Legal Commentary

The War on Christmas

By Eugene Volokh

Minivan News (Independent News for the Maldives) reports:

Management at the Jade Bistro cafe ... have apologised to any Maldivians that may have been offended by a ?festive? lunch promotion offered over the Christmas period that has since attracted protests and the attention of police in the capital.

The offer was criticised as a Christmas celebration by religious groups like the Adhaalath Party and the Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM), which have both praised local police for yesterday stopping the promotion at the café.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that officers had been sent to the cafe after complaints were received from a member of the public about the incident.

?The place was decorated for Christmas with items related to the celebration, police arrested one person from the cafe to clarify more information about the case. They were also released last night,?? said Shiyam....

[T]he leader of Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Hussein Rasheed, said that celebrating Christmas was unlawful and that it was a responsibility of the police to stop those events....

IFM President Ibrahim Fauzy added that it was prohibited in Islam to allow non-Muslims celebrate their holidays in places where Muslims live.
?It is unconstitutional and prohibited by many laws at the same time,? said Fauzy....

Thanks to Religion Clause for the pointer.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on December 30, 2010 (boomark / email).