NORTH AFRICA: Ramadan Adds Extra Pressure for Christians

Source: World Watch Monitor, July 3, 2014

In about 50 countries across the world, some 1.6 billion Muslims have [been] fasting from sunrise to sunset for the 30 days of Ramadan. Much as it’s celebrated by those who choose to participate, it also brings a heightened pressure for non-Muslims if they do not agree that they should be forced to fast.

Often the pressure comes from social discrimination, but in a country such as Algeria or Morocco, where Islam is the state religion, breaking the Ramadan fast in public is punishable by a fine and imprisonment.

A majority of [Algeria’s] Christians are Kabyle Berber, and many object to being forced to fast at this time of year.

Last year, during Ramadan, there was a joint effort by the police in the same region to arrest public non-fasters. This sparked a wave of outrage among human rights activists, and in reaction, hundreds staged picnics in protest against ‘forced’ fasting.

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