As I have discussed in previous posts, there have been a lot of developing difficulties for the Muslim community regarding the holy month of Ramadan in the era of Covid-19 and social distancing. The article from the Wall Street Journal details the stories of how several people and communities are trying to cope with not being able to actually physically gather, and what some of the leaders of these communities and events are doing to try to get people together during these important times for the entire Muslim community. These people feel that during Ramadan families and friends need to be able to see each other and be together somehow, even if it is over the internet, or some sort of e-meeting platform. Another idea that the article presents is the idea of BYOI (Bring Your Own Iftar), on the e-platforms so that dinners and dishes can be shared among friends and family in these holy times. Some people are more on board than others as there are some people that are against it, “Not everyone is on board. Some say the lack of sometimes-gluttonous group dinners offers a chance to focus on the spiritual aspects of the month, including special nightly prayers called tarawih and reading from the Quran. Others worry about the risk of iftar envy: wishing you were eating what is on the other side of the screen”. While there are some that are against these ideas, I feel that these are a great alternative to larger in person gatherings, we need to be taking every precaution possible.
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