Waqf holds Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque despite shrines being shut worldwide

Friday prayers are being held in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, in a severely down-scaled format, despite Muslim prayer sites being closed across the globe.

The decision by the Jordanian Waqf religious authority which runs the site on the Temple Mount comes as Saudi Arabia has closed Islam’s two holiest spots, in Mecca and Medina, to worshipers.

Istiqlal grand mosque in Indonesia’s capital, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, which is usually packed with thousands of Muslims during Friday prayers, also decided to cancel mass prayers for the coming two weeks to curb the coronavirus spread.

رغم المطر ودرجة الحرارة التي لم تتجاوز ٣ درجاتٍ مئوية..مئات المرابطين أدوا صلاة الفجر في ساحات المسجد الأقصى المبارك ولبوا نداء فجر الإسراء قبل يومين من ذكرى الإسراء والمعراج pic.twitter.com/E2ord08tdn

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) March 20, 2020