Kuwaiti MP denounces celebrations of Christmas

From Al Arabiya:

Perhaps not so merry, a Kuwaiti MP has called for a crackdown on Christmas celebrations in the country saying the promotion of foreign occasions in the state amounted to a “mockery” of the Islamic culture.

Less than two months after slamming the sale of Halloween items as “signs of Satanism,” MP Hamdan al-Azmi stated that allowing Christmas to be celebrated in Kuwait was “offensive.

“Allowing activities that promote occasions that are strange to our Islamic society is ridiculous and an offence to our religious teachings,” he said in a statement made available to the press on Sunday.

He further urged the Deputy Premier Sheikh Mohammad al-Khalid al-Sabah to monitor activities in camps and chalets, claiming youths in the country were planning to host Christmas parties in those locations.

Al-Azmi added that celebrating such events was “inappropriate” in an Islamic state and cautioned the authorities to bar anyone from profiting from such activities, local media reported.

In October, the MP labeled the selling of Halloween items in Muslim countries a “travesty and mockery of our religious sensibilities.

“Such items ... are commonly known to be signs of Satanism,” the Kuwait Times newspaper reported him as saying.

“Allowing shops to continue selling these items is a stab at the Kuwaiti society’s identity, and we cannot accept this,” he added.

However, no action was taken by the relevant ministries and Kuwait continues to allow for the sale of products related to Christmas.