JERUSALEM -- Muslims around the world Sunday began celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, with millions under strict stay-at-home orders and many fearing renewed coronavirus outbreaks.
The three-day holiday is usually a time of travel, family get-togethers and lavish daytime feasts after weeks of dawn-to-dusk fasting. But this year many of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims will have to pray at home and make do with video calls.
Saudi Arabia, home to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, is under a complete lockdown, with residents permitted to leave their homes only to purchase food and medicine.
In Jerusalem, Israeli police said they broke up an "illegal demonstration" and arrested two people outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which Muslim authorities will not reopen until after the holiday. Worshippers who tried to enter the compound scuffled with the police.
Iran, which is battling the deadliest outbreak in the Middle East, allowed communal prayers at some mosques but canceled the annual mass Eid prayers in Tehran led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
[Video not showing up above? Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BiWD9wTG7k]
In Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, lockdown orders intended to contain the pandemic mean there will be no congregational prayers at mosques or even open fields, no family reunions, no relatives bearing gifts for children.
"This outbreak is not just dampening spirits of Eid, but also has made the tradition entirely different," said Andieka Rabbani, a university student in Jakarta. This year, like many Indonesians, he will see family and friends only through video calls.
In neighboring Muslim-majority Malaysia, businesses have mostly reopened after weeks of lockdown. But mass gatherings are still banned and people are not allowed to travel back to their hometowns for the holiday. Police have turned away more than 5,000 cars and have warned of strict penalties for those who try to sneak home.
Malaysians are only allowed to visit relatives who live nearby, and only on Sunday, with gatherings limited to 20 people. Mosques have reopened but are limited to small congregations of up to 30.
Rohaizam Zainuddin said he felt blessed he could celebrate Eid with his elderly parents living nearby, but his sister in another state could not return home.
"We are frustrated that celebration this year is not the same," he said. "But there is no point getting angry. We just have to accept it, life goes on."
He and his family members are still wearing new clothes and preparing traditional dishes. Plates of cookies are set out for any visitors, alongside a thermometer and hand sanitizer.
In Pakistan, Eid is being celebrated in the shadow of the coronavirus and in the wake of a passenger plane crash near Karachi on Friday that killed 97 people.
For the first time, Pakistan is celebrating Eid countrywide on the same day, ending an annual controversy between rival committees over the moon sighting that signals the start of the holiday.
Prime Minister Imran Khan refused to close mosques during Ramadan despite pleas from doctors and a rising number of infections. More than 1,000 worshippers gathered and prayed shoulder-to-shoulder in an open field in Karachi on Sunday, with only a few of them wearing masks.
In neighboring Afghanistan, the government and Taliban insurgents announced a three-day cease-fire in honor of the holiday.
Some 2,000 Muslims gathered for Eid al-Fitr prayers Sunday at a sports complex in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, carefully spaced apart and wearing masks, according to France-Info radio. Traditional embraces were not allowed.
France is allowing religious services to resume for the first time since March, but France's leading Muslim organization advised mosques to stay closed Sunday.
In Sudan, thousands of people gathered for prayers in mosques and open areas, defying a curfew and other restrictions, local media reported.
Virus restrictions remain in place in the mostly Muslim Balkan countries of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. Mosques have reopened in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, but worshippers must wear masks and practice social distancing, and older individuals were urged to continue praying at home.
[CORONAVIRUS: Click here for our complete coverage » arkansasonline.com/coronavirus]
Naim Ternava, the mufti of Kosovo's Islamic community, led prayers in a mosque in front of a small group of imams sitting apart, with the sermon broadcast outside on loudspeakers.
"I invite you to be patient a little bit more until we overcome the danger," he said.
Information for this article was contributed by Eileen Ng, Kathy Gannon, Angela Charlton, Samy Magdy and Llazar Semini of The Associated Press.
A Section on 05/25/2020