TWO major religious holidays in Spain will have been celebrated behind closed doors this year for the first time in most residents' memories – first Easter, for the Christians, and since Friday, the Holy Islamic month of Ramadan.
And it will be the first Ramadan in Spain where the Muslim community will not be meeting up at their local mosque or cultural centre, and where the mass morning prayer on the final day, Eid ul-Fitr, will not be a huge public gathering.
Firstly, if you're one of the nearly two million Muslims living in Spain, felices fiestas, and if you're one of the 3.7 million in the UK, 64,000 in the Republic of Ireland – or wherever you're based – happy holidays, Ramadan Mubarak, and we hope the lockdown will not mar the celebrations for you.
Secondly, if you are not part of the Islamic community, you'll probably have lots of questions about Ramadan in any year, but are most likely even more curious as to how it will pan out in Spain now nobody is allowed out except for essential errands.
It's harder this year to ask those questions, as no personal contact is allowed outside the home, and chatting in the street is limited to a swift wave or a couple of seconds' pleasantries; but under normal circumstances, Muslims in Spain are more than happy to talk about a culture that's very dear to them and one of their biggest faith events, and will cheerfully and patiently tell you all you wanted to know.
In fact, Madrid's largest Islamic centre of worship, known as the 'M-30 Mosque' (second picture, from Wikimedia Commons) after the city ringroad near it, opens its doors throughout Ramadan to the non-Muslim public so they can stroll in at will and find out more about the festival.
Swift introduction to Ramadan
During the ninth lunar month of the year, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations between sunrise and sunset and, after the latter and before the former, enjoy nightly slap-up meals with the whole family.
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