Muslims Mark Eid al-Fitr under COVID-19 Restrictions
2021.05.13
Muslims from Bangladesh to the Philippines are celebrating Eid al-Fitr under the shadow of surging coronavirus infections for the second year in a row.
Government leaders in Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh placed restrictions on homeward travel for the holiday, and regulated the number of people allowed to gather in mosques. In some places, Muslims prayed outside.
But large crowds gathered at a mosque for morning prayers in Indonesia’s Aceh province. In Bangladesh, people packed onto ferries to carry them home from Dhaka.
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced a month-long national lockdown beginning the eve of Eid, banning all social gatherings on Islam’s most joyous feast day, amid fears that soaring COVID-19 infection rates could prompt a “national crisis.”
Malaysia has seen daily cases exceed 4,000 and set a one-day record for deaths – 26 – on Sunday.
Azwar Ipank and Jejak Hendra in Aceh, Indonesia, Arief Nugroho in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, Mariyam Ahmad in Yala, Thailand and Czar Dancel in Manila contributed to this report.
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