Recently in Ramadan Category

Feeding children during Ramadan: a grave sin. Breaking someone's fingers for wanting to feed children during Ramadan: pleasing to Allah: "Righteous women are therefore obedient, guarding the secret for God's guarding. And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them." -- Qur'an 4:34.

"Berlin: Somali Breaks Wife's Fingers Because She Wanted to Feed Children During Ramadan," by Cheradenine Zakalwe for Islam Versus Europe, August 27 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Ramadan is over but the war stories keep coming in.

A 24-year-old man broke two of his wife's fingers after a dispute on Saturday. [The story is dated 20th August]. As the Northern Police Directorate in Neuruppin communicated, the woman wanted to give her two small children something to eat during the fasting month of Ramadan. That did not suit the husband, who is of the Islamic faith, and he forbade it using violence. The police referred the 24-year-old to the community accommodation in Stolpe-Süd in the Hennigsdorf district. The woman was given medical treatment as an out-patient.

Source: Berliner Zeitung Via: PI

Over at the Investigative Project on Terrorism (via RaymondIbrahim.com, where links and images appear), I discuss how, whereas almost every year, stories appear of Christmas being suppressed to accommodate Muslim sensitivities in the West, in the Muslim world, Christians and others are suppressed, often brutally so, to accommodate Muslim sensitivities:

The month of Ramadan, which ended earlier this week, proved to be a month of renewed Muslim piety on the one hand, and renewed oppression of non-Muslim minorities on the other. In Nigeria, for example, Islamic militants are living up to the assertion that "Ramadan is a month of jihad and death for Allah," proving that killing Christians is not only reserved for Christian holidays—like Christmas and Easter, when militants bombed churches killing dozens—but is especially applicable during Islam's Ramadan.

Usually, however, Ramadan-related oppression has to do with Muslim perceptions that Christians do not "know their place"—either because the latter openly do things forbidden to Muslims during Ramadan, or because they dare object to the things Muslims do during their holy month.

When it comes to these aspects of dhimmitude, Egypt offers countless examples, past and present, simply because it houses the Middle East's largest Christian minority, the Copts, and thus offers more opportunities for the intolerant face of Ramadan to reveal itself. Two recent examples follow:

First, according to Coptic websites, on July 27, a diabetic man in Egypt was driving his car in Maadi, a suburb of southern Cairo, when he was struck with great thirst, "which he could not bear" (a side-effect of diabetes, further exacerbated by Egypt's July weather). He pulled over by a public water source and started drinking water. Soon three passer-bys approached him, inquiring why he was drinking water (among the many things forbidden to Muslims during daylight in Ramadan). The diabetic man replied, "Because I am a Christian, and sick," to which they exclaimed "you're a Christian, too!" and begun beating him mercilessly. Other passer-bys began to congregate to see what was happening, but no one intervened on behalf of the diabetic non-Muslim, until he managed to make a dash for his parked car and fled the scene.

Though water is not forbidden to him, this infidel Christian openly violated a principle of Islamic Ramadan, which was deemed a great affront and punished accordingly. This idea that non-Muslims must show respect for Islamic observances is commonplace. Around the same time this story took place, a Christian Lebanese singer was taken to police while in Algeria for smoking in public, and "failing to show due respect to Muslims." She was released after police warned her that "she was not allowed to smoke in public during Ramadan in Muslim Algeria, even though she was a Christian."

The second story from Egypt concerns a young Christian doctor, Maher Rizkalla Ghali, who was shot by riotous Muslims, including easily-identified Salafis, resulting in the loss of one eye and the likely loss of the other...

The poor dears are tense, you see, and irritable with the strain of fasting. Of course they snap. Don't think for one second that General Allen, who is the very model of the modern cringing dhimmi, meant that the U.S. troops are killed during Ramadan because Ramadan is the month of jihad. There is not the slightest chance that the General had in mind the words of the Muslims in Bulgaria who said that "Ramadan is a month of holy war and death for Allah. It is a month for fighting the enemies of Allah and God's messenger, the Jews and their American facilitators."

"U.S. General: Ramadan factor in Afghan insider attack," from the Washington Post, August 23 (thanks to David):

General John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, says one possible explanation for a spike in killings of American troops by their Afghan partners is the strain of fasting during the just-concluded Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

But remember: these are the moderates. These are the voices of calm, reason and tolerance, with whom we can and must negotiate and make concessions to show our good will. "PA Sheikh: 'Strike with an iron fist' those who eat in public during Ramadan," by Itamar Marcus for Palestinian Media Watch, August 22:

A Palestinian Authority cleric has ruled that the PA must prohibit eating in public during Ramadan and should severely punish anyone who violates this law. To back up his ruling, he cited a Hadith (Islamic tradition attributed to Muhammad) that for anyone who fails to fast, "his blood becomes permitted [to be shed]." He called on PA police to "strike with an iron fist" and give "the heaviest punishments" to those who eat in public.

Palestinian Media Watch reported earlier this month that the PA has prohibited even non-Muslims from eating in public during the month of fasting, and that 6 people had been arrested by the PA for public eating.

The following is the text of the ruling, which was published by Sheikh Hassan Ahmed Jaber, Mufti of the Rafiah district and a member of the Supreme Council for Religious Rulings in Palestine, in his daily Ramadan column:

"The Prophet [Muhammad] said: 'The pillars of religion and foundations of Islam are three, and whoever neglects any one of them - his blood is permitted [to be shed]: the testimony that there is no God but Allah; fasting [during Ramadan]; and prayer.' [Hadith] Anyone who eats in public during Ramadan, denying the commandment of the fast and renouncing it, is violating Allah's laws and rebelling against Allah, Who said: 'O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you...' [Sura 2, verse 183]. [By eating] he leaves the circle of Islam, and his blood becomes permitted [to be shed]. Also, eating in public during Ramadan hurts the sensitivities of all Muslims around the entire world...
Therefore, I call upon all our [security] services in the PA to strike with an iron fist anyone who gives in to temptation and eats in public during Ramadan, by applying the heaviest punishments, until our society is pure, clean and close to Allah."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 13, 2012]

"Righteous women are therefore obedient, guarding the secret for God's guarding. And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them." -- Qur'an 4:34

Somehow this Misunderstander of Islam didn't get the memo that Ramadan is a time to "reconcile differences and seek peace."

"France: Woman Beaten By Uncle for Not Observing Ramadan," by Cheradenine Zakalwe for Islam Versus Europe, August 21 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Saturday, around 9.15 pm, rue François-Cordon, in Kerourien, Brest, police were called by a young woman, 18, who took refuge in her bedroom to protect herself from her violent uncle. The family, originally from Mayotte, is celebrating the end of Ramadan.

But the uncle, who is passing through on the occasion of the celebration, violently rebukes his niece for not having observed this religious fast. He strikes her several blows with his fist and a broom. The police intervene. They are met by around 15 members of the family, mostly men, who try to prevent the police from entering....

Somehow these Misunderstanders of Islam didn't get the memo that Ramadan is a time to "reconcile differences and seek peace." And oddly enough, they misunderstand Islam and Ramadan in exactly the same way as the Muslims in Bulgaria who somehow got the crazy idea that "Ramadan is a month of holy war and death for Allah. It is a month for fighting the enemies of Allah and God's messenger, the Jews and their American facilitators." What an odd coincidence!

"Attacks in Iraq killed 409 people in Ramadan," from AFP, August 20 (thanks to Twostellas):

Bombings and shootings in Iraq killed at least 409 people and wounded 975 during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, according to an AFP tally based on security and medical officials.

The month saw a number of deadly days, including July 23, when 113 people were killed and 259 wounded in a wave of attacks across the country, and August 16, when 82 were killed and 270 wounded....

But violence often rises during the holy month in Iraq because, ‘radicalised terrorists are often more intent on conducting these (suicide attacks) during the holy month of Ramadan because it is a period associated with martyrdom and self-sacrifice,’ said John Drake, a security analyst with AKE Group.

Violence in Iraq is down from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common.

Official figures put the number of people killed in July at 325, the highest monthly death toll in almost two years.

Ramadan kareem! As I explained here: "Ramadan really is a time during which Muslims are exhorted to renew their religious fervor. Hence it is a time when they’re supposed to grow more generous and kind toward their fellow Muslims. However, the Qur’an says: 'Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves' (48:29). If the Ramadan imperative is to become more devout, the Muslim who applies himself diligently to the Ramadan observance will become more merciful to his fellow Muslims and more severe against the unbelievers."

"Afghan employee kills 3 NATO troops: ISAF," from AFP, August 11 (thanks to Kenneth):

An Afghan civilian employed on a NATO base shot dead three international coalition soldiers on Friday -- the same day three others were killed by an Afghan policeman, ISAF said Saturday.

"The shooter was not in uniform and our current reporting indicates he was a civilian employee authorised to be on the base, but there is no indication he was an Afghan service member," an ISAF spokesman said.

The spokesman said he had no information on how the civilian got hold of a weapon on the shared Afghan-NATO base in southern Afghanistan, and provided no further details.

Also on Friday, an Afghan police officer opened fire on four American soldiers he had invited for a meal, killing three of them, Afghan officials said, in the third so-called green-on-blue assault in just four days.

The US military in Afghanistan confirmed that three US soldiers had been killed by "an individual in an Afghan uniform" in Sangin district of southern Helmand province, but gave no further details....

And thereby failing to show Muslims the respect they are due, and that they always accord to non-Muslims in Muslim countries...don't they? "Lebanese star reported for smoking in Ramadan," by Habib Toumi for Gulf News, August 9 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Manama: A Lebanese star has been asked by the Algerian police to show reverence to Ramadan and Muslims and refrain from smoking.

Famous singer Yara, a Christian, was being driven from Setif, east of the capital Algiers, to Constantine, also in the east, when she took out a cigarette.

Her driver, an Algerian who was fasting, asked her to put out the cigarette, but she refused and kept on smoking, local Arabic daily Al Chorouk reported.

Angered by her reaction, the Algerian drove the car to a police station in the city of Chelghoum Laïd and reported her to the police for failing to show due respect to Muslims.

The police reportedly told her that she was not allowed to smoke in public during Ramadan in Muslim Algeria, even though she was a Christian....

Somehow these Misunderstanders of Islam didn't get the memo that Ramadan is a time to "reconcile differences and seek peace." And oddly enough, they misunderstand Islam and Ramadan in exactly the same way as the Muslims in Bulgaria who somehow got the crazy idea that "Ramadan is a month of holy war and death for Allah. It is a month for fighting the enemies of Allah and God's messenger, the Jews and their American facilitators." What an odd coincidence!

But remember: the real problem is "Islamophobia." Eurabia Update: "Marseilles: Restaurant Owner Attacked Because He Refused to Close for Ramadan," by Cheradenine Zakalwe for Islam Versus Europe, August 10 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

A Marseilles restaurant owner was threatened and attacked at the beginning of the week because he did not want to observe Ramadan, it has been learned today from a source close to the inquiry, confirming information from the daily La Provence.

Aged 64-years-old, the restaurant-owner, a Frenchman of Egyptian origin not practising the Muslim religion, was approached on Monday by an individual walking around with a veiled woman. Several times the suspect demanded that the businessman, who operates in the Belsunce district (centre of Marseilles), to close his establishment for Ramadan, failing which he would undertake reprisals against him. One hour later, the individual returned and struck him a violent blow with his belt. Wounded by the metal part of the belt, the restaurant owner was transported to La Conception hospital.

Surely the Imam Rauf is on his way to Islamabad to explain to the Ramadan police all about Islamic tolerance. "Ramadan ‘police’ target Pakistan’s cafe society," from Guardian News & Media, August 7 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Islamabad: With its wooden floors, leather sofas and customers peering at their Apple laptops as they sip their coffees, Mocca Cafe is not the den of iniquity that might normally attract a police raid.

But Islamabad’s police have suddenly found cause to turn their attention to the capital’s poshest eateries in an effort to enforce a patchily applied, decades-old law forbidding people from eating or drinking in public during the fasting month of Ramadan.

Customers and proprietors were shocked on Saturday when, nearly halfway through the holy month, Mocca and at least two other popular eating spots in the well-heeled Kohsar market were visited by police officers cracking down on the illicit consumption of muffins and brownies.

Members of what pass for Islamabad’s cafe society said they could not remember anything like it. The manager of Gloria Jeans, a nearby restaurant, said he had never even read the Ramadan law until the police arrived. He has now placed a sign in the restaurant saying it is only “open to the communities not observing the fast of Ramadan”.

A message circulated on an expatriate email list by a customer who had been in the Gloria Jeans coffee shop at the time reported a “large commotion”.

“There was a lot of hostility in the air because foreigners were being served while others (Pakistanis) were being told to leave,” the email said, before going on to advise expats to give restaurants a wide berth until the end of Ramadan.

“Personally, I wouldn’t take the chance after the anger I felt while in the coffee shop.”

The raids, which police say were prompted by a complaint from a member of the public, followed last month’s police assault of a journalist who had the temerity to consume a soft drink in his car at a secluded hilltop beauty spot overlooking Islamabad.

He said he was beaten with belts by the officers, who threatened to charge him under the Ramadan Ordinance, a law passed in 1981 by General Zia-ul-Haq, the then military ruler who did much to make Pakistani society more Islamic....

Sharia advancing in the brave new democratic "Arab Spring" Egypt. "Egypt issues fatwa on Muslims who publicly ignore Ramadan fast," from the Los Angeles Times, August 4 (thanks to JCB):

CAIRO -- An Egyptian religious authority announced this week that devout Muslims should not eat or drink in public places during daylight hours as a sign of respect to those fasting for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The House of Fatwa, which issues religious opinions, said that eating in public during fasting hours between dawn and dusk is not a personal freedom, but an “assault and offense on the sanctity" of Islam.

The announcement suggested that authorities should apply the advisory as a legal decision, but did not state the provisions of punishment. The fatwa does not include individuals who are exempt from fasting, such as non-Muslims or those who are ill.

Many Egyptians were offended by the announcement, seeing it as an affront on personal freedoms that may foreshadow future constraints, especially under Egypt's recently elected Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, and the the rise of political Islam.

"They should have said that it’s recommended or preferable, not making it an official fatwa," said Ahmed Aggour, a young Egyptian activist who was outraged by the decision.

"I don't think this will be implemented by law, but this is a sign that they could later issue other strict fatwas. For example, they could say men and women cannot mingle in the future," Aggour said....

Indeed.

But remember: those who call attention to this and resist it are the ones guilty of "hate." "Ramadan Broadcasts 'Rife with Anti-Semitic Themes,'" by Rachel Hirshfeld for Israel National News, August 6 (thanks to Lachlan):

Many of the popular television specials airing across the Muslim and Arab world during the month of Ramadan are "rife with anti-Semitic themes and expressions of hatred for Israel"...

While anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and anti-Israel plot lines are common themes in the Arab media, there is an upsurge of such programming during Ramadan, when satellite television viewership increases....

For example, the Ashab il-Sabt bi-weekly show aired by Ar-Rahma, a Salafist channel based in Egypt, features an anti-Semitic professor, allegedly a specialist in Hebrew literature, who uses the show as a podium for propagate conspiracy theories from "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and other hateful theories about Judaism.

Firqat Naji Attalah, a nightly series that is widely aired throughout the Middle East, depicts Israelis in classic anti-Semitic fashion and gives audiences “the sweetest jokes about the ‘cheap Jew,’” according to the MBC network, which is broadcasting the show throughout the Middle East.

Another Ramadan favorite, the Il Hukm Ba'd il Muzawla Candid Camera-style show, which airs on the Egypt-based An-Nahar TV, similarly provokes irrational and blatantly anti-Semitic reactions from its audience. Some guests have brutally beaten the staff after they were led to believe the staff members of the show were Jewish.

In addition, the Hizbullah-operated Al-Manar channel is playing a series called “Al Ghalibun,” which depicts Israelis as cruel invaders of Lebanon and glorifies terrorism against Israel....

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the PA Supreme Court for Shari'ah Law has said that "our streets are Islamic," and that even non-Muslims should not eat in public during Ramadan. What Western Muslim spokesman will go to the PA and explain to Sheikh Yusuf Ida'is that he is misunderstanding Sharia? Imam Rauf? Boy Reza? Honest Ibe? Brave Ahmed? Anyone? Anyone?

"Six Palestinians arrested, one given a month in prison, for eating in public during Ramadan," by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik for Palestinian Media Watch, August 1:

Six people have been arrested and one sentenced to a month in prison for eating in public during the month of Ramadan, according to the official Palestinian Authority daily newspaper. Under Islamic law, eating is prohibited from sunrise until sunset during the entire month.

In addition, the Chairman of the PA Supreme Court for Shari'ah Law said PA law should prohibit even non-Muslims and those who cannot fast for health reasons from eating in public during the month. Sheikh Yusuf Ida'is explained: "Our streets are Islamic," and formal legislation should be enacted to "severely punish" anyone who eats publicly during Ramadan. Sheikh Ida'is was appointed Chairman of the Shari'ah court by presidential order of Mahmoud Abbas in January 2012.

It should be noted that approximately 10 per cent of Palestinians in the West Bank are Christian....

“They came to lynch us. They shouted ‘death to Kurds, death to Alevis.’ They told us to leave and threatened to kill us if we did not." The Evli family probably should have just resigned themselves to having to wake up early, seeing as how "Ramadan is a month of holy war and death for Allah. It is a month for fighting the enemies of Allah and God's messenger, the Jews and their American facilitators."

"Alevi family's home stoned, stable torched in southeastern Turkey," from the Hürriyet Daily News, July 30 (thanks to Lachlan):

The home of an Alevi family was stoned and their stables burned down by an angry mob yesterday after the family allegedly told a Ramadan drummer not to wake them for sahur, the meal before sunrise.

Members of the Evli family in the Sürgü village of the southeastern Malatya province allegedly asked a Ramadan drummer not to drum in front of their home the night of July 28 as they were not fasting and had work early in the morning. The two sides quarreled after the drummer rejected the family’s request.

News of the incident was heard throughout the village and a mob of around 60 people gathered in front of the Evli family’s house yesterday. The group hurled stones at the family's home and said the family members were “Kurds and Alevis.” The small contingent of gendarmerie soldiers in the villlage was unable to contain the crowd so reinforcements were called in from the Doğanşehir district.

The group reportedly chanted slogans, yelled “Allahu ekber,” meaning God is great, sang the Turkish national anthem and said “this family will leave this place.” Evli family members turned off their lights and hid in their homes in terror. The group also set a stable belonging to the Evli family on fire, which prompted the gendarmerie to fire shots into the air.

Security forces were able to disperse the crowd after reinforcements arrived.

Hasan Hüseyin Evli, whose home was attacked, said his family had wanted to live in peace together as Alevis and Sunnis. “We do not want such incidents, we have never hurt anyone,” he said.

Leyla Evli showed journalists the stones hurled at her home by the mob. “They came to lynch us. They shouted ‘death to Kurds, death to Alevis.’ They told us to leave and threatened to kill us if we did not,” she said.

Muslims in Bulgaria recently explained that "Ramadan is a month of holy war and death for Allah. It is a month for fighting the enemies of Allah and God's messenger, the Jews and their American facilitators."

"Motorcyle gunmen kill four in northern Nigerian city," from Radio Netherlands, July 29 (thanks to David):

Motorcycle gunmen opened fire on the car of a Nigerian air force officer on Sunday, killing the driver and an aide, while two other people were killed in a nearby neighbourhood, authorities said.

It was not clear who was behind the attacks in the city of Kano, the largest in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, but they resembled similar killings in the past blamed on Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

"A car of one of our officers came under attack this morning," Air Commodore Sani Ahmed said.

"The officer's driver and his orderly were travelling out of town, but as they reached an area called Yan-Lemo, two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on the car, killing the two personnel."

The officer was not in the car at the time, he said.

In a similar incident earlier in the day, two gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead two people outside their house in a nearby neighourhood, said police spokesman Rilwanu Dutse.

A police source said the victims were from the mainly Christian Igbo ethnic group....

Yet more Muslims misunderstand Ramadan, the time of peace and reconciliation. "Mosque explosion kill 5 people in Uruzgan province," by Sadaf Shinwari for Khaama Press, July 30 (thanks to David):

According to local authorities in southern Uruzgan province of Afghanistan, at least five people including an Afghan judge was [sic] killed following an explosion in this province.

The officials further added the incident took place early Monday morning in Tarinkot district after an explosive device went off in a mosque, killing the Afghan judge Taj Mohammad and four civilians.

No group including the Taliban militants have so far claimed responsibility behind the incident.

Local officials blame Taliban group for such incidents as the Taliban fighters frequently use explosive devices as the weapon of their choice to target Afghan and coalition security forces and Afghan government officials.

"They committed sins there. They get drunk so action must be taken." Drunkenness: sin. Smashing up a bar so that people can't drink there: not a sin.

Ramadan mubarak from modern, moderate Indonesia: "62 arrested for Indonesian Ramadan bar-room blitz," from Sapa-AFP, July 30 (thanks to David):

A group of 150 youths -- some as young as 13 and carrying swords and golf clubs -- raided the De Most bar late Saturday, smashing bottles of alcoholic drinks and damaging the property, said Hermawan, chief detective for South Jakarta police.

"Of the 62 arrested most are minors, and some...were armed with Samurai swords, sickles and golf clubs," said Hermawan, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

"They shattered the windows and door and smashed bottles, saying they wanted all bars shut to ensure the month of Ramadan is not tainted," he added.

Twenty-three people face charges of damaging property while four are additionally charged with carrying sharp weapons.

The group called itself the Prophet's Defenders Council, Hermawan said.

"It is usual for me and my followers to raid sinful places during Ramadan," the group's alleged leader, 33-year-old Habib Bahar was quoted as saying by the Kompas.com news website after the arrests.

"They committed sins there. They get drunk so action must be taken," said Bahar, who was also arrested.

In previous years Islamic groups have raided places serving alcohol, but Saturday's attack was the first this year since the fasting month of Ramadan officially began on July 21.

Authorities have ordered bars and nightclubs to close during the holy month, but the ban is not strictly enforced.

Ninety percent of Indonesia's population of 240 million identify themselves as Muslim but the vast majority practise a moderate form of Islam.

...and do nothing to rein in sword-wielding "youths."

Facing fines or six months in jail for not being pious enough. "11 nabbed for not fasting — Daud," from the Borneo Post, July 30 (thanks to David):

MIRI: Eleven Muslims have thus far been nabbed by the Sarawak Islamic Religious Department (Jais) for not fasting during the month of Ramadan which started on July 21, said Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman on Saturday.

Out of the 11 caught, four were from Kota Samarahan, three each from Kuching and Miri, and one from Mukah.

Daud told reporters after presenting assistance to 200 children of Hamidah Yakub Orphanage Complex that the 11 would be charged in court.

For first offenders, they could be fined up to RM1,000 or imprisoned up to six months or both. For subsequent offences, the maximum fine is RM2,000 or a maximum jail term of one year.

“The arrests were made not to embarrass the individuals, but to let them know that they should respect the month of Ramadan. They should have been practising their duties as a Muslim, to fast during this Holy month, and not to eat at open food premises,” said Daud.

He cautioned that Jais would continue to keep a hawk eye on food premises throughout the state to ensure all Muslims toe the line.

Somehow these Misunderstanders of Islam didn't get the memo that Ramadan is a time to "reconcile differences and seek peace."

"Pak police assault 2 men for having soft drink," from PTI, July 29 (thanks to David):

Islamabad: Two men were detained and assaulted by policemen in the Pakistani capital for having a soft drink at a popular tourist spot during the period of fasting in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The two men - Anwar Abbas and Malik Saeed - were detained while they were having a soft drink inside a car at Daman-e-Koh, a viewpoint overlooking Islamabad, on Friday afternoon.

The incident was reported to Islamabad police chief Bani Yamin, who assured action will be taken against the officials involved in the incident, the Dawn newspaper reported today.

Abbas said: "I was not fasting and knowing that it would be ethically incorrect to have a drink in front of people, I chose a place where no one was present."

In the meantime, a police constable came and said taking drinks during fasting is a violation of the Ramazan Act and a serious crime.

He said he told the constable that he was not fasting and was having the drink at an isolated place where no one was present.

"I also told him that it was not their job to stop anyone from eating during the time of fasting but the constable insisted that he has to implement the teachings of Islam," Abbas said.

The constable called two more policemen and they took Abbas and Saeed to a nearby police post.

After a heated argument, the policemen "removed their belts and started beating us", Abbas said.

After a while, when the policemen felt the situation was getting out of control, they let the two men go.

The men reported the matter to the Kohsar police station and to Islamabad police chief Bani Yamin, who assured them that action would be taken against the policemen.

Abbas said police officials had started offering apologies and their seniors were approaching him to withdraw the complaint.

An unnamed police officer said the action of the policemen was against the law and ethics.

"We condemn when Taliban do the same act but now police are doing it in the federal capital, which shows the presence of hardliners in the law enforcement agencies," he said.

Former Islamabad Distract Bar Association general secretary Riasat Ali Azad said there was no provision in the Pakistan Penal Code that prohibited eating at public places.

"It is a religious and moral obligation of a citizen to avoid eating but police cannot restrict them by force. Just like it is our duty to say prayers five times a day but police cannot force any person to go to the mosque," he said....

More Misunderstanders of Islam and Ramadan sow mayhem in the name of Allah in Tatarstan. "Fight over Islam, money and power brings violence to Volga," by Thomas Grove for Reuters, July 27 (thanks to Maxwell):

KAZAN, RUSSIA - Not far from glitzy boulevards where an oil boom has sent up stadiums and high-rises overlooking the Volga River, women in headscarves wander through Islamic bookstores selling pamphlets on the institution of sharia in Russia.

Kazan, capital of Russia's mainly-Muslim Tatarstan region, has long had an image as a showcase of religious tolerance. But that reputation was shattered last week by car bomb and shooting attacks carried out only hours before the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

On the wall outside the bookshop, a flyer in the local Tatar language calls Muslims to unite against the region's top religious leader, Mufti Ildus Faizov, who was wounded in the attacks which also killed his deputy.

"Things will only get worse here and Muslims will be the ones who suffer the most," said Anisa Karabayeva, 43, her face framed by a white hijab, or traditional headscarf.

We see that the victimhood game is played even in Tatarstan.

"Will there be more bombs? Probably," she says flatly, standing in front of a display case stocked with Korans and prayer rugs.

The attacks came against a background of anger among many Muslims who complain that the authorities in Tatarstan are restricting Islam in the name of fighting radicalism. It is a dispute that also involves a struggle for money and influence in the increasingly prosperous oil-producing region....

"Today Islam is growing strongly in Kazan... But there are different sects and movements that you simply cannot control," said Ramil Mingarayev, an imam at the al Marjani Mosque.

"We try to fight radicals, we have tried to clean our city of them, but there are hidden mosques, where they gather and distribute forbidden literature, in basements and in the forests."

Some of those fears arise from threats made by North Caucasus militants far away. Russia's most wanted man, Chechen Islamist guerrilla leader Doku Umarov, called for an uprising among Russia's Muslims last year, mentioning Tatarstan by name.

"I want to appeal to the Muslim brothers who live on Russian-occupied Muslim land... I call on you to destroy the enemies of Allah wherever you are. I call on you to destroy them where your hand reaches and to open fronts of jihad," he said in a video posted on insurgency-affiliated website Kavkaz Centre.

SELLING TOURS

Since becoming head of the Tatarstan branch of the Russian state's Spiritual Directorate of Muslims in April last year, Faizov has been praised by Kremlin authorities for what they say are measures to clamp down on radical sentiment and encourage traditional forms of Islamic practice seen as more moderate....

"It's good we have the authorities. Without them there would be chaos," said Zakhid Anovarov, a burly 20-year-old student with a thin black beard.

"But it's not a just system because it's a man-made system. If we were governed by shariah, then life would be better, more just," he said of the Islamic law code....

Zarifa Kamilova came to Kazan in 2004 to escape the aftermath of the second Chechen War in her hometown of Grozny, where federal forces had toppled a separatist government.

Like other Chechens in Kazan, she was drawn to its Muslim majority and the possibility to find work. But she says she fears pressure by the authorities will marginalize Muslims, leading more and more of them to radicalism.

"I have already taken five books off my shelves this year because they were considered too radical," she said, referring to an ever-expanding list of literature outlawed by Russia's Justice Ministry. She and other Muslims say they have felt increasing pressure since Faizov assumed his post.

"This alone is turning normal people into radicals. It's not that more people are becoming radical it's that their definition is encompassing more and more people," she said....

TAKEN IN THE NIGHT

In his battle with radical Islam, perhaps none of Faizov's efforts were as divisive as his demand that imams of all mosques undergo a course in traditional Hanafi Islam, the movement traditionally associated with Tatarstan.

In December, angry Muslims stormed the main mosque in the town of Almetevsk, 270 km (170 miles) and for hours refused to let local religious authorities enter. The confrontation was eventually defused by Faizov, but resentment still burns.

Near Almetevsk, in the village of Novoye Nadyrovo where roosters and chickens wander freely along gravel paths, authorities removed the local imam, Ilnar Kharisov, from his post a few months ago. Friends say he was detained on Friday night, the day after the explosions in Kazan....

"They've taken all the good imams away and they've replaced them with clowns in their places and they protect them there with police. People are very unhappy here," said a neighbour of Kharisov who gave his name only as Ramil.

What's that, Ramil? Clowns, you say? Reza Aslan is now an imam in Tatarstan?