Muslims move prayers online as holy month of Ramadan begins

Thursday evening begins the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. But this year, the annual celebrations will be a solitary affair, due to California shelter-in-place orders.
 
Parking lots at the 92 Mosques in the five-county Bay Area have been empty, and the doors closed since shelter-in-place orders took effect in March. This new normal remains in place as Muslims begin the month-long celebration of Ramadan.
 
“Muslim prayers call for people to line up shoulder-to-shoulder which would make the possibility of spreading the virus a real possibility,” said Dr. Hatem Bazain, chairman of the Northern California Islamic Council.
 
He says a desire to continue to flatten the COVID-19 curve is leading religious leaders to move traditional prayers online, instead of at Mosques and community centers.
 
Ramadan is one of the Five foundational Pillars of Islam, marked by prayer, fasting, and community togetherness. Prayer and fasting can be solitary pursuits, but coming together as a community could pose a health risk in the age of a global pandemic.
 
“Worshiping the divine is contingent on you being alive to worship. It does not help anyone, nor your religious dedication if it’s a matter of death and life situation,” said Bazain.
 
The change is difficult for 350,000 devout Muslims in the Bay Area such as Sameena Usman. She and her two children posted pictures of decorations they displayed in their home for this holiday. But there will be no visitors to share meals and fellowship, and no community prayers at the Mosques.
 
“It’s disappointing for a lot of community members who are used to attending those congregational prayers. Or taking part in the joint dinners,” said Usman, a spokeswoman for the Council on American and Islamic Relations in the San Francisco Bay Area. “We are going to be doing zoom dinner parties. So bringing out food right in front of the computer and we’ll be having our dinner parties that way.”
 
Muslims aren’t the only group of worshipers to have a holiday impacted by the Coronavirus. Easter celebrations and services were canceled for Christians, and those of the Jewish faith couldn’t share the annual Passover experience. Everyone had to shelter-in-place.
 
“It’s a diminishment. But one has to put in the context of the hierarchy of life has to be put ahead of the possible challenge of not being together during this month,” said Bazain.
 
He says all activities will remain online, unless shelter-in-place orders are lifted before the holiday ends, at the next crescent moon.