Here's What Happened To A Muslim Woman Who Ate In Public During Ramadan
The incident took place at The Chicken Rice Shop in Quill City Mall on 25 June, Saturday.
By Tang Ruxyn — 27 Jun 2016, 11:56 AM
A Muslim woman who goes by the name 'Mrym Lee' on Facebook said that she and a friend were harrassed, verbally abused and publicly persecuted every single time for eating and drinking in the public
In a recent posting, Mrym said that there wasn't a time when they weren't berated by people who were "supposed to be fasting" while they were eating in the open when they were hungry and thirsty.
She explained that it is a "conscious effort" on her part to eat and drink in public during Ramadan when she is not fasting, while visibly being a Muslim in hijab, to protest against moral and religious policing against Muslims, especially Muslim women.
She recounted her experience at The Chicken Rice Shop in Quill City Mall on 25 June, Saturday, when she was chastised by the manager and staffs
"I sat and ordered a plate of Penang rojak. (The) manager was very rude from beginning, but he didn't refuse service and even served my rojak already," she wrote in her Facebook post.
She said that she was eating when she was pestered by the same manager whose staff rudely served her plate by tossing it on the table.
"Are you Malay?"
"Ya."
"Are you Muslim?"
"Ya."
"Then why are you eating?"
"I stopped eating. 'Not again,' I thought. If you didn't want to serve me you should have refused service from the beginning, not harass me when I was already eating."
Mrym said that the restaurant manager continued to pester her and said that the other customers and staffs were looking at her "weirdly"
It was then she told the manager that eating and drinking were not against the law.
However, he responded by saying that she was "damaging" the image of Islam although he did acknowledge that what she did wasn't wrong.
Mrym's non-Muslim friend who was there with her tried to calm the manager down but instead, the manager retorted by saying that he was only scolding her (Mrym) and not him (the friend).
She insisted that she was not wrong, adding that Islam did not teach them to behave this way, after which, the manager left the table, waved his hand and shook his head.
"I then went to him, explaining how he's been rude to me as a customer, and he explained that religious authorities could raid the restaurant and punish them for serving Muslims during the Ramadan month"
Mrym went on to ask the manager if this was the right thing to do, to which he said 'yes'.
At this point, she told the manager that she would leave after finishing her meal.
About five minutes later, a Malay Muslim customer at the restaurant with his family came to her table to question her right to eat in public. He accused her of not respecting those who are fasting.
The manager intervened on Mrym's request although she said that he was "clearly taking the man's side".
"Abang tahu perempuan ada masalah (I know women have problems) (referring to menstruation)," the man said.
"This is where I stopped him. I was not going to tolerate punishing women for their biology," Mrym said.
She told the man that there was no issue about women and not being able to fast.
The man apparently became furious and once more said that she was being disrespectful and accused her of tarnishing the image of Islam.
"I finished my Penang rojak, paid my bills and left the restaurant. The manager made rude faces all the way, his staff literally threw tantrums when they walked pass me."
"As I was leaving, a couple of lovely ladies in the same restaurant signalled solidarity, 'Keep standing up for your rights! Keep standing up for your rights'."
Mrym subsequently ran two polls on Twitter to find out if Muslims ate or drank in public during Ramadan and another on whether they felt it was wrong to do so
Ok, need to know: if you are visibly Muslim (tudung/muka melayu etc) do you eat in public during Ramadan?
— #PestaFilemKita (@mrymler) June 25, 2016
Adakah kamu percaya makan dan minum di ruang awam pada bulan ramadan adalah salah untuk orang Islam?
— #PestaFilemKita (@mrymler) June 25, 2016
About 60% of the 1,031 respondents said they did not eat or drink in public out of respect for other Muslims, while 60% of 878 respondents said it was not wrong for Muslims to eat or drink in public during Ramadan.
Her social media postings quickly went viral, inviting a range of views from netizens
Many criticised her for being provocative because she deliberately wanted to eat in public while others were fasting. They said that although it is not wrong to eat publicly, she should have eaten in private if she was being respectful of others.
Other commenters expressed their support for her, saying that she did the right thing to stand up for her rights, adding that Malaysia needs more Muslims like her.
Disagreeing with the masses that criticised Myrm, independent Muslim preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin, has said that it is not wrong for Muslims who are not fasting to eat in public
He reportedly told Free Malaysia Today (FMT) yesterday, 26 June, that the Muslims in Malaysia have to change their mindset and not only expect others to be respectful of Muslims in the month of Ramadan but also show the same respect to Muslims who are not fasting.
"Islam does not forbid this (eating in the public). This is the sensitivity and sentiment among the Malays," he was quoted as saying by FMT.
He added that this perception could be changed through education, whether at school or through courses at mosques or surau.