Ramadan 2020: A quiet Ramadan dawns around the world

A man prays on a rooftop during Ramadan afternoon prayers in Jerusalem. For the world's 1.8 billion Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan is a social and spiritual high point of the year, a time to gather with friends and family and to focus on fasting and prayers But the COVID-19 pandemic is transforming this Ramadan in unprecedented ways in societies across the globe, clearing out mosques, cancelling communal prayers and forcing families to replace physical gatherings with virtual meet-ups.

A person prays in The Foundation of the Islamic Centre of Bangkok mosque despite all mosques in the country being closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Dr. Saleh Kholaki, the chairman of the religious committee at the Islamic Center of Southern California, leads members of the Mosque community in prayer via online live-streaming during Ramadan, from his home in La Crescenta, California.

Palestinian and Arab Israeli men keep a 2-meter distance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as they pray in a parking lot near the beach in Jaffa, near the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv after breaking their fast. Mosques stood empty and fast-breaking feasts were cancelled as Muslims around the world began marking Ramadan under the novel coronavirus lockdown, while a pushback in some countries sparked fears of a surge in infections.

Two men eat their Iftar meals inside an almost empty Sidi Saiyyed mosque during Ramadan. A nationwide lockdown until May 3rd has been announced in India to slow the spread of the COVID-19.

Umair Khan, the Imam of the largest mosque in British Columbia, the Baitur Rahman Mosque, prays alone during the holy fasting month of Ramadan amid COVID-19 restrictions in Delta, British Columbia, Canada.

A devotee recites the Quran at the Star Mosque during Ramadan in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged her fellow citizens to perform prayers in their homes during Ramadan.

A Palestinian cleric pray with his family the night prayer known as Taraweeh outside their house during the holy month of Ramadan in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron as mosques are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

People gather for prayer during Ramadan at Jamia Mosque in Islamabad. Pakistan has allowed congregation prayers in mosques during the holy month of Ramdan. The government has issued clerics guidelines to follow on social distancing while praying in mosques.

A Muslim man and a child offer prayers during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at the Jami mosque, in Herat, Afghanistan.