CHRISTIAN MAN LIPS BURNT FOR BREAKING RAMADAN FASTING.

9 years ago

CHRISTIAN MAN LIPS BURNT FOR BREAKING RAMADAN FASTING.

Multiple media reports indicate
that a Christian in Iran was
reportedly sentenced by a
judge to have his lips burned
with a cigarette after he failed
to fast during the month-long
Muslim holiday of Ramadan.
Although Islamic rule states
that the month-long fasting
period of Ramadan only applies
to Muslims, the Christian man
was reportedly punished
publicly in the city of
Kermanshah this week. Along
with the Christian man's
punishment, five Muslim men
were reportedly flogged with
70 lashes each for failing to
obey the fasting rules of
Ramadan, the city's deputy
Governor Ali Ashraf Karami told
The Daily Mail.
One group, the National Council
of Resistance of Iran, has
condemned the recent public
punishments, arguing that they
are examples of Iran's unfair
justice system that often
target non-Muslim citizens. "The
silence of the world
community, especially of
western countries, vis-à-vis
these medieval punishments
under the excuse of having
nuclear talks with Iran has
intensified the brutal and
systematic violation of human
rights in Iran. This will
ultimately embolden the
Iranian regime to continue its
nuclear projects more than
before," read the statement
from the France-based group,
according to The Inquisitr.
According to The Guardian,
some Muslim residents of
Tehran believe people are
slacking in their participation in
Ramadan, although public
fasting disobedience has yet to
be seen in the country's capital.
Hamid, one Tehran resident
who works a
telecommunications job, told
the British media outlet that
"Everything [about Ramadan]
is different this year."
"In 1995, if someone had even
a drop of water, everyone
went and reported it and that
person would get fired, or just
scolded if they were lucky. Not
any more, though. People are
looking out for each other. I
almost miss those days,
though. It's like people's hearts
just aren't in religion anymore."
As The National reports, power
outages earlier in July tested
Ramadan resolve in Tehran, as
residents were deprived of air
conditioning in intensively high
summer temperatures, as well
as television to distract them
from the nearly 16-hour
fasting periods. "It is very
difficult to fast in this
weather," Bahador, the owner
of a local Tehran fruit shop,
told The National.
"I used to fast in my
hometown because people
believe in Islam from the
bottom of their heart. But in
Tehran, life is becoming more
difficult every day and people
find ways to escape rules," the
31-year-old Kurdish Sunni
Muslim added.
This year, Ramadan is observed
from July 10 to August 8, and
requires Muslim participants to
fast from food or drink,
regardless of the summer
temperatures, from sunrise to
sundown.