CAIRO: The Ministry of Endowments has not banned Muslims from practicing customary Ramadan mosque retreats (e'tekaf) during the final days of Ramadan, Sheikh Baher Darwish, chairman of the government mosques authority at the Ministry of Religious Endowments, said. During the last 10 days of Ramadan, many Muslims choose to practice e'tekaf, spending their days praying and reading the holy Quran. On Tuesday, Al-Masry Al-Youm had reported that the Ministry of Religious Endowments had banned e'tekaf in mosques in the delta city of Mansoura during Ramadan. But in an exclusive interview with Daily News Egypt, Darwish refuted these claims. According to Darwish, each governorate is allowed to dedicate as many mosques for e'tekaf as necessary after filing a request with the ministry. Darwish provided Daily News Egypt with copies of two documents: one with the number of mosques where Muslims can practice e'tekaf in each city and another one with spaces that will be turned into praying areas for the Eid prayers. According to the documents, the Daqahleya governorate, where Mansoura is located, boasts one of the largest number of mosques for e'tekaf in the country. Darwish said, "This year it allocated 210 mosques for e'tekaf. "There is no such thing as banning e'tekaf in Mosques, Darwish said, "On the contrary, we even make sure there are more mosques and areas available for it. This Ramadan, Muslims can retreat to a total of 2,812 mosques nationwide, and there will be 2,384 ready to receive for Eid worshippers.
