Manama: The Bahrain government on Tuesday said it will take strict action against those who publicly eat food during fasting hours of the Holy month of Ramzan, which is considered offensive.
A statement issued by the Police Media Center said, failing to show this slight consideration for fasting Muslims is punishable by law, and shall be penalized with a fine and jail up to one year.
If a person wants to eat and drink during the daylight in Ramzan, it should be done indoors and out of sight.
As one of the five pillars of Islam or as a duty, fasting during the festival is mandatory for all healthy adult Muslims, meaning that they must abstain from eating, drinking and smoking from morning to evening.
The statement also said that speaking loudly during Iftar is an insult to religious rites during Ramzan. Section 309 of the Penal Code applies when a person speaks or eats loudly, drinks alcohol or smokes in public during fasting hours. The law applies to Muslims, non-Muslims, residents, citizens and visitors.
Crimes in this regard will lead to prison terms between three months and a year and also a fine of more than 100 dinars.
Similar laws are in place in other Gulf countries, with Kuwait a maximum of one month in prison and a fine of 100 dinars.
In Dubai, if anyone failing to respect fasting laws will attract fines of up to Dh2, 000 or a jail term of a month, according to article 313 of the UAE federal law.