Ramadan: Muslims fast under coronavirus lockdowns

A man breaks his fast outside the empty Jama Masjid in Delhi — Image caption

A man breaks his fast outside Delhi’s Jama Masjid, which is also closed as India remains under lockdown

Millions of Muslims around the world have found different ways to celebrate Ramadan this year, as restrictions imposed by countries to curb the spread of the coronavirus have closed mosques and banned gatherings.

This is when the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from sunrise to sunset.

Families and friends usually gather to break the fast and many attend prayers.

This year, however, people are having to mark the holy month at home instead.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and it started on or around Thursday. In parts of the world particularly hard hit by the virus, this year’s celebrations are tinged with sadness.

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Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound has been closed to worshippers since mid-March and will not open during Ramadan. Even Islam’s holiest site in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, has been affected by the pandemic.

The Kaaba in Mecca's Great Mosque stands largely empty — Image caption

Mecca’s Grand Mosque would normally be full of worshippers during Ramadan, but now stands largely empty

A family eats food during Ramadan — Image caption

A family in the Netherlands breaks their fast on the first night of Ramadan

An imam arrives to make the call to pray in New York — Image caption

In New York, this imam made the afternoon call to prayer at an empty mosque

Customers wait to buy food in Lahore, Pakistan — Image caption

In Pakistan, customers maintained social distancing while buying food to break their fast

A Muslim woman wearing a face mask and rubber gloves prays — Image caption

Muslims in Jerusalem prayed in an alley of the Old City on Friday

An imam in Indonesia broadcasts a recitation of the Koran — Image caption

In Indonesia – the world’s most populous Muslim country – the government has banned travel during Ramadan

Street vendors sell food in Niger's capital Niamey — Image caption

Calm returned to Niger’s capital Niamey after protests against the coronavirus restrictions, including the ban on collective prayers

Women look from the windows of their house in the town of Toukh, Egypt — Image caption

A house is decorated with traditional Ramadan lanterns in the town of Toukh, in Egypt, where a night-time nationwide curfew is still in place

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source: bbc.com