Nigeria’s Kano state is one of such conservative Muslim communities, and the commander-general of the Sharia Police (Hisbah) has warned that any Muslim spotted eating during the one-month period risks being arrested.
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Any Muslim seen eating during this Ramadan will be arrested – Police boss warns
The ongoing Ramadan seems to be a ‘do or die’ affair for Muslims, and in some parts of the world, it is so compulsory that some people may end up being arrested for prosecution if they are caught eating instead of fasting.
Any Muslim seen eating during this Ramadan will be arrested – Police boss warns
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Ramadan is a one-month long dawn – dusk fasting period for Muslims during which they are expected to abstain from food, drink, marital intimacy and any such prohibitions as instructed by Allah (God).
As the annual fasting is already underway, Nabahani Usman is reported to have issued a stern warning to all Muslims within his jurisdiction to observe the period in all honesty, or face the rigors of the Sharia law.
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“We do this kind of operation yearly and we will continue it this year. The aim is to get every Muslim to respect the month of Ramadan. Even if a doctor says you should not fast, that does not mean you should eat in public while others are fasting. So any Muslim that we apprehend eating outside, our men will arrest and bring the person to our office unless he can show proof that a doctor asked him not to fast,” he is quoted by gistreel.com as having told the BBC.
Nabahani Usman added that exception may given to those with medical conditions that make them unfit to undertake the fasting. He was however quick to add that a letter from a medical doctor must be provided as proof.
According to reports Kano State has been practising Sharia law since 2001 when former Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso signed the bill creating Hisbah.
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