It’s not the first country to ban Valentine’s Day on religious grounds and it probably won’t be the last. Pakistan has banned the love-celebrating holiday, which is generally recognised worldwide, for being un-Islamic.
The country’s Government has placed a ban on any public celebration or media coverage of Valentine’s Day in the coming days. The reason for the ban is that the holiday has nothing to do with the Islamic faith and its traditions. It is more of an excuse for corporations to make money selling festive products, which is more of a Christian and capitalist thing, so kind of the exact opposite of what Muslims strive for.
Still, it’s nice to celebrate love and relationships, no matter what Religion you subscribe to.
Islamabad High Court made the ruling
The Valentine’s Day ban was made by the Islamabad High Court. They attempted to ban the holiday last year, but ultimately failed. However, this year, they have found more success. Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain tells Muslims in his country not to celebrate, as the importation of Valentine’s Day merchandise from Western culture is a massive threat to the moral values of the Islamic faith.
According to President Hussain, “Valentine’s Day has no connection with our culture.” He says that the best course of action in dealing with the westernised holiday in a Muslim country is for it to be “avoided.” He said all this last year, but it’s taken them until this time around to successfully ban it in the country.
The court’s ruling officially bans Valentine’s Day in time for tomorrow, but to make it a full time thing to ban it indefinitely for future years, some other political figures in Pakistan (the chairman, the chief commissioner, the federal government, and the ministry) need to respond to the ruling sometime in the next ten days.
Muslims have always denounced Valentine’s Day
While religious groups have long denounced Valentine’s Day, it has been growing in popularity around Pakistan in recent years, prompting the government to take action against its threat to Muslim values, following a private petition that was brought to their attention which states that the holiday, instead of celebrating love like it claims, promotes immoral behaviour, indecency, and nudity, all of which are banned in the Muslim faith, and so must the holiday be banned in the nation of Pakistan.
