Coronavirus crisis: Muslim prayers being broadcast on BBC local radio stations

• BBC radio took the initiative as most of the people belonging to the Muslim community are unable to attend prayers in mosques due to their temporary closure amid the coronavirus pandemic.
• The first Azan was aired on April 3 in Coventry and Warwickshire.
• The Azan was recited by Qari Asim MBE, a senior Imam in Leeds, on 14 BBC local radio stations.

(Karachi) The first morning Azan (call for prayer) broadcast for Muslims in Britain, who are unable to visit their mosques due to the coronavirus outbreak, was aired on BBC Radio in Coventry and Warwickshire on April 3, 2020.

The Azan was recited by Qari Asim MBE, a senior Imam in Leeds, on 14 BBC local radio stations. The call to prayer will become a weekly spot every Friday morning till Ramadan which will be led by a different Muslim Imam each week.

BBC radio took the initiative as most of the people belonging to the Muslim community are unable to attend prayers in mosques due to their temporary closure amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The news was also shared in a tweet by a broadcast journalist and producer for BBC Radio 4 Harry Farley.

"BBC local radio stations to broadcast Islamic prayers from tomorrow morning," Harry Farley wrote in a tweet on April 2.

https://twitter.com/HarryFarls/status/1245689760271806465

Mosques all over United Kingdom remain closed to Muslim worshippers after the government issued an order to close down all worship places earlier on March 23.

The announcement was welcomed by many on Twitter and other social media platforms.

Th tweet also shares a quote from head of BBC Local Radio Chris Burns who said, "Many Muslims will feel a void in their lives where prayers used to be - a feeling the will be magnified as we approach Ramadan.”