Kuwait Sets Burial Schedule in Ramadan
Kuwait’s municipal authorities have announced a burial schedule during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, saying the step aims to protect mourners’ health.
The Kuwait Municipality said there will be three daily timings for burial during the lunar month of Ramadan, starting at 11am, after the afternoon Asr prayers and the voluntary nightly prayers Taraweeh.
The municipality added in a statement that the burial timings come for comfort of the deceased’s families and to protect health and safety of mourners at the cemeteries.
In Ramadan, Muslims abstain from eating and drinking every day from dawn to sunset.
In January, Kuwait Municipality said it plans to prohibit handshakes at mourning halls in cemeteries on health grounds.
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health had called on the municipality to urge mourners gathering at cemeteries to offer condolences to give up handshakes and make do with eye greetings, according to Al Jarida newspaper, citing a municipal official.
“The municipality will issue a circular in this respect, banning handshakes inside mourning halls upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Health,” said the Kuwait Municipality’s Director-General Saud Al Dabus.
The ministry said in a circular to the municipality that its recommendation comes out of keenness to take preventive measures to protect public health and curtail the spread of contagious diseases due to handshakes.
In a reassuring message, a spokesman for the ministry Dr Abdullah Al Sanad said the recommendation to replace handshakes with eye greetings is part of efforts to promote safe health behaviour in everyday life.
