“Having Muslims celebrate Christmas in Somalia is not the right thing, such things are akin to the abandonment”, according to Mohamed Kheyrow, a top official at the religious affairs ministry.
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In Somalia, where Sharia law has been in place since 2009 and the vast majority of residents are Muslim, there probably isn’t much desire to celebrate the birth of Jesus or the Christian calendar’s New Year anyway.
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Religious leaders in the oil-rich sultanate warned the ban on Christmas would be strictly enforced, with violators facing up to five years in jail.
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“We are warning against the celebration of such events which are not relevant to the principles of our religion”, Gurhan added, saying it could provoke the Shebab “to carry out attacks”. “This is a matter of faith”.
The shocking revelations come just days after the despotic ruler of Brunei announced a similar ban on the celebration of Christmas. “The Christmas holiday and its drum beatings have nothing to do with Islam”.
Governments of both countries prohibit public festivities saying they could damage the Muslim faith. It’s also about security concerns.
Last year, gunmen belonging to the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab attacked a Christmas party at an African Union military base in Mogadishu, killing at least three peacekeepers and a civilian. Christians are supposedly allowed to celebrate their holiday in the country as long as they don’t do so “excessively and openly”.
“Christmas will not be celebrated in Somalia for two reasons; all Somalis are Muslims and there is no Christian community here”.
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The mayor of Mogadishu, Yusuf Hussein Jimale, told the BBC that Christmas gatherings could also become targets for Al-Shabab.
