CAIRO — In a step to restore the situation to pre-pandemic conditions, Egypt’s Ministry of Endowments issued a decision to reopen mosques at full capacity, from dawn prayer until evening, starting May 6.

During a press conference held at the ministry’s headquarters in downtown Cairo May 6, Endowment Minister Muhammad Mukhtar Gomaa announced several decisions, including reopening mosques from 9 a.m. until evening prayers, resuming Sharia courses and Quran reciting for men and women held in mosques, intensifying courses as before the coronavirus pandemic, allowing visits to shrines outside prayer times, reopening the Islamic Cultural Center and the holy Quran memorization centers across the country, setting specific schedules for Quranic reciters in mosques and reopening the square of Imam Hussein Mosque throughout the day.

The ministry's decision to open all mosques at full capacity comes after scathing comments by the Muslim Brotherhood in the last 10 days of the holy month of Ramadan, when the ministry decided to suspend the Tahajjud and Itikaf prayers in mosques to try and limit the coronavirus spread among worshippers.

The decision caused an uproar on social media among Muslim Brotherhood supporters who condemned it as restrictions on worshippers who were not able to pray during the last 10 days of Ramadan.