Next Friday's noon prayer will be held at the iconic Al-Hussein Mosque in Old Cairo, the religious endowments minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa said. Strict precautionary measures will be adopted during the prayer that will witness the limited presence of the mosque's imams, staff and state television crew. The prayer will be aired on TV and broadcast on the radio, Gomaa said, adding that the sermon will be held under the theme “reasons for lifting afflictions,” he said. Yesterday, Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque saw Friday's noon prayer held for the first time since March, but only in the presence of the mosque's imams and staff and without worshippers. All congregational prayers have been suspended in Egypt since March as a preventive measure against the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, the noon prayer was performed at Cairo's Al-Sayeda Nafisa Mosque as the country's endowments ministry decided to resume holding Friday prayers every week at one mosque in the presence of only 20 worshippers. The cabinet is scheduled to discuss the gradual resumption of prayers at houses of worship nationwide this week. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the reopening of mosques and churches will be discussed after mid-June. Egypt has started to ease some of the restrictions aiming to stem the spread of the pandemic as the country attempts to coexist with the highly contagious virus.
