CAIRO: Egyptian police in Aswan have arrested 155 people for “not fasting” during the holy month of Ramadan. According to local reports from the southern Egyptian city, police have targeted those who “break their fast publicly” and if caught eating or drinking anything in daylight, police have arrested them immediately, including one man who was purchasing juice for his family.
47 comments
WMDKitty: Show them where "diabetes" and "hypoglycemia" appear in the Qu'ran and then they might listen to you.
Yeah, they're that fucked up.
As I recall, kids don't fast during Ramadan, and it's entirely likely that he was getting the juice for the kids. Also, keep in mind that just because he's BUYING juice doesn't mean he's gonna drink it right now. I imagine restaurants and other eateries have it tough during Ramadan.
Lived in the middle east, this is normal.
The rule (official I believe) is if you're a non-muslim you eat in private (i.e. where the fasting can't see you, not in your car or in the office) during Ramadan. Presumably the same is true for the young and the sick who are also exempt from fasting.
Messed up about the guy buying juice, but that's fairly normal too.
And here I thought Egypt was one of the less rigid islamic countries.
I wonder if any of those people they arrested were tourists, or Copts?
This is what happens when fundies get their hands on power. Religion, and its intolerance, become the law.
I have been to Egypt on very many occasions. The norm is that a restaurant will have two areas. One will be decorated specially for Ramadan. The other will be just as normal. Foreigners and non-observant Muslims could eat at any time in the ordinary area. At sunset, however, the observant would pile into the decorated section and have one hell of a feast. The only restriction was that alcoholic drinks were not available, even to foreigners.
The report goes on to say that it appears hardline police officials are applying religious requirements that are not actually part of Egyptian law.
As I said, this is what happens when fundies get their hands on power. Religion, and its intolerance, become the law.
Just when you think you've heard it all about life in an Islmaic-law hellhole, they surprise you again.
I'll bet Western fundies feel real power-envy when they read this sort of thing.
"Egyptian police in Aswan have arrested 155 people for “not fasting” during the holy month of Ramadan. According to local reports from the southern Egyptian city, police have targeted those who “break their fast publicly” and if caught eating or drinking anything in daylight, police have arrested them immediately
Who wants to bet the people arrested were not Muslim and could care less about Muslim religious observances?
Seriously, just because something's the majority religion, doesn't mean people are going to observe its holy days if they aren't part of that religion!
including one man who was purchasing juice for his family.
Apparently, buying juice in Egypt means you MUST chug the whole thing immediately, not serve it out in reasonable portions over the course of about a week.
@dpareja:
If people are not capable of fasting or are sick, they are excused. I think those two fall under the sickness category.
@Xotan:
Reading through the article we see that some police are picking up people for rules that are not part of the Egyptian legal code. It also says that the interior ministry is running a program trying to show people how it is like living in Saudi Arabia. I suspect this is done in an attempt to bring bad publicity in the country to the Muslim Brotherhood and ensuring that Mubarak wins the next elections, instead of the MB. Its all politics....
Wait, if they were making the ramadan, why on earth would they have strength to check if somebody was doing it or not?. Please, for the love of God, BE CONSISTENT.
Purchasing is not the same as consuming!
I read that the man was arrested for purchasing, there wasn't anything written about how he was serving the juice to his children immediately after purchase.
He had to make the purchase during the daytime because that's probably the only time the stores are open. I doubt there's much open after sunset in Egypt, and I seriously doubt there are any 24-hour supercenters there either. If the police are going to be making arrests for mere purchases, then how are people going to have food to eat after dark?
This is why theocracies, regardless of whatever religion, is a bad thing.
Interesting...
"It is part of an odd campaign launched by the interior ministry in the southern governorate. According to ministry officials, they want to show Egyptians “what life is like for a hard-line country,” such as Saudi Arabia, where penalties for breaking the fast early can result in lashings or imprisonment."
I always thought it was stupid for a religion originating in the desert to have a month of fasting, when you're not allowed to eat or drink anything, not even water, from sunrise to sunset.
Wait a minute ... are they saying that Islamic law requires everyone to go through the ENTIRE MONTH of Ramadan without eating or drinking ANYTHING?
Why haven't the Muslims died out from starvation yet?
Hmm, I have a friend who fasted through Ramadan. He didn't overly mind when we ate in front of him. Mind you, I'm reasonably sure that the point of the experience is to suffer and prove your strength to withstand it.....and having people arrested for not succeeding sorta defeats the purpose. Mind you, I could be wrong.
Still I think that the arrests were rather stupid.
@JohnTheAtheist: It isn't faith that is the problem, it is more those in power trying to ENFORCE the faith (which doesn't really make a whole lot of sense)....or at least that's my theory.
1. There's a whole list of people who are allowed to eat during ramadan, including (among others) children, people traveling long distances,pregnant women, ill people (probably including diabetics), and everyone after sunset (the juice thing falls into two of these categories: for his children to drink after sunset.) If you're going to be oppressively fundamentalist about your religion, you should at least get your religion right.
Does anybody know at what age the exemption for fasting for children typically ends?
I recall one of the neighbor kids fasting during Ramadan when I was growing up, and I don't think he was more than six or seven at the time when he explained the whole thing to the rest of us. Even as a kid I thought that was really screwed up and unhealthy. Now I'm wondering if that was typical or if his parents were especially fundie for allowing him to participate int he fast.
Shouldn't the shop keeper who sold the juice also be arrested?
And why can't those Muslims have a true religion in which you eat soda crackers and drink grape juice, which are representative of the flesh and blood of a dead guy? (Although there seems to be something slightly gay about guys eating another guy's flesh, if you ask me).
You know, babies, sick people, the elderly and people with, say, diabetes need to eat when they need to eat.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
To post a comment, you'll need to Sign in or Register . Making an account also allows you to claim credit for submitting quotes, and to vote on quotes and comments. You don't even need to give us your email address.
