Ramadan begins as Covid-19 lockdowns clash with tradition of gatherings

The coronavirus pandemic has muted Ramadan rituals for the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims, as the holy month started for many countries on Friday amidst bans on prayers and large gatherings in Muslim communities from Southeast Asia to the Middle East and Africa.

Muslim clerics in Cape Town, South Africa, pray before looking for the crescent moon that will signal the start of Ramadan, 23 April 2020. © Rodger Bosch/AFP

Rules banning praying in mosques or gathering with relatives and friends will mean no large traditional iftar meals to break the daily fast.

Clerics and conservatives in some countries have pushed back and have refused to stop prayer gatherings in mosques.

National religious organisations in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, have called on the faithful to stay at home. And yet several thousand people attended evening prayers on Thursday at the biggest mosque in the capital the conservative Aceh province.

In Pakistan, mosques have been full in the lead-up to Ramadan.

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In Malaysia, with a Muslim majority, a strict lockdown has been extended until mid-May, with mosques, schools and most businesses closed, and Ramadan bazaars, where people buy delicacies before breaking their fast, have been banned.

Algeria will ease confinement measures starting Friday, shortening curfews in some provinces around the capital, Algiers.

Distancing measures and the economic impact of the pandemic has also meant a hit for charitable activities, especially food distribution. Mosques and charities give food to thousands of people during Ramadan.

In the Gaza Strip, where there have been 17 officially declared coronavirus cases, many are wondering how they will manage.

Hamas, which runs the territory and has announced all mosques will remain closed throughout the holy month, said it would hand out money to 5,000 poor families.