PAS Ulama Says “Disrespectful” To Ramadan If School Canteens Remain Open, Gets Roasted Online
Meanwhile, another person claimed this issue is one of the many reasons parents prefer to send their children to vernacular schools as the tolerance is one-sided.
(The Rakyat Post) – Every time Ramadan rolls around, the debate to keep school canteens open or close to students comes up.
The Education Ministry recently issued a directive to keep school canteens open during Ramadan.
Its minister Fadhlina Sidek said it’s part of the standard operating procedure for school each year to remain open during the holy month.
She said schools must provide guidance and education to non-Muslims to teach them mutual respect for those who were fasting.
The Education Ministry issued the same directive last year to keep school canteens open during Ramadan.
He believes the ministry’s directive was disrespectful towards the holy month of Ramadan. Ahmad suggested that non-Muslim students bring packed meals and eat in “designated areas.”
This doesn’t mean we’re preventing non-Muslim students from eating during the day. It’s also a form of education for them to respect Ramadan while in school. They can bring packed meals and eat in designated areas. That’s sufficient without the need for a directive to open canteens, which is seen as excessive.
PAS Ulama Council Chief Datuk Ahmad Yahaya
Netizens disagree with Yahaya
Netizens immediately debunked Ahmad’s claim that school canteens had always been closed during Ramadan.
Many said school canteens have stayed open for non-Muslims and also for young Muslim students who don’t observe a full fast yet.
They added that the school canteens remained open in the 80s and 90s without issues. Canteens also remained open during the administration of former prime ministers such as Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
: School canteens to operate during Ramadan for non-Muslim students (Dailymotion)
Netizens shared that it makes no sense to force non-Muslims to suffer and fast simply because their Muslim classmates chose to fast.
They went as far as to ask Ahmad to show which hadith or surah stated that Muslims should bar others from eating in front of people who fast.
Others who fasted in their schooling days said mingling with their non-fasting schoolmates was not an issue. They would talk to their friends at the canteen as usual, perform prayers in the school surau or hangout in the library.
A netizen believes non-Muslim and Muslim students are educated enough about Ramadan and pointed out that Ahmad was the one who needed to rethink things.
