With mosques closed, prayers are moving online and video conferencing apps will be used for iftar parties at sunset
At Finsbury Park mosque in north London – once a byword for extremism, now a model of tolerance and community outreach – the first night of Ramadan heralds a month of communal praying, eating and charity work. About 2,000 people attend prayers each day. Volunteers cram into its kitchen to prepare iftar, the meal that breaks the Ramadan fast at sunset, for 300 people each night.
Not this year. “We will miss all that,” said Mohammed Kozbar, the mosque’s general secretary. The building’s gates are locked, with only security guards patrolling its prayer halls and community spaces. “I visited last week. It was heartbreaking to see it empty and silent,” said Kozbar.
This Ramadan will be at a slower pace. It will give us more time for reflection and the opportunity to be closer to God
Related: Easter, Passover, Ramadan … festivals test the faithful’s resolve over lockdown
Continue reading...from Islam | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2XKp2ss
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