JAFFA, Israel – A high-profile Egyptian cleric has called on the government to impose stricter penalties on citizens who violate Ramadan. Sheikh Sameh Abdelhamid said in a televised interview that just as eateries, pubs, and nightclubs are closed during Ramadan by law, the general public should also be legally compelled to fast. The Islamic State, for its part, published pictures of the punishment incurred by residents of the Syrian town of Kheir who did not fast during Ramadan. In the pictures, six “defendants” were forced to wear a sign saying “smoking but not fasting,” and were flogged in public. In Mosul, Iraq, the breaking of Ramadan led to civilians being tied to lampposts with a similar sign, according to a video that went viral on social media. عقوبة الإفطار العلني في نهار رمضان في الموصل دولة الخرافة الداعشية.. pic.twitter.com/66kTzGGPi8 — سامح عسكر (@sameh_asker) June 17, 2016 The debate spread to social media. “When will Jordan cancel the prison sentence and fine imposed on people who don’t fast in public during Ramadan?” Twitter user Eyebrows wondered. متى بيبطل في عقوبة سجن وغرامة على الإفطار العلني في رمضان بالأردن ؟ ؟ #سؤال_يراودني — Mr. Eyebrows (@7wliat) June 15, 2016 Another user commented