Covid19 changes RAMADAN for Muslims

Covid19 changes RAMADAN for Muslims around the world but not spiritually

Mosques are largely empty and fast-breaking feasts were cancelled as Muslims in Pakistan and around the world marked Ramazan under the coronavirus lockdown on Saturday.

Ramazan is typically a period of both worship and socializing, but this year strict lockdowns limit gatherings for iftar meals at dusk when the fast is broken — a centerpiece of the holy month.

But from Washington to Saudi Arab, Muslims are finding ways of keeping the spirit of Ramadan alive through charity and worship — with social distancing, live-streamed prayers and video calls forming a large part of this new normal.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today (24 April 2020) extended his greetings to the Muslims on the occasion of Ramadan. PM Modi in his Twitter message said:  ”Ramadan Mubarak!  I pray for everyone’s safety, well-being and prosperity. May Ramadan bring with it abundance of kindness, harmony and compassion. May we achieve a decisive victory in the ongoing battle against COVID-19 and create a healthier planet.”

The relaxation of the Indian lock down came with major caveats. It did not apply to hundreds of quarantined towns and other places hit hardest by the outbreak that has killed at least 775 people in the country and terrified its multitudes of poor who live in slum conditions too crowded for social distancing.

Shopping malls also stayed closed nationwide. Still, for families that run small stores, being able to earn again brought relief.

In Sri Lanka, however, the lockdown was tightened, not eased, confirming a pattern of one-step-forward, one-step-back also seen elsewhere in the pandemic, trying to juggle public health against the health of shut-down economies.

Sri Lanka had partially lifted long month curfew during daytime hours in more than two-thirds of the country. But it reimposed a 24-hour lockdown countrywide after a surge Friday of 46 new infections, the highest increase in a day on the Indian Ocean island.