PHOTO ESSAY/Muslims celebrate annual Eid al-Fitr in Taipei

Hundreds of Muslims in Taiwan, including migrant workers, gathered at the Taipei Travel Plaza, an open space by the Taipei Main Station, Sunday to celebrate the annual Eid al-Fitr festival, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

A total of five prayer sessions were held between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m., said the organizers, who checked participants' temperatures, required them to wear face masks and to follow social distancing rules.

Organizers said they encouraged migrant workers to pray at home as the prayers and sermons would be delivered online, but some still came together, since it is traditional to pray with two or more people together.

For migrant workers outside Taipei, the Taipei Main Station is the easiest place to meet and congregate, the organizers added.

The participants were asked not to stay in the space after the prayer sessions, which, unlike in past few years, were not accompanied with other celebratory events organized by local governments.

In light of the government's social distancing guidelines, however, the Taipei Grand Mosque has canceled its Eid al-Fitr prayers for the first time in 60 years, as it could not guarantee that worshipers would be able to remain at least 1.5 meters apart.

Mosques in Taoyuan and Taichung also made a similar decision.

(By Kay Liu)
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