Thousands of Muslim men attend packed Ramadan Friday prayers despite concerns of new coronavirus outbreak – the sun, thesun.co.uk

Thousands of Muslim men are seen attending Friday prayers at a mosque in Lhokseumawe, Indonesia Credit: AP: Associated Press

) Faithful Muslims marked the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, amid concerns of the new coronavirus outbreak (Credit: AP: Associated Press

The men are seen tightly grouped together as they kneel in prayer, much closer than the globally-implemented 2m distancing measures most nations have enforced to slow the virus’ spread.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has been criticized for failing to enforce a complete nation-wide lockdown or enact strict social distancing measures.

To date, Widodo has only introduced a patchwork of partial lockdown measures, reportedly saying he believes a complete lockdown is incompatible with the population’s discipline and culture and would hurt the economy.

“The Indonesian government response to Covid – has been slow, unclear and fractured, ”Fitch Solutions said in a report.

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, the epicentre of the country’s infections, has enacted tougher social distancing measures than elsewhere in the country where unrestricted movement continues.

A ban on gatherings of more than five people, limited public transport services and mandatory work-from-home, were extended to May 96, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said Wednesday.

However, in places such as Aceh, a semi-autonomous Indonesian province on the northwest tip of Sumatra Island, thousands gathered to pray as these measures do not apply.

There are currently 8, confirmed cases of coronavirus in Indonesia and deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Experts anticipate with no coherent lockdown plans, the numbers will escalate.

RAMADAN & DISTANCING

The holy month of Ramadan began today which normally sees Muslims across the world fast during the day and then congregate for night prayers and shared communal meals.

Many of the traditions around Ramadan involve gathering together, community work and charity, which has to be compromised due to social distancing restrictions .

The coronavirus pandemic has curbed large gatherings for prayers and public iftars, or meals to break the fast.

Islam’s holiest sites in Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem were largely empty of worshippers as authorities were forced to impose unprecedented restrictions.

In a rare occurrence in Islam’s 1, 680 – year history, Mecca’s Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina – the religion’s two holiest locations – will be closed to the public during the fasting period.

Prayers from inside the mosque at Mecca on the first evening of Ramadan on Thursday were restricted to clerics, security staff and cleaners, in a ceremony broadcast live on television.

In comments marking the start of Ramadan, King Salman, who is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, lamented the need for social distancing during the holy month.

“It pains me to welcome the glorious month of Ramadan under circumstances that forbid us from prayers in mosques,” he said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

“It doesn’t feel special this year, we don’t feel any Ramadan vibes,” said Sarah, a mother-of-two in Riyadh.

At a near-empty Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, an imam called out the first Friday prayers of Ramadan across a windswept plateau almost devoid of worshippers.

A handful of clerics in face masks knelt below the pulpit, keeping several feet apart to comply with coronavirus restrictions.

“We ask God to have mercy on us and all of humanity and to save us from this lethal pandemic,” the imam said.

(Ramadan) usually draws tens of thousands of Muslims daily to the mosque and the adjoining Dome of the Rock.

Worshippers will instead have to watch prayers on television.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA RESPONSE