This archive report was first published on 16 May 2020.
On May 15, 2020, Senegalese President Macky Sall announced that public prayers could resume in the West African country, provided that mosques obey social-distancing rules.
More than 90 percent of Senegal is Muslim, and most of the faithful follow Sufi brotherhoods, which retain considerable influence in the nation of 16 million people.
In the seaside capital Dakar, thousands of worshippers flocked to Massalikul Jinaan mosque, one of West Africa's largest and belonging to the powerful Mouride brotherhood.
According to AFP journalists, the mosque's imam, Pape Moussa Seck, preached a sermon calling the coronavirus a 'divine ordeal' caused by religious infractions such as 'the indecent clothing of young girls, assaults and murders.'
Senegalese authorities have recorded 2,310 cases to date, including 25 fatalities, which are low compared to virus-stricken Europe and the United States.
