Somalia's government has banned the
celebration of Christmas, warning that such Christian festivities could
threaten the nation's Muslim faith.
"Those celebrations are not in any way related to Islam," an official at the religious affairs ministry said.
Security agencies have been directed to stay alert to stop any gatherings.
Foreigners
are free to mark the Christian holiday in their own homes, but hotels
and other public places have been prohibited from marking the day.
"Having
Muslims celebrate Christmas in Somalia is not the right thing, such
things are akin to the abandonment," local media quote Mohamed Kheyrow, a
top official at Somalia's justice and religious affairs ministry, as
saying.
Correspondents say as the country recovers from years of
civil war, a growing number of Somalis who grew up in the diaspora are
returning home, some of them bringing Western customs with them.
Christmas
is not widely celebrated in Somalia, which officially adopted Sharia in
2009, but the odd event was held - especially as an excuse to hold a
party.
Mogadishu's mayor, Yusuf Hussein Jimale, told the BBC that
such gatherings might also be a target for the Islamist al-Shabab group
that has targeted hotels in the city in the past.
Celebrations
will be allowed at UN compounds and bases for African Union
peacekeepers, who are in the country to back the government's fight
against the al-Qaeda-linked militants.
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