Ramadan MEMES Take Over the Internet Marking the Start of the Holy Month

By Sally Shakkour

Muslims worldwide have announced the start of fasting, known as Ramadan and the holy month, in which a commemoration of Prophet Muhammad's first revelation through prayer, reflection and community took place. However, this doesn’t mean the end of fun.

People have used this event and began creating their own memes to mark the beginning of the holy month.

During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslim adults usually fast from sunrise to sunset; as the predawn meal is referred to as suhur, and the nightly feast that breaks the fast is called iftar.

However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, still an ongoing issue in most of the countries in the world, authorities are restricting the movement of the people during the holy month. 

Saudi Arabia has asked all the pilgrims, who want to enter Mecca for prayers at the Grand Mosque, to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before entering. 

Moreover, the country has implemented strict social distancing measures as well as disinfection routines in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus inside the holy site, where millions of Muslims visit each year for the umrah and hajj pilgrimages.

In Lebanon, there’s an ancient Beiruti tradition called “Istibanat Ramadan” which some people still do. As a practice, people would head out and take strolls on the beaches or public parks to witness the crescent. This marks the beginning of the holy month.

As for Jordanians they are celebrating the second Ramadan amid COVID pandemic and restrictions as night curfew are implemented after 7pm for people. Which bans families from having the joint iftar they used to have before the virus outbreak.

A young Jordanian woman said to the Jordan Times people no longer have big feasts on Iftar (the fast breaking meal at sunset) due to the lockdown.

After the end of the holy month, Muslims are likely to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr on May 14th to mark the end of fasting. Usually the Eid prayer is performed in congregation in open areas like fields, community centers, or mosques, but this year it still seems impossible due to the undone coronavirus outbreak.