A church in Berlin has opened its chapel to Muslim worshippers who are not able to gather at their local mosque due to coronavirus restrictions on gatherings, BBC reported.
Germany allowed religious services to resume on May 4 with restrictions of 50 people at a time with social distancing of 1.5m(5ft). Dar Assalam mosque in the city's Neukölln where typically host 1000 people could only gather a small part of its congregation according to the media.
As Muslims around the world this weekend celebrate Eid ul-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, Martha Lutheran church in Kreuzberg offered to help by hosting Friday prayers at their church.
"It is a great sign and it brings joy in Ramadan and joy amid this crisis," the mosque's imam told Reuters news agency. "This pandemic has made us a community. Crises bring people together."
Some church members showed concerns noting the difference of the worship service.
"It was a strange feeling because of the musical instruments, the pictures," congregation member Samer Hamdoun said.
Even the church's pastor took part in the service. Monika Mathias, who is a priest at Martha church said, "During prayer, I could only say yes, yes, yes, because we have the same concerns and we want to learn from you. And it is beautiful to feel that way about each other."
