K'taka mosques embrace tech to reach out on Bakrid

Bengaluru, Aug 1 Many local mosque committees have embraced technology to guide Karnataka Muslims through the Bakrid prayers as a good number of them have chosen to stay back at home to celebrate the festival this year amid the Covid pandemic.

"Lots of mosques are conducting the prayers on Zoom app for Muslims to do the festival namaz at home as many Muslims are not coming out for Bakrid because of the pandemic," said city-based devotee Zaheer to .

Besides the Zoom online video-conference prayers, several mosques have also made YouTube videos for the faithful on how to do a Bakrid special namaaz.

One such video says, 'Eid ki Namaz ka tariqa' and is available on YouTube. Another such video, 'Eid-Ul-Adha ki Namaz Ghar par Kaise Pade', demonstrated how to read the Bakrid namaaz at home.

"A lot of YouTube videos like these are being uploaded so that it will be easy for people to pray at home," said Zaheer.

Many people were already aware of these kinds of procedures, as they used it in the Ramzaan festival which went by recently in the lockdown amid the pandemic.

Unlike the usual everyday namaaz, Zaheer said the ritual differs a little for the festivals such as Ramzaan and Bakrid.

The Jamiat-i-Ulama organization of Davangere district and the Ihata-e new masjid in the town's Chowkipet have disseminated a slide explaining the step-by-step procedure to do the namaaz.

Meanwhile, Zaheer said that most of the people he knows are not going to a mosque or sacrificing an animal.

"Nobody is sacrificing in my family. Situation is such that they don't want to create unnecessary panic. It is allowed in Islam, at a later point of time you can sacrifice," he said.

Considering the spike in Covid infections in the southern state, the state government has prohibited public prayers on Bakrid day in Idgahs or public spaces.

It has also banned sacrifice of animals in public spaces and asked people concerned to only sacrifice them at registered abattoirs.

Though the state has allowed Muslims to pray at mosques following Covid guidelines, the state Waqf Board on Friday appealed to all the faithful to celebrate Bakrid at home.

On Friday, Karnataka recorded 5,483 new Covid infections, increasing the state's tally to 1.24 lakh.

( With inputs from IANS )