US Muslims celebrate Ramadan holding online prayers and virtual gatherings

by Abbas Adil

SHAFAQNA- This year, with the Coronavirus pandemic said to be reaching its peak in the United States, Muslims are facing a new reality: a Ramadan without the Mosque. So, they will have to go the virtual route.

With so many places of worship closed , US Muslims prepare for online prayers and virtual gatherings in a month of fasting typically marked by human connection.

Despite the outward changes, Ramadan would still have the same spiritual feel

Muslims will face the same restrictions because of the Coronavirus as other faiths, said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a U.S.-based Muslim civil rights organization. “It’s going to be a completely different Ramadan,” Hooper told NBC News. “The basis of Ramadan is to understand what other people go through when they’re deprived of things in life, and so it’s an additional lesson.”

Hooper said despite the outward changes, he hoped the month would still have the same spiritual feel and urged Americans to comply with national legislation and health guidelines to stay safe. “Spiritual practices are always a help during times of crisis, fear and upheaval, so Islam like any faith can comfort its practitioners during these times.”

There’s still a lot of ways to engage with community

Khalid Latif, an imam who heads New York University’s Islamic Center, points out that while Muslims can’t pray shoulder-to-shoulder in congregations this year, there’s still a lot of ways to engage with community. “The communal aspects of Ramadan are so important”.

“They don’t have to be lost,” Latif says, adding that it’s important to try and help underserved community members. The center has already raised more than $770,000 to help those financially impacted by the Coronavirus, including those struggling to afford burial costs. Many Islamic institutes have also ramped up their online programming to make up for the lack of in-person contact, New York Times reported.

Make a Mosque at home

Shams Hamid, a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University, came home to Woodbridge, Virginia, after schools closed last month. With ample time on her hands, she’s come up with different ways to enhance her Ramadan experience at home. She’s begun creating a mini-mosque inside her home, with decorations to make it feel like a special space. She and her family also intend to dress up in special clothes for prayers, as if they were going to the Mosque, Middle East Eye reported. “We’re looking to wear special abayas (dresses) as if we’re going to the Masjid,” said Hamid.

From loudspeakers on the roof of a Minnesota Mosque, Adhan echoed

From loudspeakers on the roof of a Minnesota Mosque, the Islamic call to prayer echoed for the first time ever throughout a Minneapolis neighborhoods late on Thursday as the Muslim community there prepared to begin the holy Month of Ramadan. The simple, short call – known as the Adhan – marked an historical moment for Minneapolis and major cities across the United States, community members said. While the Adhan is commonly broadcast throughout the Middle East, North Africa and other places, for many Muslims in the US, it is only heard inside Mosques or community centres.

“There’s definitely a lot of excitement,” said Imam Abdisalam Adam, who is on the board of the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque, from where the Adhan will be broadcast. “Some people see it as historic,” Adam told Al Jazeera. “To the point … that they’re not doing it, able to see it in their lifetime.”

Recited by different representatives from Mosques around the city, the call to prayer is expected to reach thousands in the Cedar-Riverside neighbourhood in Minneapolis, according to Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of Minnesota’s Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

“We wanted to touch those individuals who frequent this Mosque and this community,” Hussain said. “If we cannot be physically together, at least this echo, this voice, this call to prayer can be an extension of us being together at this difficult time. To give some people some solace.”

Mosques open their doors to blood donors

According to Newsweek, Muslims are flocking to mosques across the country to donate blood during Ramadan as part of a blood drive coordinated by the American Red Cross, Muslim Community USA (“Muslims for Life” initiative), Muslim Youth Association, and Humanity First USA.

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