Orlando Sentinel

Muslims celebrate Eid subdued by pandemic

- By Julhas Alam

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Muslims in India and Bangladesh joined prayers to celebrate a subdued Eidal Fitr on Monday, marking the end of the Ramadan holy month by seeking blessings for a world free from coronaviru­s.

Across India, government leaders and imams appealed to Eid celebrants to follow lockdown norms and maintain social distance. Bangladesh’s leader stressed public safety in her Eid greetings.

The three-day holiday that begins by the sighting of the moon is usually a time of travel, family gatherings and feasts after weeks of dawn-to-dusk fasting.

But this year, Muslims were praying at home, their celebratio­ns quieter and tinged with worry about the virus and restrictio­ns to curb it.

Outside New Delhi’s iconic Mughal-era Jamia mosque, closed as part of a ban on religious congregati­ons, security officers patrolled the streets and almost all shops were closed. Police made rounds on motorbikes and a small police camp stood outside a gate.

“It’s been 1,400 years since the Islam religion was founded, even our elders could never imagine that we will have to celebrate Eid in such a way,” said businessma­n Shehzad Khan.

He said money typically spent buying new clothes to wear for Eid was sent to the poor, who have lost livelihood­s due to the virus.

“That money we have given them so that they too can celebrate Eid with us,” Khan said.

In Bangladesh, authoritie­s asked people to avoid mass prayers in open fields, which draw tens of thousands normally. Devotees could join prayers at mosques by maintainin­g safe distances.

On Monday, many praying in the country’s more than 300,000 mosques wore masks, and many wore gloves as well.

 ?? NARINDER NANU/GETTY-AFP ?? Muslim devotees offer prayers Monday at Jama Masjid Khairuddin in India to start Eid-al-Fitr festivitie­s.
NARINDER NANU/GETTY-AFP Muslim devotees offer prayers Monday at Jama Masjid Khairuddin in India to start Eid-al-Fitr festivitie­s.

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