April 26, 2021
The Al-Mashun Mosque in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
South China Morning Post
Fatima Gud, a 54-year-old Indonesian widow, visits the Al-Mashun Mosque in the city of Medan, North Sumatra, almost every day during Ramadan – the Islamic holy month during which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.
Fatima, a 54-year-old widow, enjoys the mosque’s calm atmosphere and the chance to spend time in its picturesque grounds. Usually, she stays there until sunset then breaks her fast with 1,000 other worshippers at a communal table in the mosque’s main pavilion.
The Al-Mashun has been serving its signature spicy porridge for iftar, the meal eaten after sunset during Ramadan, since it first opened in 1909. But for the second year in a row, the dish won’t be served as the coronavirus pandemic rages in Indonesia, which has logged more than 1.6 million cases.