HELSINKI: A Danish government minister has asserted that Muslims shouldn’t work during Ramadan because the monthlong fasting period poses safety hazards in some professions and makes the practice “dangerous for us all.”
Integration Minister Inger Stoejberg, a hard-liner with Denmark’s center-right coalition government, questioned in a blog post published Monday how “commanding observance to a 1,400-year-old pillar of Islam” was compatible with the demands of modern labor markets.
In her post published by Danish tabloid BT Stoejberg cited bus drivers as an example of workers whose performance could be affected by foregoing food and drink during daylight hours of the holy month.
She urged all Muslims to take leave from work during Ramadan “to avoid negative consequences for the rest of Danish society.”
Finnish Muslim Union Chairwoman Pia Jardi called the minister’s suggestion “a completely absurd idea.”
“There’s no information or statistics to show that bus drivers or other Muslim workers would somehow behave dangerously while fasting,” Jardi said. “In most Muslim countries, stores and businesses continue operating as normally.”
Muslims committed to fasting also “have the responsibility to make sure that they get proper rest,” she said.
Millions of Muslims around the world began observing Ramadan last week.
Danish minister says Muslims shouldn’t work during Ramadan
Updated 21 May 2018
Danish minister says Muslims shouldn’t work during Ramadan
- Inger Stoejberg cited bus drivers as an example of workers whose performance could be affected by foregoing food and drink during daylight hours of the holy month.
- She urged all Muslims to take leave from work during Ramadan “to avoid negative consequences for the rest of Danish society.”
