Daily Times

Despite their personal adherence to fasting, most restaurant owners do not agree with closing down their businesses during daytime in Ramzan. They would rather prefer to serve the people and stay open but they reckon the risk runs too high. They are scared that even when the law allows them to operate behind the curtains, religious vigilantes would not allow that to happen. If asked would police not provide them any protection in case of an attack? They respond with a wry smile on their faces; the police needs protection from zealots as much as ordinary civilians do. So, most likely, they will look the other way to avoid any danger to their lives. I agree with their assessment. We all have witnessed a similar act of vandalism in our lives and we all have looked the other way too while the police, for some ‘mysterious’ reason, fails to show up for hours.
Can any society afford to be so fearful about protecting the lawful right of the majority of its people? Yes, you read it correctly: the majority, in my opinion, is not fasting during the holy month. And this is how I have drawn my conclusion: according to demographic surveys, out of 180 million people, 35 to 40 percent are children less than 15 years of age. About five percent is more than 65 and approximately 55 percent of the population lies between the ages of 15 and 65. This central 55 percent, under Islamic law, is the one most likely fast in Ramadan. Children and older folks, because of health reasons, do not share the same compulsion to stay hungry for a long time. Islam has provided them enough of a cushion to take care of their health first.
Among those who can fast, half of them are females of which some are pregnant and others are nursing while many are on their period, and some are just too sick to fast. In a similar fashion, young, otherwise eligible men suffering from medical illnesses or those who are travelling can be exempted from such an obligation.
Then there are people who although have no lawful excuse, the nature of their job makes it difficult for them to stay thirsty or hungry all day. This includes farmers, labourers, motor mechanics, masons, plumbers, painters, electricians and even the travelling salesman. After talking to many of them I realised that less than 40 percent of them in reality fast, an arbitrary number I know is difficult to validate but, for the sake of argument and in the absence of scientific data, let us consider it to be a close approximate.
In this list of people who do not fast, I am deliberately avoiding those who, even though are young and healthy with a comfortable job still opt out of fasting. Muslims, they are, however, not rigid on practicing religious dogma. Now let us also add the three to five percent minority population of Pakistan too who, by virtue of their faith, are free to eat and drink during Ramzan.
Putting all the numbers together, I would assume that on the safe side not more than 25 to 30 percent of the people are fasting on a given day. If you disagree with my assessment, l can rephrase it this way: in my calculation, a majority of the people has a legitimate excuse for not fasting and many others do not fast for personal reasons. If you agree with any one of them, still my question would be: what happens to them if they have to eat during the daytime? The answer is simple: regardless of their medical condition, their faith or their personal choice, they have to suffer. Some of it is because of the government’s rules and restrictions but most of it is because of the street power of the religious right. No one can dare to stand up to them even when they are breaking the law themselves. People are so afraid that there is no place outside one’s own home where one can eat, not even on major highways.
I faced that situation when I was travelling on the Grand Trunk (GT) Road from Lahore to Rawalpindi. To be honest, I was not fasting that day, taking the liberty that the Islamic law provides to any traveller. I was excited to enjoy daal (chickpeas) from the famous Mianji Restaurant at Lala Musa for my lunch. However, I was disappointed to see it closed. Later on, I noticed that not only Mianji but all the other restaurants on the main artery of Pakistan from Karachi to Peshawar were not serving food. Local bakeries were the only place you could find some fresh items to eat. And, of course, they all were overpriced when compared to the regular dhaba (roadside) restaurants.
No, do not get me wrong. I understand that during Ramzan it is important to show our respect to those people who are fasting. Sure, we have to avoid eating in front of them. I also agree that our indifference can be considered offensive. Eating in front of them may show a trend in society that lacks compassion and empathy. Having said that, I do not think that by closing down all the restaurants we serve society well as most people are not fasting, including those who are sick. Society has the same obligation to empathise with them as well, as it has towards the people who fast.
That is why I would want to keep most of the restaurants open during the daytime. Nevertheless, restaurants need to operate with care, maintaining their privacy all the time. If their doors can be closed, they need to keep them secured. Roadside stalls that are open in public also need to minimise their exposure by covering the area. If all of them cannot stay open, at least some should, which would still serve the purpose.

The writer is a US-based freelance columnist. He tweets at @KaamranHashmi and can be reached at skamranhashmi@gmail.com