Saudi Arabia reopens mosques after 2 month coronavirus lockdown

Muslim worshippers perform noon prayer at the Prophet Mohammad's mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Madinah, Islam's second holiest city, on May 31, 2020 after authorities eased lockdown measures for prayers in mosques. (AFP)
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Updated 01 June 2020
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Saudi Arabia reopens mosques after 2 month coronavirus lockdown

  • The government has asked people to keep a distance of two meters between rows, wear face masks and to bring their own prayer mats
  • The Friday sermon prayer should not exceed 15 minutes, authorities warned

Across Saudi Arabia 90,000 mosques have reopened for the first time in more than two months, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

Worshipers have been ordered to follow strict guidelines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The government has asked people to keep a distance of two meters between rows, wear face masks and to bring their own prayer mats.

Mosques were cleaned and sterilized by local authorities, including Qurans and Quran holders. Precaution has also been taken when opening doors and windows during prayer times and when worshipers enter the mosques.

Mosques will be opened 15 minutes before the call to prayer and will close 10 minutes after prayer.

The first call to prayer on Fridays will start 20 minutes before prayer time, and mosques will be opened 20 minutes before and will close 20 minutes after. The Friday sermon prayer should not exceed 15 minutes, authorities warned.

The new measures come as Saudi Arabia and other countries around the world begin to loosen restrictions following weeks of curfews and lockdowns.

Also Sunday, the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem that had been closed since mid-March reopened for prayers. Worshipers waited outside the gates, many wearing surgical masks. As they entered, they were stopped to have their temperature taken.


Saudi Arabia welcomes ceasefire agreement between Syrian Democratic Forces and Syria state

Updated 19 January 2026
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Saudi Arabia welcomes ceasefire agreement between Syrian Democratic Forces and Syria state

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has welcomed an agreement between the Syrian state and Syrian Democratic Forces.
In a foreign ministry statement early on Monday, the Kingdom said it had welcomed an deal between Damascus and Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces that was announced by the Syrian government on Sunday.
The agreement entails merging all SDF forces into the defense and interior ministries and means that Kurdish forces will redeploy to east of the Euphrates river.
The 14-point deal would also see the immediate administrative and military handover of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa governorates.
The Syrian state would regain control of all border crossings, oil fields, and gas fields in the region, with protection secured by regular forces to ensure the return of resources to the Syrian government, while considering the special case of Kurdish areas, the state news agency SANA reported.
The ceasefire comes after intense fighting between the SDF and government troops in Aleppo. But SDF troops have now pulled back from there and the Syrian army now controls most areas east of Aleppo.
The Saudi foreign ministry statement also thanked the US for the agreement. Washington is believed to have supported brokering the ceasefire between allies SDF and the Syrian government, who they have also backed diplomatically since the fall of long-time dictator Bashar Assad.
The Syrian state announced on Friday a raft of new directives to recognize Syrian Kurds, including making their language official and bolstering other rights for the minority group.