Turkish and other regimes ban Christmas

This video is called 3 Hours of Christmas Music | Traditional Instrumental Christmas Songs Playlist | Piano & Orchestra.

Separation of church and state in the United States means that the government is not allowed to favour Christian holidays over Jewish, Islamic, Hindu etc. holidays. The United States religious right (including President-elect Donald Trump) often makes a fuss about that, calling it a supposed ‘war on Christmas’. By the way, the only time Christmas was really banned in what is now the USA was in Massachusetts, 1659-1681. A ban by Puritan Christians, not by atheists, Muslims or Jews.

Yet, one seldom hears these US conservatives about real ‘war-like’ measures by governments against people celebrating Christmas privately (as opposed to celebration by the government, as the US religious right wants); provided that these governments are NATO members or otherwise military allies.

Whether it is about the royal family of Saudi Arabia, allies in the war against the people of Yemen and in the regime change war in Syria, banning Christmas.

Or about the dictator of Tajikistan banning Christmas. He has banned Christmas trees and New Year celebrations as well.

This blog has blogged about dictator Rahmon of Tajikistan:

Under Rahmon, Tajikistan’s human rights abuses have grown. He has cracked down hard on political opponents as well as independent media. His security forces routinely use torture to obtain confessions, according to Human Rights Watch. They have also targeted lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, and cracked down on religious freedoms. …

The United States, though, considers Rahmon as vital to American interests in Afghanistan and preventing Islamic militancy and opium smuggling from spreading into Central Asia.

In late August [2015], Gen. Lloyd Austin III, head of U.S. Central Command, visited Rahmon in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, to discuss bilateral cooperation in counterterrorism and to fight the drug trade.

This blog has also blogged about the Brunei absolute monarchy:

As this blog reported, the absolute monarch of Brunei has banned Christmas.

The princely dynasty of Brunei are traditionally allies of the British empire. The present Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah was educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom. Like his father, he has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, of which Brunei was a protectorate until 1984. He holds an honorary commission in the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom as an Air Marshal. He is also an Honorary Admiral of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, a title given to him by Queen Elizabeth II when he took the salute at the passing out parade of the 2001 summer term at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, the Royal Navy’s officer-training school in the United Kingdom. He has an English residence at Binfield Manor in Berkshire. In 1962, a rebellion against absolute monarchy in Brunei was put down by British troops from Singapore.

In the same blog post, also about the warlord government of Somalia:

In Somalia it is prohibited from this year on to celebrate Christmas in public places. … “In our country Muslims should not celebrate Christmas“, said a government spokesman.

The security forces in Somalia are instructed to drive away large groups celebrating Christmas. For foreigners it is allowed to dwell on the Christian holidays, provided they do so in private.

There are few Christians living in the African country, which established sharia law in 2009. Somalia is after Brunei the second country to enact a ban on Christmas. In Brunei Muslims who celebrate Christmas face many years of imprisonment.

The Somali government consists of warlords, relying on military help from the United States Pentagon, British armed forces and other NATO countries, ever since the days of George W Bush.

Most recently, about the Erdogan regime in Turkey. Member of NATO. The boss of NATO has praised Erdogan’s military invasion of Syria. Translated from Dutch NOS TV:

German school in Istanbul not allowed to celebrate Christmas

Today, 09:52

The Turkish government has banned a German school in Istanbul from paying attention to Christmas. The school has received an email stating that nothing about the traditions of the Christian celebration is allowed to be taught about. Also, no Christmas carols may be sung at the school.

The school’s management sent the mail to the German news agency DPA. The school choir on Tuesday was also not allowed to participate in the traditional Christmas concert at the German consulate.

Secular

The German school is part of a major Turkish high school. The teachers of the German part are paid by German taxpayers’ money. The German part of the school has its own board, but that is subordinate to the board of the umbrella school.

The school in Istanbul is known as non-religious. Critics say it happens more often that secular schools are forced by the government to have an Islamic-conservative course.

According to DPA the German Ministry of Education did not want to react to the ban on celebrating Christmas.