The Sultan of Brunei banned Christmas celebrations for Muslims in the country because it could damage the faith of Muslims; non-Muslims are allowed to celebrate the holiday within their own communities.
According to media reports, the Sultan of the oil-rich country in southeast Asia, Hassanal Bolkiah, officially declared that Muslims seen celebrating Christmas Day or wearing Santa Claus hats in public will be thrown in jail for five years.
A statement published by the Ministry of Religious Affairs said the enforcement measures are intended to protect the beliefs of the Muslim community.
Somalia and Tajikistan also banned the non-Muslim celebration for their citizens.
Somalia's Federal government on Tuesday officially banned celebrations of Christmas and New Year.
Director General of Somalia's Ministry of Religious Affairs, Sheikh Mohamed Khayrow, announced the decision in a press conference. He said that these kinds of events could damage aqidah (faith) of the Muslim community, as well give the al-Shabaab terrorist organization incentives to carry out attacks.
Last year, al-Shabaab militants launched a deadly attack on the main African Union (AU) base in Mogadishu as a Christmas party was going on.
Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, also banned Christmas trees and gift-giving in schools.
The Tajik education ministry has issued a decree prohibiting "the use of fireworks, festive meals, gift-giving and raising money" for New Year celebrations as well as "the installation of a Christmas tree, either living (felled wood) or artificial" in schools and universities.
Last year, for instance, it banned Russia's version of Father Christmas.
The republic is agreeing to a tree in a square in its capital, Dushanbe, ahead of New Year but it is not expected to be there long -- unlike other ex-Soviet states who continue to celebrate the festitivities in their main squares.
A prominent Saudi cleric called on Muslims around the world to give up celebrating Christmas and New Year. Sheikh Mohammed Al-Oraifi, said that Muslims are not allowed to greet non-Muslims on their religious occasions like Christmas. “If they celebrate the birth of God's son and you greet them… it means you endorse their faith," he said.
“To my people, my sons and daughters in Europe and elsewhere. It is forbidden to attend the celebrations of Christmas and New Year, as they include alcohol, dancing, drunkenness and the mixing of genders," he added.
These prohibitions are not limited to Christians and Muslims. An Israel-based Jewish far-right organization, Lehava, also called for a ban on Christmas, calling Christians “blood-sucking vampires."
Bentzi Gopstein, leader of the Lehava organization, also called for Christians to be expelled from the Holy Land and declared the Christian church their “deadly centuries-old enemy."
“Christmas has no place in the Holy Land," he concluded. “Missionary work must not be given a foothold. Let's throw the vampires out of our land before they drink our blood again," the extremist group leader said.
Earlier this year Israel lifted bans on using symbols of Christian holidays, such as Christmas trees.
A public school in Brooklyn, New York, banned Christmas and Thanksgiving, announcing that the holidays are celebrated as “harvest festivals" or “winter celebrations" rather than with blatantly religious iconography.
A memo last month from assistant principal Jose Chaparro suggested a “harvest festival instead of Thanksgiving or a winter celebration instead of a Christmas party." He urged staff to “be sensitive of the diversity of our families. Not all children celebrate the same holidays."
James Madison University (JMU), a public university in Virginia, banned a student group from singing a religiously-themed Christmas carol. The decision, made by JMU's Student Government Association, is apparently intended to avoid any endorsement of religion at a public event.
“JMU is a public university, so because it was a school-sponsored event, the song choice needed to be secular," JMU spokesman Bill Wyatt tells Campus Reform. “The university made the decision to only sing secular songs."
Moreover, the University of Missouri also banned Christmas decoration.
Susan Even, Executive Director of the university health center, said: “I'm aware that many of you are in the mood to decorate your areas with the holiday spirit in mind. However, after discussing it with ET, I've decided that holiday decorations will not be displayed this year. Our mission is to provide a safe, comfortable place for all students to receive their health care. Without meaning to, some of the holiday symbols that we may display could contradict that mission."
Bethlehem, a little town in upstate New York, also decided not to display “Merry Christmas" signs in public.
