The Sultan of Brunei has gone overboard by decreeing a maximum five-year prison sentence for Muslims who partake in Christmas celebrations or non-Muslims who celebrate it too openly, said Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad.
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However, non-Muslims, which make up an estimated 32% of the country’s population, are permitted to celebrate Christmas, but only within their communities, and they must first alert the authorities.
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The tiny oil-rich kingdom of Brunei instituted tougher Sharia penalties under Muslims law that drew criticism from Western countries, in 2014, then at the beginning of this year it issued a ban on “public celebrations of Christmas”.
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Amid the long-running feud between Christian and Muslim communities, Somalia has joined Brunei in trying to stop the Christian minorities from celebrating their biggest festival by claiming that the celebrations are “contrary to Somali Islam Culture”.
While Brunei’s rulers do not enforce the harsh Islamic orthodoxies of countries like Saudi Arabia, including sanctions for women do not wear headscarfs, the country’s wealthiest Sultan past year ordered the introduction of Sharia law.
The ban extends to “using religious symbols like crosses, lighting candles, putting up Christmas trees, singing religious songs [and] sending Christmas greetings”, local press reported.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has ruled Brunei as an absolute monarch since 1967.
In Africa, Somalia’s ministry of religion director Sheikh Mohamed Kheyrow announced in a statement that the government is “against celebration of Christmas, which is only for Christians”. Muslims caught marking the holiday could face a fine of $20,000 or up to five years in prison for the offense.
Even wearing of clothes and accessories that resemble Santa Claus is prohibited.
Christmas is just around the corner, but there are no tinsel-laden trees or Santa hats in the oil-rich sultanate of Brunei, where celebrations have been banned under a shift towards hardline Islamic law.
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We should remember that on Christmas Day a year ago, al Shabab, a terrorist organization, launched an attack that killed four. As a visitor, one is allowed to import and consume alcoholic drinks, but not in public place.
