Pandemic fears put restrictions on Eid celebrations worldwide
● Millions unable to mark the end of Ramadan with traditional prayers
Muslims around the world yesterday began celebrating Eid al-fitr, a normally festive holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, with millions under strict stay-at-home orders and many fearing renewed coronavirus outbreaks.
The three-day holiday is usually a time of travel, family gettogethers and lavish daytime feasts after weeks of dawn-todusk fasting.
But this year many can only celebrate at home with immediate family, with virus fears dampening the holiday spirit.
Indonesia has reported nearly 22,000 infections and 1,350 fatalities, the most in Southeast Asia.
Lockdown orders intended to contain the pandemic mean there will be no congregational prayers at mosques or even open fields, no family reunions, no relatives bearing gifts for children.
“This outbreak is not just dampening spirits of Eid, but also has made the tradition entirely different ,” said andiekaR abba ni, a university student in Jakarta.
This year, like many Indonesians, he will only see family and friends through video calls.
Some countries, including Turkey, Iraq and Jordan, have imposed round-the-clock holiday curfews.
But even where many restrictions have been lifted, celebrations will be subdued because of lingering fears and concerns about the economic fallout from the pandemic.
Saudi Arabia, home to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, is under a complete lock down, with residents only permitted to leave their homes to purchase food and medicine.
In Aceh, Indonesia’s only province enforcing Islamic law, public Eid prayers can still be performed at mosques and fields, but without shaking hands and with shortened sermons.
An annual parade was scrapped this year, even though the province experienced only a small outbreak and has reported no new cases in weeks.
In the rest of Indonesia, authorities have extended virus restrictions to 4 June, suspending communal gatherings and banning private cars from leaving the capital, Jakarta.
In neighbouring Malaysia, businesses have mostly reopened after weeks of lockdown. But mass gatherings are still banned and people are not allowed to travel back to their hometowns for the holiday.
Police have turned away more than 5,000 cars and have warned of strict penalties for those who try to sneak home. Malaysia has reported 7,185 infections and 115 deaths.
In Pakistan, Eid is being celebrated in the shadow of the coronavirus and in the wake of a passenger plane crash near Karachi on Friday that killed 97 people.
For the first time, Pakistan is celebrating Eid countrywide on the same day, ending an annual controversy between rival committees over the moon sighting that signals the start of the holiday.
More than 1,000 worshippers gathered and prayed shoulder-to-shoulder in an open field in Karachi on Sunday, with only a few of them wearing masks.
In neighbouring Afghanistan, the government and Taliban insurgents announced a three-day cease-fire in honour of the holiday.
Iran, which is battling the deadliest outbreak in the Middle East, allowed communal prayers at some mosques but cancelled the annual mass Eid prayers in Tehran led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In Jerusalem, Israeli police said they broke up an “illegal demonstration” and arrested two people outside the Alaqsa mosque, which Muslim authorities have closed for prayers since mid-march. A reporter at the scene said worshippers had tried to enter the compound.
Al-aqsa is the third holiest site in Islam.