Neither garlands and lights. The Sultanate of Brunei prohibits the holidays this year in the name of Sharia or Islamic law, applied in this oil-rich country in Southeast Asia.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the richest men in the world, announced last year the progressive introduction of Sharia law, including punishments such as stoning and amputations.
This month, the authorities of this country of 430,000 inhabitants, of which two thirds are Muslim, warned flatly prohibited remaining ornaments and Christmas celebrations because, in his opinion, could make Muslims astray. Breach of the guidelines is punishable by up to five years in prison.
"For me it will be the saddest Christmas ever", he told AFP a Malaysian expatriate who requested anonymity.
"The best Christmas day is to get up and have the feeling that it's Christmas," he adds.
The companies had to remove Christmas decorations and in the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, controls multiplied. The hotels where foreign tourists stay were without electric garlands without Christmas tree.
"All this just because we want the sultan," laments a Christian expatriate.
Most people are afraid to talk openly about this prohibition and try to adapt harm than good. "I'll work on Christmas after Mass. We must get used, "says a Filipino waitress contacted by phone.
Others have not hesitated to publish images of Christmas in social networks.
- Do not cross or candles
"This ban is ridiculous. Conveys the image of an Islam that does not respect the rights of other religions to celebrate their faith, "believes a Muslim who requested anonymity.
"He says Islam teaches us to respect each other, and I think it starts with respect for other religions."
Other Muslims include this prohibition as long as it applies to public places. Officials say the goal is to prevent the conversion of Muslims and religious leaders argue that the Christmas paraphernalia is contrary to Islam.
"In the Christmas celebrations, the Muslims who follow the precepts of the Christian religion-using symbols like the cross, lit candles, Christmas trees, and singing religious-act against the Islamic faith", declared this month Muslims responsible in a Friday prayers, according to the Borneo Bulletin.
The sultan, whose fortune is estimated at 20,000 million dollars, owns the Dorchester Collection hotel chain. The strict application of sharia caused last year called for a boycott of hotels owned.
Some Bruneians consider banning Christmas celebrations is dangerous to religious intolerance in Brunei, the only country in Southeast Asia to strictly implement the Sharia step.
"In the era of globalization, many countries are trying to unite different people and different religions, but does not seem to be the case here," he told AFP a foreign Catholic.
AFP