The decision was taken in keeping with the Taiwanese authorities' COVID-19 policy, according to the NU-Special Brach Office's (PCINU's) letter No.050/PCINU-Taiwan/V/2021.
"With regard to the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, all activities that draw crowds are prohibited in Taiwan," according to the letter that ANTARA received here on Monday.
Hence, PCINU's executive board members took the decision to not hold the Idul Fitri prayer at the Taipei Travel Plaza as was the practice in the previous years.
In its letter, dated May 9, 2021, the PCINU urged all Indonesian Muslims in Taiwan to perform the Idul Fitri prayer at their respective places.
Over the past 11 years, the PCINU has worked with a non-governmental organization, which cares for migrant workers in Taiwan, to organize the Idul Fitri prayer.
Several thousand migrant workers, mostly Indonesians, always partook in the prayers.
However, Taiwan, which is internationally recognized for its successful handling of COVID-19, again faced a new cluster of COVID-19 at the Taipei Grand Mosque.
Consequently, the grand mosque was temporarily shut down on May 1-16, 2021.
The new cluster was reportedly triggered by the confirmed infection of a 40-year-old Indonesian pilot, employed by China Airlines.
The pilot was confirmed to have contracted the infection based on the result of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that he underwent on arriving in Australia on April 21.
The pilot reportedly visited the grand mosque on April 16. The Taiwanese authorities had launched a contact tracing to find those that had made direct and physical contact with him.
The Taiwanese contact tracers found 65 students and teaching staff, who had met with the pilot. Most of them are Indonesians.
In Taiwan, some 290 thousand migrant workers from Indonesia are employed in formal and informal sectors.
In the meantime, Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Muslim organization, has determined that the Idul Fitri festivity, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadhan, will fall on Thursday.
The final decision was made by referring to the results of "hisab," or calculations, made by the organization's Majelis Tarjih and Tajdid, law-making and reform councils.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: M.Irfan I, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
