Ramadan 2020: how Muslims are coping during coronavirus pandemic



This year Ramadan comes at an unprecedented time. The Covid-19 pandemic has affected just about every aspect of life and religion is no different. Mosques that would have been filled worshippers are closed as fasting Muslims stay indoors like everybody else. With the virus lurking in the streets, most of Islam's 1.8 billion faithful are seeking help and peace in their solitary prayers at home.

Host Suhail Akram talks to Khola Hassan, a religious scholar in the UK, and Saad Al Ameri, an Emirati doctor treating coronavirus patients in the UAE. We also hear from The National's correspondents, Sunniva Rose in Lebanon and Hamza Hendawi in Egypt, about how Ramadan is different in those countries this year.

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5