Worshippers perform Taraweeh prayer at Kaaba in the Grand mosque on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan.

The holy month of Ramadan began on Friday with Islam's holiest sites in Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem largely empty of worshippers as the coronavirus crisis forced authorities to impose unprecedented restrictions.

During Ramadan, Muslims the world over join their families to break the fast at sunset and go to mosques to pray.

But the pandemic has changed priorities, with curbs on large gatherings for prayers and public iftars, or meals to break the fast.

In a rare occurrence in Islam's 1,400 year history, Makkah's Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina - the religion's two holiest locations - will be closed to the public during the fasting period.

 Sultanahmet mosque, known as Blue mosque on the first day of ramandan during a 4-day lockdown.

Prayers from inside the mosque at Makkah on the first evening of Ramadan on Thursday were restricted to clerics, security staff and cleaners. The ceremony was broadcast live on television.

At a near-empty Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, an imam called out the first Friday prayers of Ramadan, his voice echoing across a windswept plateau almost devoid of worshippers.

A handful of Muslim clerics in face masks knelt below the pulpit, keeping several feet apart in compliance with coronavirus restrictions.

Muslim worshippers around the world are facing Ramadan without the usual large gatherings for prayers due to coronavirus closures.

 Muslims offer Taraweeh evening prayers on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in Kandahar city. 

ASIAN OUTBREAKS

Governments in Asian countries with large Muslim populations urged people to keep their distance while observing their faith as Ramadan began, shrouded in fear over the coronavirus.

Early outbreaks in Asia, home to many of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims, were traced in some cases to pilgrims returning from Iran and Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan and Pakistan, or to gatherings of Islamic groups in India and Malaysia.

In Indonesia, which has the world's biggest Muslim population, President Joko Widodo urged people to work and pray at home. Indonesia has identified 7,775 infections, and 647 deaths, Asia's highest toll outside China where the disease emerged.

 Worshippers participate in evening prayer after breaking their fast in Wheaton, Illinois.

On the island of Java, Tatan Agustustani, 52, and his family were busy clearing furniture from their lounge room to make way for prayer mats.

Some said their fate was not in their hands, although many wore masks as they lined up shoulder-to-shoulder to pray.

SOME EASING

Leaders of India's 160 million Muslims have urged people to heed the nationwide lockdown throughout the month.

The All India Islamic Centre of religious teaching will livestream recitation of two chapters of the Koran, the Muslim holy book, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. each day.

Doctors in Pakistan are worried by the government's decision to lift curbs on mosque congregations for Ramadan.

In Algeria, authorities shortened a night curfew and lifted a full lockdown in a province near the capital Algiers to accommodate Ramadan worship.

Bangladesh has ordered mosques to restrict Ramadan evening prayers to 12 people and banned iftar gatherings, while Sri Lanka has closed mosques to the public.