West Asia braces for a bleak Ramzan

Riyadh: From cancelled iftar feasts to suspended mosque prayers, Muslims across West Asia 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. But this year, the fast-spreading coronavirus threatens to dampen Ramzan like never before, with millions locked down from Saudi Arabia and Lebanon to the battle zones of Libya, Iraq and Yemen. 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 all the time… I feel pain deep inside,” he added. In recent weeks, a stunning emptiness has enveloped the sacred Kaaba — a large black cube structure draped in gold-embroidered cloth in the Grand Mosque.