- 9. Somalia
Somalia banned Christmas in 2013 when a directive from the Ministry of Justice and Religious Affairs stated that no Christian festivals could be held in Somalia.
Sheikh Ali Dhere, the country’s director of religious matters, called a press conference a week before Christmas to make the announcement.
“WE ALERT FELLOW MUSLIMS IN SOMALIA THAT SOME FESTIVITIES TO MARK CHRISTIAN DAYS WILL TAKE PLACE AROUND THE WORLD IN THIS WEEK. IT IS PROHIBITED TO CELEBRATE THOSE DAYS IN THIS COUNTRY,” HE SAID.
It was the first time that the Somali government had banned Christmas since the country’s government collapsed in 1991. In 2015, the government in Mogadishu went further, banning New Year’s Eve celebrations and ordering the police and army to disperse any celebrations it found.
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