05/31/18 Washington, DC  – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that the Interior Ministry of Iraq’s Central Government issued a statement May 24, 2018 saying that it was “taking legal measures against people publicly breaking their Fast (during the day time) and referring them to the judiciary.” 

A local news source reports that the maximum jail sentence for breaking the Ramadan Fast is six months in prison. Qasim al-Araji, head of the Interior Ministry, is also a senior member of the Badr Organization, a Shi’ite militia group reliant on Iranian support. The Organization’s violent reputation includes a long history of aggravating religious conflicts.

Iraq’s Christians are targeted during periods of religious tensions, and Ramadan is an especially sensitive time. Many Christians report experiencing social harassment and even aggression during Ramadan. A Christian living in Erbil’s Ankawa neighborhood, notes how he “remembers it was fine to eat publicly in Ankawa years ago because it is Christian area. Not anymore. Actually, it was not allowed for Muslims to come and have a house in Ankawa, but now it is a preferable area for Muslims and there are a lot of Muslims who have connections and they are getting permissions.”

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