Over the coming month, Muslims will fast from sunrise to sunset, breaking their fast with a shared meal. They will also pray multiple times through the day.
But over the past two years it’s been tough to do it together as a community.
“For most of us, the past two years has basically become the normal,” says Iman Raza Shah. “We are used to entering a building and keeping distant and having limitations, so this is the first year we have none of that.”
Last year, Quebec was still under a curfew, making it difficult for many Muslims to pray at the mosque.
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“We had some of our prayers after 8 p.m. and some of our prayers also before 5 a.m. so we had to limit our prayers because of the curfew last year,” says Shah.
Although Ramadan is also a time of individual reflection, for Ali Raza, a member of the Centre Islamique Ahmadiyya, being able to pray with his community means a lot.
“Last year, we eat at home, we pray at home,” he says. “Now we are happy to be together everyone gathering in a mosque. We are much happier.”
There are still plenty of precautions, according to Shah. Everyone must be double vaccinated to attend the mosque.
“We are very happy and we are definitely taking advantage of the situation, but at the same time we’re still being precautious,” he says.
“People are encouraged to come to the mosque but nobody is forced,” says Shah. “So anyone who wants to pray at home or someone who prefers to pray at home, they’re of course welcome and allowed to pray at home.”
Ramadan lasts 30 days and will end on May 1.