Ramadan is an auspicious Islamic month of the year for Muslims.
They fast from dawn till dusk and pray during the month while Taraweeh (prayers during Ramadan) are also offered by the Muslims after breaking the fast in the evening.
During COVID-19 restrictions last year, most mosques around Australia were unable to hold Taraweeh prayers due to restrictions and health advice. This year Taraweeh prayers are being offered again.
Khalid Shah is the Imam at the Ummah Centre in Melbourne. He belives that this year is better than last year with more people attending the prayers.
"Last year there were only two to three people and we used to live stream Iftaar and dua on Facebook," Khalid told SBS Urdu.
He said this year the atmosphere is better and people are coming to the mosque for prayers.
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However, things are not the same as before the pandemic.
According to him, it will take time to get back to a normal routine because people have their relatives back home in Pakistan and India and the situation over there is quite dificult.
A volunteer in Townsville Mosque in Queensland, Muhammad Naseer told SBS Urdu that initially there were restrictions on masks but they have also been removed now.
Last year, there were restrictions and Friday prayers were also banned because the mosque was closed to the public but this year people are coming to the mosque.
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"Everybody who is entering the mosque register himself on an app in which you have to enter information about your health and then you can enter. We have security guards to check the temperature of people entering the mosque."
Naseeb Muhammad is the president of Rooty Hill Mosque in Sydney. He said last year the mosque was closed to the public and the Taraweeh prayer was only performed by the mosque administration.
"This year restrictions are less but we still have to follow the health advice like sanitising and practicing social distancing. The requirement nowadays is to have one person in two square meters and only compulsory prayers are offered in the mosque.
"One must have to register through QR code to register on the app."
Asim Raazi, the CEO of the United Muslim Northern Territory (UMNT) in Darwin NT said that Darwin was not much affected by COVID-19 and last year Taraweeh was not offered in the first half of Ramadan.
Lakemba Mosque Source: SBS News
We are distributing prepacked iftaar boxes and the mosque is only open for compulsory prayers.
"During COVID more people migrated to Darwin and more are coming to offer prayers. We are still holding prayers with the same zest and zeal," Asim said.
The holy month of Ramadan started on the 13th of April in Australia and will conclude with the event of Eid ul Fitr on the 13th of May.
