During these unprecedented times with COVID-19, it has been difficult for Muslim families like mine. In our religion, many people go to the mosque to pray everyday and spend time worshipping God. The lockdown has caused mosques and other places of worship to be forced to close down, which is very saddening to hear.

Ramadan, which begins Apr 23 and ends May 23, is one of the important aspects in our religion that is being affected negatively by the virus. Since mosques are closed, we won’t be able to go to nightly prayers, called Tahajjud and Taraweeh, which are prayers that go from 12:30 a.m to 5 a.m. This is very unfortunate because those prayers are an opportunity for my friends and I to spend time together.

Another thing that may be affected because of the virus is Eid, which will start May 23. We may not be able to dress up and attend the huge prayer convention that celebrates the end of Ramadan. We will be forced to stay inside our homes and not hang out with our friends and extended family. This makes me really sad because we only celebrate one holiday in my religion, and now we won’t be able to enjoy it because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many people die everyday from COVID-19, and in the Islamic tradition there is a special ritual that needs to be performed when people are buried. Sadly, that can’t happen anymore, which is devastating to hear because this is a very important part of our religion. Many Muslim families are heartbroken that they won´t be able to bury their family members the correct way, and this shows just severely the virus is affecting people.

On weekends, many Muslim families such as mine go to an Islamic school called Dugsi. Because of COVID-19, Dugsi has been closed, which is unfortunate because we will miss out on a lot of learning about our religion. Although there is a Facetiming option, it isn’t the same as interacting in person. The COVID-19 lockdown has affected many aspects in my religion and it’s very sad and frustrating to hear about it, but we can only hope for the best.