Ramadan dos and don’ts spark debate among Asia’s Muslim communities

In Singapore, a viral video has emerged showing a woman scolding an Indonesian worker for eating during daylight hours of the fasting month

Examples of community policing have emerged in Malaysia, while local restrictions and sensibilities apply in Indonesia

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Muslims in Kuala Lumpur break their fast at the end of the day during the holy month of Ramadan. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:00pm, 9 May 2021Updated: 12:29pm, 10 May 2021

As Ramadan enters its final days, a spate of incidents has led to renewed debate online about religious piety and whether behaviour during the Muslim fasting month should be policed.

In Singapore, where about 15 per cent of the population are Muslim, a viral video has emerged showing a woman scolding an Indonesian worker for eating during daylight hours, threatening to report the worker to MUIS, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore. Internet users rushed to the worker’s defence, insisting she was entitled to observe Ramadan in her own way and criticising the other woman for interfering.

During Ramadan, Muslims cannot eat, drink, smoke or engage in sexual intercourse from sunrise to sunset. However, Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib, founder of the Centre for Interfaith Understanding in Singapore, said Muslims who are fasting should be mindful of their own conduct and not be quick to anger, act indecently or commit vices.

“The rules pertaining to fasting apply to individuals who are fasting,” Imran said. “They do not apply to people who are not fasting or to the general public. For example, a person who is fasting has no right to stop another person who is not fasting from eating or drinking.”

There are exemptions to fasting, Imran said, including a person who is ill and needs to take medication; a woman during her menstruation cycle; a pregnant woman who fears for the safety of her child as well as her own; and a person who is travelling on a long journey.

Despite these exemptions, examples of community policing have emerged, including in Muslim-majority Malaysia, where some non-Muslims have resorted to placing their identity cards on restaurant tables to avoid being questioned by authorities or members of the public.

Ramadan dos and don’ts spark debate among Asia’s Muslim communities

In Singapore, a viral video has emerged showing a woman scolding an Indonesian worker for eating during daylight hours of the fasting month Examples of community policing have emerged in Malaysia, while local restrictions and sensibilities apply in Indonesia

In Singapore, a viral video has emerged showing a woman scolding an Indonesian worker for eating during daylight hours of the fasting month

Examples of community policing have emerged in Malaysia, while local restrictions and sensibilities apply in Indonesia