The restaurants are flouting the rule by advertising this fact on the front of their restaurants. Large posters seeking donations for iftar meal projects and other charitable works are hung in conspicuous areas of the restaurants in order to touch on human altruism during this holy month.

Al-Birr Charitable Society Chairman Mazen Batterjee said that restaurants are profit-generating business and they are not authorized to collect donations. He urged responsible authorities to step in and investigate the legitimacy of these donation collection and also make sure that the money collected reaches those in need through appropriate channels.

He stressed that charity organizations are the authorized bodies to collect donations, and that also under the supervision of responsible authorities. The relevant authorities make sure that these organizations distribute the money to the needy.

Batterjee also questioned whether these restaurants actually deliver the money to people in need.

“Are these iftar meals distributed? Are the donations collected used for suspicious activities?” he queried.

Abdulaziz Al-Hefni, head of Qur’an Association in Jeddah, said restaurants should do what they are licensed to do, that is sell food. The collection should be done through designated bodies, and the responsible authority, he said, should step in to stop the restaurants from collecting donations. “Their permits should also be checked,” he added.

“People donating to these restaurants should also ask first to see whether they are permitted to seek donations, and then make a decision. It is always preferable to donate money to charities,” he added.