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Brunei bans Christmas, raided restaurants that put up decorations

Jan 10, 2015 8:09 pm By Robert Spencer

sultan of brunei“Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance.” — Barack Obama

“BORNEO SHOCK! After ‘hudud’, Brunei bans public celebration of Christmas,” Malaysia Chronicle, January 9, 2015:

KUALA LUMPUR – Officials in Brunei have banned the public celebration of the Christmas holiday, the country’s Religious Affairs Department confirmed yesterday after reports emerged that the authorities raided restaurants and other buildings that had put up holiday decorations.

The raids and crackdown on Christian symbols are said to be another sign of the eroding religious freedoms of non-Muslims in the oil-rich country.

Syariah enforcement officials confirmed they had visited restaurants and cafes in the nation’s capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, to instruct them to remove their decorations ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations.

A staff member at one location said enforcement staff came to the restaurant and verbally warned the management against exhibiting decorations that went against Islamic beliefs.

In May last year, Brunei, which has a population of around 420,000, two-thirds of whom are Malay-Muslim, began implementing a strict new penal code first published in October 2013, following an announcement by its ruling monarch, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

It imposed restrictions on the religious freedom of non-Muslims, including forms of religious expression such as teaching, proselytism, religious publishing and even speaking freely to Muslims and atheists about one’s own religious beliefs. Even minor infractions are punishable by heavy fines and in some cases prison sentences as well.

Islam has long been Brunei’s official religion, with strict bans on the sale and consumption of alcohol and Islamic laws in place governing personal and family affairs. But the new regulations grabbed headlines worldwide because they extended laws to cover criminal offences such as adultery, sodomy and apostasy, and proposed severe punishments, including stoning to death and amputation.

Thus far, it is not clear how the ban on Christmas decorations will be implemented, but religious authorities said “Muslims should be careful not to follow celebrations such as (Christmas) that are not in any way related to Islam … and could unknowingly damage the faith of Muslims”.

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Filed Under: Brunei, Islamic supremacism, Sharia Tagged With: Bandar Seri Begawan


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Comments

  1. particolor says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 8:17 pm

    That’s OK !! Tell Mr Clown Hat I wont be coming there for Christmas !! Come to think of it I wont be going there EVER !!

    • particolor says

      Jan 10, 2015 at 8:30 pm

      Besides They are wearing enough Decorations for My satisfaction anyhow !!

    • john spielman says

      Jan 11, 2015 at 11:17 am

      Just think what ISIS will do to his lovely monkey hat if /when ISIS takes over Brunei

  2. Angemon says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 8:17 pm

    Thus far, it is not clear how the ban on Christmas decorations will be implemented, but religious authorities said “Muslims should be careful not to follow celebrations such as (Christmas) that are not in any way related to Islam … and could unknowingly damage the faith of Muslims”.

    I’m sure Obama, Cameron and the rest of the dhimmi leaders will gladly explain to us how this has nothing to do with islam…

  3. DeusLoVult says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 8:18 pm

    “Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance.” — Barack Obama

    What he meant was Islam has a proud tradition of intolerance

  4. Champ says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 8:22 pm

    Bans Christmas? …of course since there’s NO FUN or FREEDOM within islam–got it!

    • Real says

      Jan 10, 2015 at 8:42 pm

      Proof that Sharia is:
      Slavery
      Hatered
      Inequality
      Terrorism

      • BC says

        Jan 11, 2015 at 6:56 am

        Stoning
        Hatred (of women)
        Amputation
        Repression
        Intolerance
        Abomination

  5. Bezelel says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 8:38 pm

    That Mr. Grinch is a strange one.

  6. DeusLoVult says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 8:39 pm

    Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance.” — Barack Obama

    What he meant was Islam has a proud tradition of intolerance

    • Matthieu Baudin says

      Jan 11, 2015 at 6:28 am

      Yes DeusLoVult, well said. Someone should ask the U.K. Prince of Wales for his opinion on this. Prince Charles likes to stay with the Sultan at his home from time to time.

      • DeusLoVult says

        Jan 11, 2015 at 1:07 pm

        What a shame. I always liked the Welsh. But I guess, like every other western government, they’re cowering in the face of the Islamic onslaught.

  7. Ayatrollah says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 8:44 pm

    South East Asia recognises the religion of truth.

    • umbra says

      Jan 11, 2015 at 7:08 am

      No. SE Asia already recognised the religious truth – for many decades. Only dhimmi Western press and perhaps some western leaders may start to realise the religious reality of the region.

  8. Don McKellar says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 8:50 pm

    The infamous Cairo speech of Barack Obama. The carnage, excuses, lies, mass murders, jihad, persecution, rapes, destructions of societies that followed across a whole region of the world will never be forgotten. The nightmarish fiasco that was the “Arab Spring”. And yet it still resonates!

  9. particolor says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 9:06 pm

    And now a Word from My sponsor The “Delusion of Peace “

  10. St. Croix says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 9:10 pm

    It would make a fascinating little book or slideshow. All these quips and quotes on Islam from Barak Obama, each one juxtaposed with one (or several) glaring instances of the evil Islamic reality depicting the opposite. Not being American, I had no idea he has said so many rubbishy and erroneous things re: Islam. Seems to be a real treasure trove of disinformation.

    • mortimer says

      Jan 10, 2015 at 10:07 pm

      That he is.

    • Godwin says

      Jan 11, 2015 at 12:32 am

      Evil Bad Hussain Obama is a great Muzzy charlatan. A disgusting fellow who always turns a blind eye to sufferings of the Christians in ME.

  11. Jen says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 9:59 pm

    Brunei feels like an Islamic place to me…Cold and stiff. I could feel the difference in atmosphere between this country and the neighbouring ones like the Philippines which is majority Catholic. I was sick with food poisoning or some kind of bug I picked up when I went there, and I was at the airport waiting for my flight out of Bandar. There were no seats left to sit on and because I was feeling ill, I wanted to lean on something, so I sat on the end of a baggage trolley. After a few minutes of sitting there, this Muslim woman who worked at the airport came and yanked the trolley from underneath me without saying anything to warn me. The cold, beady look in her eyes said it all…I was annoyed but too sick to say much other than “Can’t you let me sit on it? There are no seats left and I’m sick.” She ignored me of course…all in keeping with that proud tradition of tolerance. There were lots of other trolleys stacked on the side, so she didn’t really need to take that one away from me. I wonder if she would have been like that to a fellow Muslim woman. This Filipino man (Catholic presumably) who was also working at the airport, and saw me rushing to the bathroom and finally getting a vomit bag, felt bad for me and gave me his little bottle of scented stuff that is good for inhaling if you’re feeling unwell. Muslims are such paranoid people sometimes….After a seat became available, I went and sat on one; and then this elderly Muslim man sat next to me and asked a stream of questions about my sickness. He was satisfied when I showed him my medication from the doctor which I had visited the day before. Maybe he thought I was on drugs or something…Or the airport staff asked him to spy on me because there were these two airport workers who were watching us talking from a distance. Strange people…And the Muslim men are also creepy staring perverts there…As usual…Proud tradition of tolerance…

    • umbra says

      Jan 11, 2015 at 7:11 am

      brunei, a forsaken place.

  12. mortimer says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 10:03 pm

    Muslims have a right no one else has: the right not to be challenged to think of anything that is not Islamic.

    • Wanda Casamento says

      Jan 13, 2015 at 6:45 am

      I would agree only if,they’re are no Christian’s that are born and raised there,then that isn’t fair. Are they kicking the Christians out of their country??–Why would they decorate for Christmas if they’re weren’t any Christians??? and How about the children??? I guess if I were Christian I wouldn’t want to live their. Plus with the way ISIS cuts off heads and is very mean to Christians in general I would want to or have left a long time ago.

  13. El says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 10:08 pm

    The above is such a vile parasite, he keeps a horde of female salves, even western women, yet not a word is said!

  14. Jay Boo says

    Jan 10, 2015 at 10:16 pm

    RIDE WITH ME

    That woman who wanted to start a (Ride With Me) campaign might be more useful here riding alongside anyone in possession of unveiled Christmas decorations.

  15. Arthur says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 12:14 am

    According to Wikipedia:
    Brunei (pop. 415,717) gained its independence from the UK on January 1, 1984. It has wealth from petroleum and natural gas, and is ranked 5th in the world (by IMF) in per capita GDP and 5th richest nation in the world (by Forbes). The population is 2/3 Malay, 11% Chinese, with smaller indigenous/other groups. The religion is 2/3 Islam, 13% Buddhist, 10% Christian, and 7% freethinkers (essentially, atheist). The official national religion is Islam and it follows Sharia law. They have a defense agreement with the UK and the UK has a military base there.

    A rich, developed nation, but where will it be in 5 years? It seems like a Pacific island Saudi Arabia. It looks like 1/3 of its population is headed for persecution.

  16. Ralph Wigg says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 1:25 am

    I never realized that the Muslim faith was so fragile that the glimpse of a Christmas ornament could completely destroy it. Now I understand why they have all of these rules against cartoons; they’re a bunch of wusses.

  17. Salah says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 1:37 am

    Brunei under a True Muslim vs. Egypt under a Nominal Muslim.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/world/middleeast/egyptian-leader-visits-coptic-christmas-eve-service.html?_r=0

  18. Arjuna Krishna-Das says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 5:44 am

    “Muslims should be careful not to follow celebrations such as (Christmas) that are not in any way related to Islam … and could unknowingly damage the faith of Muslims”.

    The faith of Muslims must be pretty damn tenuous and fragile if it is threatened by bits of tinsel and Father Christmas dolls!!! LOL But we already knew that, didn’t we.

    “Yes, and that’s how I know he can be beaten, because he’s a fanatic. And the fanatic is always concealing a secret doubt.”
    George Smiley on Karla, in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carré

  19. Shazalakazoo says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 6:29 am

    Remind me again why the West continues to have diplomatic ties with this banana state?

  20. BC says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 7:02 am

    I was there in late 80s and early 90s and it was fairly liberal then, though the non Muslims were treated as second class citizens. You could see already how it was going. First they banned alcohol (smuggling began), then a big store was told not to put up their Santa display. Then all girls in school had to wear tudong,hair covering. The Sultan was great libertine in his youth. frequenting the fleshpots of Europe, but as he grows older and thinks about his prospects for paradise he is letting the clerics rule the roost.

  21. Christian A. Beltram says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 9:03 am

    The only so-called fun that the Sharia allows is the persecution, enslavement and murder of non-Muslims!

  22. Mike says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 9:08 am

    I was there on a cruise ship in December 2014. The Muslim tour guide said Sharia law is very fair, there had to be three witnesses to theft before the arm can be chopped off.

    The unfortunate Chinese souvenir seller at the wharf said business was terrible since the introduction of Sharia law, the number of flights and cruise ships arriving had dropped off dramatically.

    What a bunch of idiots the Muslims there are, if the country did not have oil, it would be a big zero.

  23. Ken Wortman says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 10:30 am

    Time for the Westerner world to outlaw the display of Muslim holidays. The war on Christianty has gone too far. Let’s squelch the Muslims voice as they are all moving towards being radical.

  24. Real says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 12:22 pm

    There are indeed punishments dictated by sharia for crimes.

    But the REAL issue is what sharia defines as crime, and thus what is punished harshly:
    1) getting raped: If you dont have 4 muslim male witness willing to testify you are charged with adultery and punished harshly.
    2) being non-muslim and refusing to pay jizya: if you do not want to be a slave (and that’s the intent of jizya…to extract all wealth above subsitance level, same as any slave owner does). If you don’t pay, or don’t convert to islam, you are punished with death.
    3) leaving islam: someone born to a muslim who excersizes free thought and concludes islam is false is punished with death…it is required under sharia.
    4) saying anything a muslim does not like: if a muslim does not like you or something you say, they shout blasphemy and you are to be executed under sharia.

    Listing 100 more ridiculous sharia-crimes the are punished harshly in islam will be no problem, but I would like you to explain the justice in these 4 first.

    If you can not, yet to persist in following islam then you are either stupid, evil, or a coward.
    You will have proven that…

    sharia is:

    Slavery
    Hatred
    Inequality
    Terrorism

  25. MTMLA says

    Jan 11, 2015 at 10:49 pm

    Didn’t Janet Jackson marry some supposedly rich guy from Brunei? Have you noticed she has disappeared from the news? I wonder if she is locked anywhere in the country and being punished for her past infractions, such as wardrobe malfunction, which resulted in exposure of one of her breats,.dressing unislamic in public, etc..and she’s black, no matter how much bleaching and plastic surgery, islam is racist against blacks. It never made sense to me why a free well-off western woman would marry a muslim man, no matter how rich he may be. Is Janet in a harem or working as a servant to the man’s other fair skin wives? What a fool.

  26. andy says

    Jan 12, 2015 at 2:27 am

    Please understand that islam is a very weak religion. A Twinkle twinkle little star and jingle bells could destroy their whole solid, strong faith. So, bans the christmas is the safer way to isolate their faith

  27. Kurt says

    Jan 12, 2015 at 7:19 am

    Queen of England to Clown of Brunei: Most (no adjective) people believe the Creator intentionally, deliberately designed children to be non-sexual. Was your god probably nodding and winking in approval then while your Mo was doinking the nine year old Aisha? Why no revelation to Mo from your god about porking Aisha? Probably no revelations to Mo because he never did have any intimate, friendly relationship with the Creator. All Mo’s revelations are concoctions, which you believe.”

    Clown of Brunei: You disrespect the Prophet, too?

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