Greater Manchester, parts of Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire.
The government took “immediate action” and the ban was much needed due to Covid-19 spike.
Greater Eid also known as Eid-UI-Adha began on Thursday and ended on Monday midnight.
Mr Iqbal said: “Imagine getting ready, making dinner but then no one turns up.”
“Meeting up with the loved ones is really a significant piece of the Eid day – it’s the sharing of food and being around the family.”
Janid Khan a member of Eccles Mosque said: “It’s unfortunate because we had organise and bought so much gifts for the family. Our family members were due to travel all the way from London, but they can’t come at this point.
“We’ve had to cancel it all.”
He also said we will still proceed with our festivities even though plans have been cancelled for many Muslim families.
Yousef Ahmed, a Salford Muslim councillor, criticised the timing of the announcement and the way they imposed the new rules.
“Why were the new rules announced midnight before Eid? “Midnight before Eid”, giving every Muslim very limited time to reconfigure” he said.
“The main issue for me is the timing of this announcement, it’s really unfortunate and unthoughtful.
“The lack of clarity for every Muslim, who has been battling with Covid-19 and their last piece of joy has been taken away from them.”
There has been lots of angry and frustration for Muslim all across the country with the new rules.
Qari Asim, a senior Imam in Leeds, urged all Muslims to celebrate at home and remain safe.
He said “Many peoples life from different communities have been affected during Covid-19 and therefore we need to take extra precautionary measures.”
He said “he will not allow this situation to give rise to Islamophobia, hateful narratives that some groups will try to exploit when Eid festive commence” and kindly asked for people to be respectful during the celebrations.
He added “I’m very happy and pleased that worshippers are still allowed under the new regulations to attend mosques and thank every Imam who has been working so hard to tackle Covid-19 and keep the mosques doors open.”
Recent Comments