US Muslims observe Ramadan with family and by helping others

Tehsin Siddiqui and Azhar Dalal with their children, (from left) Ameen, 12, Hamza, eight, and Noor, 10.

This Ramadan was supposed to be a special one for Ameen Dalal. The 12-year-old’s parents finally planned to let him fast for the full 29 days, instead of a week or two at a time. Their decision to include him in the fast, which most children don’t begin until they have hit puberty, would bring him a step closer to adulthood.

Then mosques began to close in Forida, United States, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Ameen – along with millions of Muslims across the globe – soon realised that celebrating the month-long holiday that commemorates Allah revealing the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad would take a different tone.