Global Issues
RIGHTS: Govt Enforcing Ramadan Fast
Hundreds of Egyptians are reported to have been arrested for eating, drinking or smoking in public during daylight hours as part of a police campaign against people caught breaking the Ramadan fast.
'Nobody has the right to arrest someone for eating or drinking in Ramadan,' says rights activist Gamal Eid, head of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI). 'When we hear this we wonder is this Egypt, or Afghanistan? It's Taliban mentality.'
Local newspapers reported that over 150 Egyptians were arrested for breaking the Muslim fast in the southern governorate of Aswan Aug. 30, but the motive behind the roundup could not be corroborated. Emergency laws in force since 1981 allow police to detain individuals without charge, making it difficult to know for certain the reason for arrest.
A local police chief insisted the press had 'misinterpreted' a routine security crackdown on beggars, homeless people and drug dealers.
However, reports of arrests in other governorates, and statements by security officials appear to indicate a coordinated government campaign to enforce Islam's prohibition of eating or drinking between sunrise and sunset during the holy month of Ramadan, which began Aug. 22.
'I've spoken to two who were arrested,' says Eid. 'It happened (for publicly breaking the fast), and they were very afraid and angry about it.'
Arrests have been reported in many different areas. Seven youths in the Delta governorate of Dakahlia were taken into custody last week for smoking on the street during the fasting hours, and released after paying a fine of 90 dollars, Al-Arabiya news channel reported. It added that arrests were also made in Hurghada, a tourist resort on the Red Sea, where government officials ordered all cafes and restaurants shut during the fasting hours.
Human rights organisations say that using police to enforce Ramadan rules is violation of personal freedom.
'We know the penal code has no provision that would allow for these arrests, and we are unaware of any ministerial decrees that might be used for that purpose,' Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) told IPS. 'If these arrests have been taking place, then we believe they violate the constitutional protection for the right to privacy and personal integrity... including the right not to be forced to engage in any religious practices.'
Christian rights organisations including the Washington-based International Christian Concern (ICC) have lashed out at Egyptian authorities, fearing harassment of minority Coptic Christians, who make up about 12 percent of the Egyptian population.
'Punishing non-Muslims for eating or drinking during Ramadan is both outrageous and a clear violation of the freedom of religion,' Jonathan Racho, ICC's regional manager for Africa and the Middle East, said in a press release. 'We condemn in strongest terms the measure by Egypt to force Muslims and non-Muslims alike to fast during Ramadan. We call upon the international community to hold Egypt accountable for its illegal and unconscionable actions.'
Judicial sources say that publicly violating the sanctity of the Muslim fast constitutes an act of 'incivility' which is a misdemeanour under Egyptian law regardless of the individual's religion.
In an interview with Al-Shorouk independent newspaper published Sep. 10, interior ministry spokesman Abdul Karim Hamdy said a police campaign had been launched in various governorates to arrest people breaking the fast in public during Ramadan.
'They (the violators) have to learn modesty,' he said. 'In the past, Egyptian society was very pious, and I hope this piety will be restored...I ask (opponents) to read the law well before criticising the Ministry of Interior.'
Eid views the Ramadan crackdown as a government manoeuvre to counter the rising popularity of conservative Islamic groups.
'This is a case of the government trying to prove it is more pious than the Islamists,' he says. 'Actually, this is not unusual. Day after day the government is trying to demonstrate it is a supporter of religion. I'm afraid next they'll start arresting people wearing immodest clothing or (unmarried couples) found together.'
Conservative Gulf Arab countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia impose punishments of a month in jail or fines up to 350 dollars for people caught eating, drinking or smoking in public during the Ramadan fasting hours. The penalty in Iran is flogging.
Egypt, by comparison, has historically afforded more religious freedom. While the government forbids the sale of alcohol to Egyptian nationals during Ramadan, it does not oblige restaurants or cafes to shut down during the fasting hours. To do so would be disastrous to its 11 billion dollars tourism industry.
According to Eid, security officials have attempted in previous years to force restaurant closures or fine people caught breaking the fast, but these appear to be individual or localised campaigns. He says that unless the Ministry of Interior publicly condemns such operations, it implicitly endorses them.
© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service