I still remember the last Ramadan I spent in Iran. My mother and I wanted to take a walk in the north of Tehran. Because all cafés were closed, we made coffee at home. As we were walking, we saw a young couple running toward us shouting, ‘Gasht is near!’ What is Gasht? It’s the police force of the Islamic Republic, which during Ramadan patrols the city to check whether people are eating in public. We threw our coffee in the bin.

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My mother and I were lucky. We weren’t among the 207 people who were flogged in public on charges of not fasting, or among the more than 500 people who were arrested in Shiraz for breaking their fast in public.

Your experience of Ramadan may be different. You may see the lights on Regent Street, notice your colleagues fasting. You’ll likely experience no substantial........

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