Muslims in Korea Perform Eid Prayers at Seoul Mosque (Photos)

Several Muslims in South Korea celebrated on Sunday morning Eid al-Fitr by performing Eid prayers at the Seoul Central Mosque in the Itwan district.

South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported that Muslims of various nationalities from the Middle East, Africa and Asia as well as a few Korean Muslims gathered in the only mosque in the capital, Seoul, before the prayer time. They were subjected to preventive measures against the coronavirus- keeping social distancing between the worshipers.

Muslims also scrambled to pay Zakat al-Fitr before the Eid prayer, which the Korean Muslim Committee had set at 7,000 won per person. It is noteworthy that some foreign Muslims in Korea prefer to pay it in their country, given that people there are more in need of it.

The Korean Federation of Muslims has previously suspended the performance of Friday prayers and the rest of the prayers in the mosque since mid-March when the Seoul government recommended that religious institutions refrain from performing religious rituals collectively as a result of the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the country.

The Friday prayers was broadcast via YouTube, and with the decision to reduce the level of quarantine since May 6; Friday prayers and recreational prayers resumed in the mosque while worshipers were adhering to the preventive measures.

In the Eid prayer, the Korean Imam Abdul Rahman Lee Ju-hwa extended his special gratitude to all Muslims on the advent of Eid Al-Fitr, which came after the end of the holy month of Ramadan; during this month Muslims do not eat or drink during the day. They do pray "Taraweeh" during the night.

After performing the prayer, the worshipers exchanged congratulations, yet, it was noticed that many people avoided hugging, hands shakes or kissing due to the corona pandemic, and many people only said the phrase "Eid Mubarak".

According to the Union of Korean Muslims, there are 17 Islamic mosques in Korea, located in different cities, along with 80 other worship places.

The number of Muslims in the country are about 110,000 people, according to the "Korea 2018" report.