Hajj, Russian Jews and Weddings are back.

Hajj will be held on a much smaller scale this year with a very limited number of pilgrims from various nationalities who already reside in Saudi Arabia able to perform it. Emily asks Dr Carool Kersten from Kings College, London, what took the authorities so long and what impact has this had on Muslims world wide? For religious groups everywhere, lock-down has been a huge challenge. With places of worship and religious centres shuttered, maintaining a sense of community hasn’t been easy. It’s a particular problem for Russia’s Jewish community, which – 30 years after the fall of communism - is still recovering from decades of state-sponsored Antisemitism. Our Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg reports on what the Jews of Russia have been doing to build a community and the efforts they’re taking during the pandemic to preserve it. With places of worship opening for weddings from the 4th of July we hear from one couple who have been waiting in limbo to hear whether their postponed big day could go ahead and BBC Religion Editor, Martin Bashir explains the rules of socially distanced weddings.Producers Carmel Lonergan Catherine EarlamEditor Amanda Hancox