Middle East braces for bleak Ramzan as virus threat lingers

From cancelled iftar feasts to suspended mosque prayers, Muslims across the Middle East are bracing for a bleak month of Ramzan fasting as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic lingers.

Ramzan is a period for both self-reflection and socialising. Believers fast from dawn to dusk and then gather around a family or community meal each evening of Islam's holiest month, which begins later this week and ends with Eid al-Fitr festivities.

But this year, the fast-spreading novel coronavirus threatens to dampen Ramzan like never before, with millions locked down across the Middle East -- from Saudi Arabia and Lebanon to the battle zones of Libya, Iraq and Yemen.

More dispiriting for many devout Muslims is that congregational worship -- including taraweeh night prayers -- is prohibited in mosques across the region, with many closed in a bid to slow the spread of the virus.

Several countries' religious authorities, including Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, have ruled that prayers during Ramzan and Eid be performed at home.

"Our hearts are crying," said Ali Mulla, the muezzin at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. "We are used to seeing the holy mosque crowded with people during the day, night, all the time... I feel pain deep inside."
"Healthy people should be able to fast during this Ramzan as in previous years, while COVID-19 patients may consider religious licenses regarding breaking the fast in consultation with their doctors, as they would do with any other disease."