Indonesian Islamists threaten crackdown on Muslims wearing Christmas garb

From the Straits Times

JAKARTA: Indonesian police appealed on Thursday for tolerance and respect for other people’s religious celebrations after an Islamist group threatened to raid businesses to check for Muslims being forced to wear Santa Claus hats or other Christmas garb.

The hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) said this week it would conduct “sweeping operations” in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, and that forcing Muslims to wear Christmas attire was a violation of their human rights.

The FPI said it aimed to enforce a fatwa, or decree, issued by Indonesia’s Islamic Clerical Council in 2016 prohibiting business owners from forcing employees to wear Christmas clothing.

“We will raid businesses in anticipation of them being stubborn about this and we will be accompanied by police,” said Novel Bakmukmin, head of the FPI’s Jakarta chapter.

The Islamic Clerical Council’s decrees are not legally binding but serve as guidelines for Indonesian Muslims.

Christmas is widely celebrated across Indonesia and holiday decorations are ubiquitous, especially at shops, restaurants and malls where many enthusiastic workers – even Muslims – don Santa hats or elf costumes.

The FPI built its reputation with raids on restaurants and bars serving alcohol during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

In recent years, it has turned its attention to Christian celebrations.

The group has also said it wants the Jakarta city government to stop sponsoring New Year celebrations, which attract many thousands of people.

Attacks on churches in Jakarta and elsewhere on Christmas Eve in 2000, killed nearly 20 people. Ever since, authorities have stepped up security at churches and tourist spots for the holiday

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One Response

  1. Interestingly, at precisely the same time as pious sharia-observant Muslims tell other less-observant Muslims not to wear Santa hats, etc, *other* Mohammedans, in order to wage a propaganda jihad against the Jews, deliberately *don* Santa Claus costumes, when engaged in attacking IDF soldiers and other Jewish law enforcement, in and around Bethlehem (which our mainstream media would NEVER dare to describe, ever, as “Bethelehem the City of David, in historic Judaea” nor would they ever explain that its name is not Arabic but, rather, Hebrew, meaning “House of Bread”, nor will they explain that very close to Bethlehem is the location of Rachel’s tomb, and that any Jews who try to visit there have to go under armed guard because otherwise the mohammedans will attack them).
    As reported by the Aussie ABC – “Palestinians [sic] dressed as Santa Claus clash with [sic: ATTACK] Israeli forces in Bethlehem’. ‘Palestinian protestors, some festively dressed as Santa Claus, have clashed with Israeli security forces…resident of Bethleehemm Mohammed al-lahham said the Santa costumes were worn to send a message to Palestinian [sic] children…”.
    In other words: sharia forbids the wearing of Santa Claus costumes or anything else redolent of non-Islamic history, customs or beliefs UNLESS the wearing of such a costume is expedient for propaganda purposes and furtherance of Jihad. So with equal faciity pious Muslims in Indonesia will forbid the wearing of a Santa hat, whereas Muslims waging propaganda – and actual,military – jihad against Israel will put on a Santa hat to feed the prejudices of non-Muslim Jewhaters and encourage them to side with the Jihad….
    Well did David Hume observe, centuries ago, the prominence of expediency in what passed for mohammedan morality…

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