Muslims mark a subdued Ramadan
Shuttered mosques, ban on communal gatherings dampen mood of faithful
JAKARTA, INDONESIA—Muslims worldwide began Ramadan on Friday with dawn-to-dusk fasting, but many will have to forgo the communal prayers and family gatherings that make the holy month special, as authorities maintain lockdowns aimed at slowing the coronavirus pandemic.
Ramadan is usually a festive season, with the daylong fast followed by lavish meals and evening get-togethers. But this year, many are confined to their homes, travel is heavily restricted and public venues like parks, malls and even mosques are shuttered. Many are also weighed down by anxiety about the pandemic and widespread job losses resulting from the worldwide shutdowns.
“This is too sad to be remembered in history,” said Belm Febriansyah, a resident in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country.
Jakarta is the epicentre of the outbreak in the country, which has reported more than 8,200 infections and 689 deaths. Passenger flights and rail services have been suspended and private cars are banned from leaving the city.
Mosques in Indonesia’s deeply conservative Aceh province were packed, however, after its top clerical body ruled that it is not a “red zone” area and that prayers could continue.
The province is governed by Islamic law under an autonomy agreement.
Muslim-majority countries began imposing widespread restrictions in mid-March, with many cancelling Friday prayers and shuttering holy sites. Saudi Arabia has largely locked down Mecca and Medina and halted the year-round umrah pilgrimage. The Saudi-led coalition said it would extend a unilateral ceasefire with Yemen’s Iranaligned Houthi rebels through Ramadan.
Fighting has continued, with each side blaming the other. A Houthi military spokesperson, Yehia Sarea, accused the coalition of several violations on Friday, including 35 airstrikes, mostly on the strategic central province of Marib.
Muslim-majority Malaysia extended its own lockdown by two more weeks to May 12, although its daily virus cases have dropped significantly in the past week. The country now has 5,603 cases, including 95 deaths.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised speech on the eve of Ramadan that the “jihad,” or holy war, against the pandemic has shown results, but must continue.
Malaysia, along with neighbouring Singapore and Brunei, has banned popular Ramadan bazaars, where food, drinks and clothing are sold in congested open-air markets or roadside stalls. The bazaars are a key source of income for many small traders, some of whom have shifted their businesses online.
In Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan has bowed to pressure from the country’s powerful clerical establishment and allowed mosques to remain open, even as the number of new cases has recently doubled to between 600 and 700 each day. Some clerics have ordered their followers to pack into mosques, saying their faith will protect them.
In Turkey, authorities have banned the tradition of setting up tents and outdoor tables to provide free meals to the poor. It has also forbidden drummers from going door to door to wake people up for the pre-dawn meal in exchange for tips — another Ramadan tradition. Last month, Turkey also banned communal prayers in mosques. In Istanbul, Esat Sahin, the chief imam at Fatih Mosque, said it’s a very “lonely situation.”
“Our mosques are deprived of their congregation, like a child who has been orphaned,” he said. “Our hearts are very heavy because of this.”