By: St. John Barned-Smith, Staff writer
(HOUSTON CHRONICLE) How ‘things are different now’ for Houston’s Muslim police officers during Ramadan:
Houston’s officer Danish Hussain still remembers the chase, years later: sprinting after a robbery suspect through an apartment complex on the west side of town, in the sticky heat of summer.
As his fellow officers gulped water afterward, Hussain walked into a gas station and asked the cashier if he could stand in the freezer. The Houston’s Muslim officer was fasting for the holy month of Ramadan.
“I can’t drink (water). & can’t do nothing,” he said. “I was really hot and sweating. So I had to go sit in a cooler for about like 15 to 20 minutes to calm down.”
Hussain, 38, is one of a small but growing number of Muslims at the Houston’s Police Department. For Hussain and other officers, the tenets of Islam don’t bend just because the weather is hot. During Ramadan, which ends this year on May 12, Muslims worldwide fast from sunrise to sunset, forgoing food, water — and even chewing gum.
As its workforce has diversified, HPD has modified policies to accommodate officers’ religious beliefs and sexual orientation such as by allowing officers to march in uniform in gay pride parades.
In 2017, former Chief Art Acevedo relaxed uniform rules to allow tattooed officers to wear short-sleeved uniforms, exposing their tattoos. After the death of Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, the department also rolled out policies to allow future Sikh officers to wear turbans and other articles of faith while on duty. In 2019, HPD changed policies to allow officers to grow facial hair.
A monthlong fast
During the month of Ramadan, observant Muslims who are able must fast daily. They gather at sunset with relatives and friends for the “iftar,” the meal used to break their fast. Muslims also attend mosques for evening Ramadan prayers.
Last month, newly appointed Chief Troy Finner sent an email to commanders reminding them of Islam’s fasting requirements and authorized supervisors or dispatchers to allow officers or employees to call out after sunset to break fast or to attend prayer services, if there were no emergencies or priority calls.
