Christmas festival is just a day away and here is a shocking piece of information about a country where celebrating the festival is an offense and a fine of $20,000 or prison life of upto five years or both can be imposed for celebrating Christmas openly.
We are talking about Brunei, where 65 per cent of Population is Muslims. Christians and others can celebrate Christmas here but they must do it in private and moreover they have to first take permission from the concerned authorities. The Sultan of the Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, has banned open Christmas Celebrations in the country.
The ban on Christmas was introduced last year when Brunei adopted the penal code of Islamic sharia and included punishments like stoning and amputation. According to local Islamic religious leaders of Brunei, celebrating Christmas is equivalent to following another faith, which is prohibited in the country with the fear that Muslims might convert to Christianity.
Meanwhile, many on social media are opposing the ban.