"People should not kiss at social events and gatherings. Instead, they should just shake hands," the government's fatwa department said in a statement.

"If kissing spreads diseases, then it is forbidden."

The edict comes a few days ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festivities marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, when Muslims traditionally pay each other visits and hug and kiss.

In the conservative Arab world, rejecting a kiss on the cheek can be seen as offensive.

But the fatwa department insisted that Eid "should mark the beginning of the end" of cheek kissing.

"We advise people to replace kissing with handshaking, particularly during Eid — which is the case in many civilised Muslim countries," it said.

The statement was issued after Health Minister Nayef Fayez announced that 274 cases of the A(H1N1) virus have been recorded in Jordan, 82 of them among schoolchildren.

No deaths have been recorded and the government has repeatedly said the "situation is under control."

More than 3,000 have died from the A(H1N1) virus since it first appeared in April and rapidly spread around the world.

Jordan's advice to Muslims followed similar advice offered to Jews by Israeli authorities earlier this month.

In a message sent to synagogues ahead of the Jewish new year festivities, the Israeli health ministry urged the faithful not to kiss the rabbi or the Torah scrolls.

AFP

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