Singapore, Apr 21 (PTI) The Muslims in Singapore have demonstrated resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday, as he appreciated the community's leaders for efforts to preserve racial and religious harmony in the affluent city-state.

Speaking at a breakfast event organised by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, Lee said that more Muslims have been able to visit mosques, with Friday and tarawih or nightly prayers returning to near-normal for the first time since COVID-19 surfaced two years ago.

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This year's Ramadan is special as programmes in mosques resume after two challenging years, Lee observed.

"Let me thank the Muslim community for your sacrifices and understanding, and for cooperating with the authorities as we worked together to manage the pandemic," The Straits Times newspaper quoted Lee as saying.

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Religious programmes and donations were held online so that the community could participate actively and safely.

These efforts will now be built upon so more Muslims can view, participate and benefit from them.

"This demonstrates clearly the community's resilience in the face of uncertainties, and bodes well for the future," Lee said.

Touching on the importance of the community leaders in strengthening social bonds, Lee said Singapore's inter-racial and inter-religious harmony is hard-earned.

He lauded their efforts in nurturing harmony and making contributions beyond their own religions, by celebrating each other's festivals - just like how leaders of other faiths took part in the buka puasa (fast breaking) event on Thursday.

Through leading by example to bring about positive change to society, strengthen mutual respect and reinforce common values across religions, a "reservoir of trust and respect" is built, which Singapore will need to draw and build on in times of crisis.

"I hope we will continue these efforts to strengthen our multi-racial and multi-religious harmony, as one cohesive and united people so that Singapore can continue to thrive and succeed for many more years to come," Lee added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)