Should Public Institutions Encourage Staff to Fast During Ramadan?

A combination of higher birthrates and mass immigration means that Europe and the United Kingdom are becoming increasingly Muslim. Many are entering the workforce, including as public servants. It is a worthy goal to aspire to peaceful coexistence, but in some cases Islam is being actively promoted in a way that goes beyond that.

Many private companies already accommodate the religious needs of their Muslim employees by providing prayer facilities or flexible arrangements for daily prayers, as well as funding iftar dinners during Ramadan. This is something most other religions do not demand or even ask for.

It has now emerged that in Britain the West Midlands Police Force has invited non-Muslim officers and staff to fast during Ramadan in an “act of solidarity”. The Telegraph broke the story, revealing that non-Muslim colleagues were also fasting during Ramadan across other public services, such as local councils.

The controversy is particularly striking because it involves West Midlands Police, which has repeatedly faced criticism over the way it has dealt with Islamic issues in recent years. The force has been accused of placing an excessive emphasis on diversity and inclusion while failing at core policing responsibilities.

Doubts Raised About Effectiveness

The documents revealing this were published by The Telegraph after a freedom of information request to New Forest Council. The council’s diversity training cited West Midlands Police as an example of best practice on inclusion.

The memo stated that the police force provided “flexi-working arrangements” for Muslim staff during Ramadan, so they could spend more time with their families. It also praised the way that some of the non-Muslim staff were joining in with fasting, claiming it created a “family feel” in the force.

A blog post for the West Midlands Police Museum also discussed the practice, saying that Muslim police officers are “supported and accommodated” when they need to break their fast and that non-Muslims in the police are given information to "help them understand what Ramadan is all about".

That has led to concerns about the impact on police effectiveness, with critics arguing that abstaining from food and water for a lengthy period of time could impair officers’ ability to do their jobs.

Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, said that encouraging non-Muslims to observe the Ramadan fast was “wholly inappropriate” and called for an end to the Public Sector Equality Duty, which requires public bodies to consider equality and diversity in their work.

Similarly, Andrew Fox, of the Henry Jackson Society think tank, said that while supporting officers of one faith was understandable, encouraging officers who did not share that faith to join in was inappropriate.

A Force Mired in Controversy

West Midlands Police are no strangers to controversy involving Islam. The force covers an area that includes Birmingham, Britain’s second-biggest city, which is nearly 30% Muslim, according to the 2021 census.

In January, the chief of the police force, Craig Guildford, was forced to retire after a scandal involving an Israeli football team playing in the city. Fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv were barred from the stadium over fears that their presence might lead to violence.

The evidence used to justify the ban was later found to contain major errors, some of which resulted from AI-generated material in an intelligence report. The police initially denied that AI had played any role before admitting that it had. The West Midlands Police leadership was also criticized for placing too much weight on the advice of Muslim community leaders, including representatives of eight local mosques, who wanted the Israeli fans banned. Three of those mosques had previously hosted preachers who engaged in antisemitism.

This is part of a wider trend. The force was previously criticized for hiring what critics described as “woke” staff and is currently advertising an assistant director of talent and organizational effectiveness with a salary of £73,340 ($98,300), alongside an engagement and consultation officer earning £28,720 ($38,500). The force launched a fairness and belonging strategy in July 2020, saying that “diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, fairness and equality are always a top priority”.

On another occasion, in 2024, West Midlands Police posted on social media that it had purchased hijabs and prayer mats “to go in our police vehicles” so that “our Muslim colleagues and public will have access to these when they are needed”. The post was later deleted.

During the Southport riots of 2024, the force was criticized again for two-tier policing when it failed to act against a Muslim mob which chased an LBC journalist with a metal pole and forced a Sky News team to stop broadcasting. In the aftermath, it explained that it had met with “community leaders” in order to “understand the style of policing that we needed to deliver” before deciding not to deploy any officers to deal with the mob.

The scrutiny comes against the backdrop of serious operational failings. In 2019, inspectors found that West Midlands Police had failed to record around 16,600 violent crimes. In total, over 20% of all violent crimes and 10% of all sexual crimes were not logged.

This record shows the dangers of supposed community outreach. Instead of equal accommodation, it can become preferential treatment for some groups. That in turn can come at the expense of institutions doing their jobs well. Rather than pandering to groups, companies and the public sector especially should be focused on doing their jobs.