With varying lockdowns in place, and safety measures enacted by local communities, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has been observed very differently around the world this year. Large gatherings at mosques have been canceled, communal iftar meals have been reduced to smaller family groups in their homes, and visits to extended family have been cut short. Gathered here, some images from the past month of people observing Ramadan in a changed world. See also our short documentary, “Ramadan in Quarantine,” and an earlier, historic photo story, “Celebrating Ramadan Before the Pandemic.”
Ramadan 2020: A Holy Month During a Pandemic
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Abbas Al Haj Ahmed talks with his cousin Adam Bazzi over a video call while their family shares a meal and breaks fast on the first full day of Ramadan on April 24, 2020, in Dearborn, Michigan. #
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Esat Sahin, imam of the iconic Fatih Mosque, holds a prayer held without the public due to the coronavirus restrictions in Istanbul, Turkey, on April 24, 2020, during the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. #
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Niina Kaydee, the owner of the small business Keepsakes and Co., is isolating at home with her daughter Amelia, 6, on April 28, 2020, in Sydney, Australia. “I had to close my business temporarily. I don’t foresee being able to reopen until things have settled and the kids are back into school. Fortunately my husband is still working. It has meant more quality family time; it’s made us slow down in our work and life in general. Before that, life was very hectic. I’ve been cooking a lot more … My husband is even getting a little belly for the first time in his life. With the mosques closed and it being Ramadan, we’ve been engaging a lot with online prayer sessions and workshops. Prayer is also broadcast over the radio, which we listen to a lot. It’s great because we can still feel connected. I miss my female friends greatly, with all our usual events canceled, it has brought a complete stop to those beautiful social moments we used to all share. In many ways I’m loving isolation, but I do feel uncertain about the future.” #
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Iranians sitting in their vehicles attend a drive-in religious ceremony during the holy month of Ramadan, amid the pandemic, in a parking lot in Tehran, on April 30 2020. Public gatherings have been banned as part of Iran's efforts to eliminate the spread of the virus. #
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Iranian worshipers gather in Eram Park’s parking area with their vehicles to pray, amid lockdown conditions, on the 19th day of Ramadan in Tehran, Iran, on May 13, 2020. #
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Mohammad Razvi, in conjunction with the Ramadan holiday, hands out face masks and gloves at a food distribution outside of a Brooklyn mosque and cultural center in New York City on May 1, 2020. #
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Fatma Kadeh, a 75-year-old Palestinian, is working in her field to prepare boiled, pounded, and unripe wheat for the holy month of Ramadan in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on May 12, 2020. #
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Imam Ahmad Al-Harasis speaks to his followers as he broadcasts a Taraweeh prayer live via social media to be connected with his worshipers during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Amman, Jordan, on May 11, 2020. #
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This combination of pictures created on May 21, 2020 shows imams across Kosovo posing in empty mosques as Kosovo's mosques have been closed due to the spread of the virus. #
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Muhammed Muhsin and Raid Kaabi wear protective masks and gloves while playing drums to wake people up for the sahur meal on a street during Ramadan in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 4, 2020. #
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An aerial view shows the Grand Mosque and the Mecca Tower, deserted on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in the Saudi holy city of Mecca, on April 24, 2020. #
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A worker from the Bidyanondo Foundation, a nonprofit organization, prepares iftar food for people in need, during a government-imposed lockdown in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 11 , 2020. #
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Palestinian Reem Abu Ayyash holds up a spoon filled with rice during a video call with her husband, Rami, as she prepares to have her iftar meal with her daughter at their home near Hebron on April 28, 2020. Rami works as a nurse, treating coronavirus patients, and he has avoided his family during Ramadan out of fear of contagion. #
Mussa Qawasma / Reuters
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