Islamic officials disguise as waiters/waitresses to arrest Muslims who eat at restaurants instead of fasting

In Nigeria, the Sharia authorities have warned that any Muslim caught breaching the one month fasting will be prosecuted and imprisoned.

Interestingly, in Malaysia, officials are going beyond a mere warning by adopting undercover spies to monitor and arrest recalcitrant Muslims who would attempt to eat during the period.

Reports say 32 enforcement officers in the Malaysian district of Segamat have been deployed to disguise themselves as waitresses/waiters at various restaurants to arrest errant Muslims.

Muslim students from Ar-Raudlatul Hasanah boarding school read Koran during the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at a mosque in Medan REUTERS/Ahmad Ridwan Nasution

According to the New Straits Times newspaper, tea-brewers and noodle chefs were selected from local religious affairs department to be positioned at 185 restaurants for the undercover job.

Segamat Municipal Council president, Mohamad Masni Wakiman is quoted as saying: "We have specially selected enforcement officers who are dark skinned for the undercover job. They sound convincing when they speak in Indonesian and Pakistani lingo, so that customers will believe they are really hired to cook and serve meals and take menu orders."

Any Muslim caught by these undercover officials is liable to a fine of up to $329 or up to six-month imprisonment or both.

The choice of only dark-skinned officials was informed by the fact that most restaurant workers in Malaysia are black migrants.

Islamic officials disguise as waiters/waitresses to arrest Muslims who eat at restaurants instead of fasting

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