Vice President Jusuf Kalla was once almost denied service at a cafe in Madrid due to Ramadan

The issue of whether the government should prevent restaurants from being able to serve customers during the day during Ramadan is obviously a controversial one in Indonesia, with some thinking the government should be able to shut down eateries out of respect for those who are fasting and others saying that such rules don’t respect all the people who aren’t fasting for various reasons.

At a breakfasting event last Friday, Vice President Jusuf Kalla shared a story related to the controversy, but one that took place several years ago while he was in Madrid, Spain, during Ramadan for work. 

As related by Kompas, Kalla had just arrived after a long flight from the United States and was greeted by the Indonesian Ambassador to Spain at that time. He said that he was not fasting that day because he was traveling, which is an acceptable reason to abstain from fasting in Islam.

The ambassador took Kalla to a nearby coffee shop for some refreshments. The vice president then tried to order a cappuccino.

However the waiter, noticing that a member of their group was wearing a taqiyah (a type of Islamic hat), asked Kalla if he was Muslim. 

“Yes, I am a Muslim,” he replied. 

“Oh so you should not drink. Here iftar is at 8 pm,” the waiter said.

“But, I am a traveler. So I am not fasting,” Kalla replied.

The waiter then asked what mode of transportation Kalla used to get to Spain. Kalla admitted that he had flown there by airplane. However, the waiter said that traveling on an airplane was not an acceptable reason to skip the fast, since you were just sitting the entire time. 

At this point, one of the members of the group explained to the waiter that Kalla was actually the vice president of Indonesia. 

“‘Oh the vice president? So you are supposed to set a good example for others’,” the waiter replied, according to Kalla.

Eventually the waiter relented and brought the vice president a cup of coffee, but only after telling Kalla that he needed to be sure to fast the next day. 

Kalla told the waiter he would indeed. And after telling the story, the vice president said he would never forget the Ramadan lesson he learned in Madrid.