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Ramadan demonstrates Muslim courage and faith


Nepalnews
2021 May 14, 11:39,
Muslims take part in Eid al Fitr prayers at the Kul Sharif Mosque in Kazan, Russia, Thursday, May 13, 2021. Photo: AP

The world spun madly on as followers of its second-largest religion practiced the traditions of Islam’s holiest month, at times under circumstances that demanded as much courage as faith.

Ramadan is a period of intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts. But between April 12-13, when this year’s observance started, and the month’s end Thursday with the Eid al-Fitr holiday, Muslims in many parts of the world carried out the comforting rituals while confronting tragedies and tremendous upheaval.


A man distributes food to Muslims who arrive to break their day-long fast during Ramadan at Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, May 6, 2021.
Photo: AP
A man distributes food to Muslims who arrive to break their day-long fast during Ramadan at Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, May 6, 2021. Photo: AP

In mostly-Muslim Turkey, the month of fasting kicked off amid record levels of COVID-19 infections and the country’s strictest lockdown of the pandemic. The restrictions prohibited residents from leaving their homes except to shop for groceries or to meet other essential needs, and are in place until after the three-day Eid holiday, normally a time for family reunions.

The coronavirus pandemic shaped Ramadan in other ways for a second year in a row. In Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, worshippers wearing masks joined communal prayers in the streets of Jakarta and passed through disinfection chambers before entering the Al Mashun Great Mosque compound in North Sumatra on Thursday.


Muslims walk through a disinfection chamber installed to curb the spread of coronavirus outbreak as they enter Al Mashun Great Mosque compound to attend an Eid al-Fitr prayer in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Thursday, May 13, 2021.
Photo: AP
Muslims walk through a disinfection chamber installed to curb the spread of coronavirus outbreak as they enter Al Mashun Great Mosque compound to attend an Eid al-Fitr prayer in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Thursday, May 13, 2021. Photo: AP

For members of India’s Muslim minority, the holy month coincided with the country’s uncontrolled and lethal COVID-19 outbreak. Muslim cemeteries started running out of space and people to dig graves within days of Ramadan’s start, while families that had looked forward to celebrating together buried loved ones instead.

Grief also gripped the Gaza Strip, where Israeli airstrikes emptied streets that Palestinians ordinarily throng ahead of Eid al-Fitr to shop for new clothes and treats. Instead, Hamas urged the faithful to mark communal Eid prayers inside their homes or at the nearest mosques instead of out in the open.


Syrian refugee Ayesha al-Abed, 21, right, prepares food as her Husband Raed Mattar, 24, left, plays with their daughter Rayan, 18 months old, before they break their fast on the first day of fasting month of Ramadan, at an informal refugee camp, in the town of Bhannine in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon.
Photo: AP
Syrian refugee Ayesha al-Abed, 21, right, prepares food as her Husband Raed Mattar, 24, left, plays with their daughter Rayan, 18 months old, before they break their fast on the first day of fasting month of Ramadan, at an informal refugee camp, in the town of Bhannine in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon. Photo: AP

Throughout it all, many Muslims held fast to tradition, praying and breaking their daily fasts wherever they found themselves.

For a group of security forces in Egypt, that meant the site of passenger train derailment that killed at least 11 people and injured about 100 more. For a young Syrian couple and their 18-month-old daughter, it was an informal refugee camp in Lebanon. Coal miners in Bosnia broke their fasts by helmet-light, relying on watches and smartphones to know when it was sunset and they could sit down to eat together.


Celebrating Ramadan.
Photo: AP
Celebrating Ramadan. Photo: AP
Mousque.
Photo: AP
Mousque. Photo: AP
A man swings fireworks during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, on the beach of Gaza City, Monday.
Photo: AP
A man swings fireworks during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, on the beach of Gaza City, Monday. Photo: AP
A worker prepares traditional Turkish sweets in a restaurant, in Istanbul, Tuesday, April 13, 2021.
Photo: AP
A worker prepares traditional Turkish sweets in a restaurant, in Istanbul, Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Photo: AP
Celebrating Ramadan.
Photo: AP
Celebrating Ramadan. Photo: AP
A girl is tossed into the air as people gather for Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City ofJerusalem.
Photo: AP
A girl is tossed into the air as people gather for Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City ofJerusalem. Photo: AP
Ndeye Yacine Dieng breaks the fast with her family during the holy month of Ramadan at her home in Bargny, Senegal some 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of Dakar, Senegal.
Photo: AP
Ndeye Yacine Dieng breaks the fast with her family during the holy month of Ramadan at her home in Bargny, Senegal some 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of Dakar, Senegal. Photo: AP
Celebrating Ramadan.
Photo: AP
Celebrating Ramadan. Photo: AP
A woman brings food for security forces to break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan, at the site of a passenger train that derailed injuring about 100 people, near Banha, Qalyubia province, Egypt, Sunday, April 18, 2021. 
Photo: AP
A woman brings food for security forces to break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan, at the site of a passenger train that derailed injuring about 100 people, near Banha, Qalyubia province, Egypt, Sunday, April 18, 2021. Photo: AP
Celebrating Ramadan.
Photo: AP
Celebrating Ramadan. Photo: AP
Celebrating Ramadan.
Photo: AP
Celebrating Ramadan. Photo: AP
Muslims pray during the first dawn prayers of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, around the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, as they keep social distancing to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, April 13, 2021.
Photo: AP
Muslims pray during the first dawn prayers of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, around the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, as they keep social distancing to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Photo: AP
Celebrating Ramadan.
Photo: AP
Celebrating Ramadan. Photo: AP

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