Muslims worldwide mark Eid festival amid pandemic
Muslims worldwide have marked the Eid al-Adha holiday amid a global pandemic that has impacted nearly every aspect of this year’s celebrations.
Around the world, Muslims gathered with relatives or at home on Friday to mark the start of Eid.
In the Iraqi capital Baghdad, streets were largely empty due to a 10-day lockdown imposed by authorities to prevent further spread of the virus. Kosovo and the United Arab Emirates also closed mosques for Eid prayers to limit the spread of the virus.
The last days of the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia coincide with the four-day Eid al-Adha, or “Feast of Sacrifice,” in which Muslims slaughter livestock and distribute the meat to the poor. The hajj has too been dramatically impacted this year, with as few as 1,000 pilgrims allowed to take part compared to last year’s 2.5 million.
Pilgrims walk around the Kabba at the Grand Mosque, in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, July 31, 2020. (Saudi Ministry of Media via AP)
The pandemic has also pushed millions of people around the world closer to the brink of poverty, making it harder for many to fulfill the religious tradition of purchasing livestock.
In Somalia, the price of meat has slightly increased. Abdishakur Dahir, a civil servant in Mogadishu, said that for the first time he won’t be able to afford goat for Eid because of the impact of the virus on work.
“I could hardly buy food for my family,” Dahir said. “We are just surviving for now. Life is getting tougher by the day.”
In some parts of West Africa, the price for a ram has doubled. Livestock sellers, used to doing brisk business in the days before the holiday, say sales have dwindled and those who are buying can’t afford much.
Muslim girls walk down a street after prayers, in Lagos, Nigeria, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
“The situation is really complicated by the coronavirus, it’s a tough market,” Oumar Maiga, a livestock trader in Ivory Coast said. “We are in a situation we’ve never seen in other years.”
In Indonesia, home to the world’s largest population of Muslims, people were allowed to attend Eid prayers in mosques under strict health guidelines, including that they bring their own prayer mats and pray several feet apart from one another. Worshipers must wear masks and are not allowed to shake hands or hug.
Authorities in Indonesia also ordered that meat be delivered door-to-door to the poor to avoid long lines.
“This outbreak has not only changed our tradition entirely, but has also made more and more people fall into poverty,” said Agus Supriatna, an Indonesian factory worker who was laid off this year because of the pandemic.
Here's a gallery of images from Associated Press photographers from around the world.
Muslim men offer Eid al-Adha prayer next to the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's old city, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
An employee of the Kosovo Islamic Community closes the door of the Sultan Mehmet Fatih mosque in Pristina, Kosovo, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Muslims, wearing protective masks as a precaution against infection from coronavirus gather for the Eid al-Adha prayer inside the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, recently converted back to a mosque, in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, July 31, 2020. (Pool via AP)
Butchers dressed in protective gear as a precaution against coronavirus outbreak sharpen their knives prior to slaughtering cows and goats during the celebration of Eid al-Adha holiday in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
Muslims, wearing protective masks as a precaution against the coronavirus, offer their prayers during the Eid al-Adha prayer backdropped by the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, recently converted back to a mosque, in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Yasin Akgul)
A woman wears a mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus as she leaves prayers for Eid Al-Adha, or feast of sacrifice, in the Old City of Jerusalem, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Worshippers wearing masks to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, offer Eid al-Adha prayer in front of the Gazi Husrev-beg mosque in Sarajevo, Bosnia, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Kemal Softic)
Palestinians Muslims offer Eid al-Adha prayers, in the West Bank city of Nablus, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Muslims, wearing protective masks as a precaution against infection from coronavirus, gather for the Eid al-Adha prayer inside the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, recently converted back to a mosque, in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, July 31, 2020. (Pool via AP)
Muslim worshippers wearing masks to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, offer Eid al-Adha prayer while maintaining a social distance at the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque in Beirut, Lebanon, July 31, 2020. . (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Muslims queue up to enter a disinfection chamber set up as a precaution against the new coronavirus outbreak, prior to entering Al Mashun Grand Mosque's compound to attend an Eid al-Adha prayer in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
Muslim worshippers offer Eid al-Adha prayer at a park as mosques are limited for ten people following the government's measures to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, in the mixed Arab Jewish city of Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, Israel, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Mullahs wearing masks to help stop the spread of the coronavirus wait for Eid al-Adha prayer while maintaining social distancing at the almost empty main Mosque in Moscow, Russia, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
People wearing face masks have their temperatures checked before being allowed to go into Manchester Central Mosque, to try stop the spread of coronavirus, as Muslims worldwide marked the start of the Eid al-Adha holiday, in Manchester, northern England, Friday, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
The shoe rack is taped off for safety measures at Minhaj-ul-Quran Mosque, at the start of Eid al-Adha, in London, Friday, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
An Indian Muslim adjusts the mask of his son as they wait to offer Eid al-Adha prayer at the Jama Masjid in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Aug.1, 2020. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Kashmiri Muslims offer Eid prayers inside a local mosque in downtown Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
People struggle to control a bull for slaughtering on the occasion of the Eid al-Adha holidays, in Karachi, Pakistan, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard by a closed road, as Kashmiris marked Eid during lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus in in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
Indian Muslims sit while maintaining social distance and attend an Eid al-Adha prayer service at the Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad, India, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Flood affected Muslims offer Eid al-Adha prayers on a boat near a submerged mosque in Morigaon district of Assam, India, Aug. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
An Afghan Muslim man wearing a face mask as a precaution against coronavirus offers Eid al-Adha prayers in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 31, 2020. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
A protective face mask is thrown on the ground during Eid al-Adha prayer, next to the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's old city, July 31, 2020. AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Text from AP News story, Muslims worldwide mark Eid festival amid pandemic.