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.
The
all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the world’s richest men, announced
last year he would push ahead with the introduction of sharia law, eventually
including tough penalties such as death by stoning or severed limbs.
Religious leaders in the oil-rich
sultanate warned this month that a ban on Christmas would be strictly enforced;
for fear that Muslims could be led astray.
“Using religious symbols like crosses,
lighting candles, putting up Christmas trees, singing religious songs, sending
Christmas greetings… are against Islamic faith,” imams said in sermons
published in the local press.
Punishment for violating the ban is a
five-year jail sentence, and the government warned last year that Muslims would
be committing an offence if they so much as wore hats or clothes that resemble
Santa Claus.
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