TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan publically asked Jakartans to cancel conducting Friday prayers as recommended by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) even though the Istiqlal Mosque announced that it would continue to hold Friday prayers tomorrow.

“I call on Jakarta citizens to conform to the message announced by the Indonesian Ulema Council,” said the governor at Jakarta’s City Hall today, March 19.

Anies recalled MUI’s fatwa suggesting that Muslims are permitted to replace Friday prayer with the Dhuhr (Zuhr) obligatory daily prayer at home, which would prevent a large concentration of people congregating at a mosque amid the rising concern of the spread of coronavirus.

MUI’s appeal is directed at mosques that are under the city’s management. Moreover, Anies Baswedan made the tough call to cancel Friday prayers for the next two weeks after a meeting with a number of notable religious figures.

The Jakarta COVID-19 task force officially announced on its website that the coronavirus transmission in the capital city is deemed high and has claimed the lives of 17 people in the city alone with 208 people tested positive for the virus.

Istiqlal Mosque management declared on Wednesday, March 18, that it will continue to hold Friday prayers under a strict protocol to prevent the spread of coronavirus among mosque congregates. They say that this decision remains open to further possibilities and also depends on the decision taken by the mosque’s Grand Imam.

TAUFIQ SIDDIQ