Many of Asia’s Muslims are celebrating Ramadan in the normal way

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IN NORMAL TIMES, Chawkbazar in the heart of old Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is heaving during Ramadan, the Muslim month of prayer, daytime fasting and night-time feasting which began a week ago. Thousands of street hawkers sell biryani, kebabs and jilapis—sticky spirals of deep-fried batter, drenched in syrup, that most Bangladeshis consider essential for iftar, the evening meal breaking the day’s fast. But this year Chawkbazar is nearly deserted. The few vendors who attempt to set up are chased off by baton-wielding soldiers. And at home nearby, Nuzhat, who prides herself on her cooking, is making jilapis for the very first time, because the family’s favourite sweet shop is closed. Asked how they taste, her husband, Tarif, will not pass judgment. If he did, he adds in a grave aside, “My wife would kill me.”