Valentine's day "un-islamic"?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-as-not-part-of-islamic-culture-a6873226.html

Indonesia bans celebrating St Valentine's Day because it's 'not part of Islamic culture'



Officials and clerics in the world's most populous Muslim nation have banned Indonesians from celebrating Valentine's Day because they believe the observance runs against Islamic teachings.

In Banda Aceh, the capital of the devout Muslim province of Aceh, thousands of high school students held rallies rejecting the celebration of Valentine's Day.

The mayor, Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal, and officials joined Saturday's rallies which were held in four locations in the city's downtown area.

"The Valentine's Day celebration has become a culture," Illiza said.



The mayor added that the rallies were aimed at making young people aware that Valentine's Day is not part of Islamic culture.

St Valentine's Day is thought to have roots in a pagan fertility festival in ancient Rome, was further cemented by the death of a Christian martyr called St Valentine, with the idea coming to public consciousness through British literary giants Chaucer and Shakespeare.

The bans were imposed in many Indonesian cities. A similar rally by junior high school students was held in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city.



In Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, a noted Muslim youth group called Pemuda Muslimin Indonesia told Muslims in the province to stay away from the celebration.

The influential Indonesian Council of Clerics has repeatedly declared the 14 February celebration as an observance stemming from another faith, saying that celebrating it would be the same as promoting faiths other than Islam.

In Russia, meanwhile, the day has been banned before because, according to Grigory Bolotnov, a spokesperson at the governor's office, it is “not a Russian tradition and it doesn’t teach good moral values to Russian youth."

Nearly 90 percent of Indonesia's 265 million people are Muslim.

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...s-valentines-day-as-anti-muslim-a6873061.html

Valentine's Day condemned by Pakistan President because it has nothing to do with Muslims
Conservative religious groups ban shop keepers from selling flowers and cards in northern districts

Valentine's Day is a Western construct that clashes with Muslim culture, Pakistan's President has said as the country's religious groups try to ban celebrations.

Mamnoon Hussain, of the Pakistan Muslim League party, told students the day for red roses and love cards has no links to Pakistani culture and should not be celebrated.

“Valentine’s Day has no connection with our culture,” he said at an event on Friday in which he urged young people to “always maintain their religious and national identity,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Although Valentines's Day remains popular among many Pakistani, with street vendors selling flowers and ballons and restaurants offering special deals for two, religious groups have long denounced the day for romance as decadent.

Across the country, conservative religious groups such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, one of Pakistan’s largest Islamist parties, have called on people to celebrate "Modest Day".

In the northern Kohat district shop keepers have been banned from selling any Valentines flowers and cards.

The area is run by a religious political party and borders Pakistan's conservative tribal areas.

Furth north, Peshawar authorities decried the day as "useless" and voted to ban any Valentine's Day celebrations to stop young people from being misled by non-Muslims values.

But officials later told BBC Urdu the bans had been ignored by most of the local population.

"Valentine's Day has no legal grounds, and secondly it is against our religion, therefore it was banned," Kohat district administrator Maulana Niaz Muhammad told the BBC Urdu.

Conservative religious groups fear Valentine's Day could encourage obscene behaviour and see it as a festival of immorality, detriment to the tradition of the marriage and an assault on Muslim values.

Exchanging gifts and flowers is not perceived as a negative thing in Pakistan but they believe this should not be reserved to one day in the year.

 

It's one thing to personally not like it, and to think it's too commercialized and whatever. What do you think about Islamic governments banning it out of intolerance for what is perceived as "non-Islamic" by them?

 

Do Florida high schools also stone girls and homosexuals? Right in league?