The Islamic police in Nigeria’s northern state of Kano detained nine Muslims on Wednesday after they were reportedly seen eating on the first day of this year’s Ramadan fast.
Kano, which has a predominantly Muslim population, operates an Islamic legal system Sharia alongside the country’s secular laws.
Each year during Ramadan, the Islamic police force, known as the Hisbah, patrol cafes, restaurants, and markets to ensure Muslims observe the required fasting hours.
However, some businesses remain open in parts of Kano where there is a significant Christian population.
For Muslims, consuming food is forbidden from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan. Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, which form the foundation of how Muslims are expected to conduct their lives.
According to BBC Hisbah’s deputy commander general Mujahid Aminudeen told the BBC that the nine individuals detained seven men and two women had claimed they were unaware that Ramadan had commenced.”We have arrested them and they are with us where we are going to be teaching them the importance of fasting, how to pray, read the Quran and become better Muslims,” he said.
It remains uncertain when the Hisbah intends to release them. In past incidents of a similar nature, officers have contacted the detainees’ families to ensure close supervision after their release, so they continue fasting for the remainder of the month.
More than 20 years ago, Sharia law was introduced to function alongside secular law in 12 northern Nigerian states, all of which have majority Muslim populations.
Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, holds deep significance in Islam. Muslims believe that it was during this month that the first verses of the Quran, Islam’s holy scripture, were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.