Are Christians Being Targeted? Pakistan Lawmakers Push to Make Ramadan Fasting Restrictions Even Tougher
Christians living in Muslim-majority countries are once again forced to comply with eating and drinking restrictions in public during Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month, which began on May 26 and will end on June 24.
Christians and other minorities found violating the Ramadan fasting rules are subject to public ire, physical violence and, in some countries, heavy fine and imprisonment, according to World Watch Monitor.
In Pakistan, an amendment to an existing "Respect for Ramadan" law to make the restrictions even tougher has been approved by a Senate panel and is awaiting final legislative approval. The proposed amendment imposes a penalty of three months' imprisonment for anyone caught eating or smoking in public during the fasting hours (4a.m.-7p.m. in Pakistan).
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Restaurants and hotels that serve food to customers during the fasting hours face a $250 fine. Movie houses that open during the fasting hours also face fines of as much as $5,000.
The proposed increases in fines and other penalties are expected to affect Christian and other non-Muslim Pakistanis.
Critics say this is proof of the increasing intolerance of minorities in Pakistan, according to ABC News.
They warn that if the amended law is approved and implemented, the elderly and people who have health issues will suffer, especially considering that temperatures in much of Pakistan soar to 40 degrees or above at this time of the year.
"People are going to die from heatstroke and dehydration, this is a ridiculous law..." tweeted Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, the daughter of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and former President Asif Ali Zardari, adding, "this is not Islam."
Tahira Abdullah, a well-known Pakistani rights activist, said she believes the targets of the amended law are Christians and other religious minorities.
"When you close down all restaurants and hotels and access to food and water and drinks during the month of Ramadan, what about non-Muslims?" she asked.
"How can a state force them to fast?"
However, Senate Committee chairman Maulana Hamdullah denied that the proposed amendment to the law targeted non-Muslims, saying that it reflected Pakistan's establishment as an Islamic republic.
"Pakistan is an Islamic republic. Article 2 of the constitution states that Islam shall be the state religion of the country," he said.
Hamdullah noted that the law does not stop people from eating, provided they do it in private.
Meanwhile, a Pakistan sewage worker died recently after doctors refused to touch his "unclean" body while fasting during Ramadan, FirstPost reported.
Irfan Maseeh, 30, and three fellow workers fell unconscious while cleaning a manhole in Umerkot district of Pakistan's Sindh province. They were taken to the nearest hospital for treatment.
However, the doctor at the hospital refused to touch the worker's sludge-covered body, saying he was fasting, the family of the deceased said.
