Comments on: Jordan: A Popular Cafe Shut Down in Ramadan Crackdown

By: hak

hak — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:54:30 +0000

the majority are muslims, they should be respected. the owner of the restaurant should take advantage of the montht of ramadan and take a vacation, do some repaires or even go to hell or whatever.and should post a sign on his door that says ” IN RESPECT TO THE HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN, WE WILL BE CLOSED UNTIL AFTER THE EID EL FITR, WE WISH YOU A WONDERFUL HOLYDAYS”. in the US, every town has its own rules when it comes to alkohol. the residents themselves vote on the matter. which means…if the people in Jordan had the right to vote or any right at all there won’t be a “Books@Cafe” to start with!!!

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:11:20 +0000

Lara, my comment was actually a little tongue-in-cheek, hence “degenerate.” :) I’ve actually only been to Books once this Ramadan and didn’t drink …

Fasting is certainly an admirable practice and abstaining from alcohol equally so. However, personal opinions about alcohol aside, I think Naseem’s right to suggest that the political aspects of this might outweigh the cultural/religious debate, which we’ve heard ad nauseam already.

Tim

By: Solana Larsen

Solana Larsen — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:47:44 +0000

Thanks so much for this post, it was great to see a range of comments on the issue, although as “freedom”, “human rights”, and “democracy” loving person, I have to admit I laughed at the comment from “Maha” on 7iber. Why the obsession with what non-observing people do during the Ramadan? I wish people would just accept their differences and get along peacefully. In much of western Europe, many businesses are obliged to close on Sundays for presumably Christian reasons. But nowadays, I think it has more to do with unfair competition and labor rights. An economic argument rather than a moral one.

By: Jay kactuz

Jay kactuz — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:14:30 +0000

Lara, this is NOT about food or booze.

This is about intolerance and oppression of Non-Muslims.

Is that too difficult to understand? The question is why should anybody respect a religion that does not respect others? Or, in other words, why should anybody respect a religion that believes it has a right to impose its morality (or lack thereof) on others? Think about it!

Kactuz

By: A Question of Society? « The Ambassador’s Weblog

A Question of Society? « The Ambassador’s Weblog — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:35:42 +0000

[...] For other bloggers take at the story visit The Arab Observer, The Black Iris, Ali’s blog or Global Voices online. [...]

By: Lara

Lara — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 21:28:20 +0000

Tim,

It’s only for ONE month out the the WHOLE YEAR! I think you can live without your booze for 30 days. Give your body a break… it will thank you for it:)