Members of Berlin’s Muslim community marked the first day of Ramadan amid unprecedented bans on gatherings and mass prayer due to the COVID-19 outbreak on Friday.
In an attempt to keep Ramadan spirit, Muslims in Berlin could be still seen in the afternoon buying food in Sonnenallee, the so-called “Arabic street” of the German capital, while observing social distancing guidelines.
“This year is of course much harder than the previous one, very difficult, people are scared and do not come together,” commented one local.
A small group of worshippers were allowed into the inner yard of the Sehitlik Mosque in the city centre for the traditional Zuhr prayer.
Unlike in previous years, praying in mosques or meeting relatives and friends for large Iftar meals at dusk have been prohibited by the authorities throughout the world in order to prevent further outbreak of the deadly infection.
According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, Germany has reported over 153,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 5,500 people dying with the virus.
Advertisement