Most cafes and restaurants close in Chechnya due to Ramadan

Most Chechen restaurants and cafes have closed until the end of Ramadan, urged by the leader of the Chechen Muslim clergy so as not to tempt the faithful. The Chechen Mufti ,Sultan Mirzayev, had urged the owners of public food outlets to stop work for the period.

The clergy enter cafes and restaurants and have talks with the owners, the BBC reports, citing a source in Grozny.

The places are indeed closed and most Chechens eat at home. Over half of the cafes continued working last year, Reuters reports.

During Ramadan Muslims are forbidden to eat, drink and have sexual acts from sunrise until sunset. But Ramadan has different rules in various regions.

In Dagestan and Chechnya, cafes work only at night and do not sell alcoholic drinks.
In Russia, Ramadan began on August 11th and will continue until September 9th. The Mufti’s call has no legal basis, but most restaurants take it into account.