In countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran, where Sharia law is enforced by the governments, Ramadan must be economic hell on everyone in the food industry, from high-class restaurants to street vendor with carts.
What happens? Do they shift their hours to serve food at night? Do they shut down, relying on the other 11 months to keep them solvent? Or do they serve food during the day in violation of Islamic law, either secretly or with government officials tacit approval?
They serve food at night only. Breaking the daily fast is a big deal and a huge business.*
*Based on the time I was in Malaysia on business during Ramadan.
It is one if their biggest seasons for doing business. And I am not being sarcastic. Its next to impossible to get a dinner reservation in ramzan.
Some food places remain open which others tend to start in the afternoon.
Thirding this: I was in Dubai during Ramadan once, and the amount of food people were eating after dark was unbelievable (peeked into the traditional tents people set up in their gardens for the feasts).
This is a matter of culture, not just religion, so different countries will handle it differently.
I can tell you how it works in two countries:
In Egypt, which tends to have a late-night culture anyway, places of business (food and otherwise) shift their hours later. Restaurants that cater only to Moslems serve a lot of customers at iftar (sunset fast breaking), particularly because it is a big party time and most employers sponsor a big iftar get-together every year.
Restaurants open just before fast-breaking time, (so everyone can be seated and ready to gobble) and the food is put out. When it’s time to eat, people tend to wolf their food down immediately.
The meal eaten just before sunrise is called suhur, and it is also a big draw, though less so than iftar. Restaurants ofter special meals and promotions for suhur as well.
Egyptians love food and have many holiday traditions related to food. There are all kinds of delicious special dishes, especially sweets, eaten during Ramadan. People’s weight, and the money spent on food, both go up during this month. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that a lot of restaurants make their largest revenue during Ramadan.
Things are somewhat more restrained in Indonesia. It is only a theory, but I have always thought that one reason why you don’t see the same kind of ravenous food attacks at sunset is because most of Indonesia is on the equator, so Ramadan fasting hours don’t change much over the years: it’s always about 12 hours, so the whole culture adjusts to the unvarying predictability of fasting hours. (Egyptians have to contend with long, hot, dry August days - when Ramadan hits during August, that’s considered the worst, because of the thirst as well as the long fasting period. But fasting month is a lot easier in February, when the days are cool and short.)
In Indonesia, at least in big cities, a lot of restaurants stay open during normal hours during fasting month in Ramadan. After all, there are a LOT of people who still need to eat - non-Moslems, women having their periods, anyone who is too ill or fragile to fast, pregnant or nursing women, non-observant Moslems, and people who are just plain cheating. Some restaurants put up curtains to make the eating going on inside a bit more discrete. I’ve asked several people what purpose these curtains serve: are they out of consideration for people fasting, so that they don’t have to be tempted by the sight of people eating, or are they to protect the people inside, who don’t have to advertise the fact that they are cheating/on the rag/ etc? Invariably the answer I get is: “both!”
Fifthing this. I spent a long time in Central / South Asia and the middle East. In the Middle East, eating out was very common and Ramazan was a huge time for business. People would eat a smaller meal to break their fast and then a much larger one later.
Many in the Middle East, and as far as I could tell Afghanistan and Pakistan, would take a super long siesta during the day and work at night when they could eat. Frankly, having done the Orthodox fast, I didn’t think it was much of a fast, and yes I did it, three times.
In Central Asia it was interesting because the Russians and non-Muslim population would eat less int he office and more out because it’s rude to eat in front of co-workers. But I think business suffered there more. Still, people would hustle and make it up for the Eid holiday with catering.
Say whaaa? Heavily pregnant and severely ill, I’ve heard exempting themselves. This is new. That means that NO woman could do the whole Ramazan, who had a normal cycle. How interesting. I’ve never known a woman to take advantage of this… was that in Indonesia you heard of it, or Egypt as well?
There are the “seven hardships” that allow you to not fast on Ramadan.
It’s not actually a huge deal-breaking issue to break fast on Ramadan. It’s kind of like Lent…you are supposed to try really hard, but God’s not going to strike you down with lightening if you slip up. The worst thing that happens is that you have to make up the day later, which is no fun because you have to do it without the social support. Ramadan itself is kind of fun, with everyone sharing this sense of common purpose. But fasting on your own while everyone else is having fun is pretty sucky.
That was the practice in Cameroon. It kind of sucked for the ladies, because they’d have to make it up later without the festival atmosphere that makes the fast fun.
I spent a long time in Saudi and Ramadan was always a pain. Restaurants are closed until just before sundown and then they are open until waaay late at night. A lot of them don’t close until just before dawn. In addition, there are huge baskets and platters of food that are available to take home for parties.
The chefs and food-prep people sell a heck of a lot of food during Ramadan. The only down-side for them is that they have to work weird hours. Of course, everyone else works strange hours as well. Huge parties in most houses. Most of the Saudis I knew claimed they actually gained weight during the month.
Regards
Testy
I am not Saudi, but I am muslim and I observe Ramazan. I can vouch that its easy to gain weight in Ramazan, mainly because you are busy eating rich food for most of the month/eating out a lot.
Not so sure on the second bit, at least in Pakistan we keep regular hours with the exception that you work through lunch and you then go home an hour early. As it is, the lack of food does not start effecting you until about 4:00 pm.
Every restaurant in the city has a ramazan special and they make money hand over fist. There is a pakora and samosa street vendor near my house and he routinely sells more in a couple of hours every ramazan day that he would do in week otherwise.
It is first important to say that there is no reason as for the OP to evoke Saudi Arabia and Iran, which becomes very annoying as rhetoric. The actual observance of Ramadan.
For restaurants the only ones who very much suffer business loss are those that are almost purely in business for lunch, for work disttricts, or which make their profit in alcoholwhich is usually not served outside of tourist hotels. as others say eating is a great business in Ramadan and it shifts to evening. One great irony observed in all Muslim nations is the inflation of food prices in Ramadan. This is from increased demand. For the restaurants that cannot serve this segment they just take vacation in Ramadan or use the occasion for annual renovation and cleaning. This is common for those that serve alcohol.
Countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran, as opposed to countries that are majority Muslim, but have a secular government, perhaps like Turkey. What’s to be annoyed about? 
because it is very tiresome to see again and again every quesioon as to beleif and chariaa through the lens of the Saud and the Iranians. As an example in both the secular Tunisian republic and the unsecular bur relaxed Moroccan kingdom, there are rules againt causing offence against the Fast. Westerners make the false distinction and always imply in these questions non observance is a good value, putting the observance as some great disaster. It is tiresome.
Just to put in a perspective from India - a non-Muslim majority country with a sizable Muslim population, Ramadan sees great business for Muslim ‘chefs’ (really the Muslim-owned restaurants) from the non-Muslim population too. Everybody loves festivals, and most everybody in my demographic at least plans an evening out during Ramadan to the parts of town with traditional Muslim eateries. So, in short, as almost everyone else has already mentioned, Ramadan is good for Muslim food-related businesses.
I think you’re reading too much into people’s posts, but whatever.
It’s against the law to cause offence against the Fast in Tunisia? It’s possible but quite surprising, seeing as, during Ramadan, Bourguiba went on TV drinking a glass of orange juice and going on about how a country couldn’t stay at a standstill for a whole month every year.
What sorts of things count as causing offence against the Fast? What are the possible punishments?
Note that in the OP, the OP said “where Sharia law is enforced by the governments”. It’s possible to have one opinion on observance and quite another on government enforcement of the observance.
I haven’t been to Malaysia in a while but in the late 90’s at least, it is illegal and strictly enforced that Muslims follow Islamic law. There is a very active special branch of the police to make sure of it. If a Muslim is found eating during the day during Ramadan, he will go to jail. If it is on the job, he will likely be fired. It’s serious over there.
(bolding mine)
This “special branch of the police” does nothing but enforce ‘Muslim’ laws? Does that equal ‘sharia law’?
I’m wondering if this is still done, and if this is done anywhere else, at present.
Not sure. The “sin police” there have no jurisdiction over non-Muslims. They don’t have stoning to death or chopping off of hands as a punishment but you can be flogged. Muslim women don’t have to wear the head scarfs but it is highly encouraged.
Remind yourself of the year he did that and of the later apology. Tunisia has not been Bourguibiste in many years, the election of Ennahda to a majority of seats is not a strange mood.
it is simply offending against public order and only becomes so if someone who clearly should be fasting flouts this in a very public and flagrant way to disturb the peace of the public.
and it is one thing to see the question as chariaa enforced and another of public morals and peace. It is not differant than Americans having laws against toplessness away from beaches or even on beaches. No one official is making private observance inquiries or even checking on eating.