Free Republic

The government of Somalia has issued a ban on Christmas and New Year's celebrations in the Muslim country, saying the festivities "have nothing to do with Islam." "We warn against celebration of Christmas, which is only for Christians," Sheikh Mohamed Kheyrow, director of Somalia’s ministry of religion, said on state radio. "This is a matter of faith. The Christmas holiday and its drum beatings have nothing to with Islam." He said the ministry has sent letters to the police, national security intelligence and officials in the capital Mogadishu instructing them to "prevent Christmas celebrations." The announcement had echoes of Islamist...

Brunei, Somalia and Tajikistan ban Christmas In yet another sign of increasing Islamist intolerance around the world, the celebration of Christmas has come under attack in at least three countries this year: Following in the footsteps of the English Puritans who banned Christmas in the Middle Ages, Brunei, Somalia and Tajikistan are now clamping down on the Christian festival. Now, the announcement from Somalia, which is struggling to get back on its feet after decades of civil war, is possibly the least surprising. The country is officially under sharia'h law; it has almost no native Christians; and Islamist militants still...

Shelby County Schools' newest board member, Fred Johnson, wants to change "Christmas Break" to "Winter Break" on the school calendar. "I want to make it inclusive of every religious group," he said. Johnson's unexpected declaration, during a recent discussion of the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school calendars, did not sit well with all board members. "This is America. Since Day One, we've recognized Christmas as Christmas and Christmas Break as Christmas Break," said board member Joe Clayton, who said he would never support a change of the wording. The two-week break between December and January has captured the board's attention before....

Now that December has finally rolled around again, the time has come for all of us to take a few moments out of our busy, workaday lives and thank the American Civil Liberties Union for all it does throughout the year on behalf of each and every U.S. citizen. After all, if it weren't for the unyielding efforts of ACLU lawyers, there's no telling how many school children this year would have been forced by their teachers to grapple with unsavory concepts like personal responsibility, religious freedom, sexual abstinence, capitalism, parental rights, the sanctity of human life, and the dreaded...