Halloween in Islamic Countries

News

Many Americans are endlessly curious about life in Islamic countries, which often seem very strict to us. We’re horrified by stories of “honor” killings, women being arrested for driving, and terrible things happening to pretty much anyone labeled “Satanic” by Islam.

Thus, it won’t be a surprise to know that Muslims not only do not celebrate Halloween, but it’s considered against the laws of Islam to acknowledge it in any way.

However, Halloween is celebrated by the U.S. military stationed in Islamic countries, and may also be celebrated privately among ex-pats living in the Middle East. Not only that, but certain, high-level Muslims don’t feel that all the rules of Islam apply to them—including rules forbidding Halloween.

Idolatry and Halloween

Halloween began as the Eve of Samhain, a Pagan holiday marking the beginning of winter and first day of the ancient New Year. Although this may not sound so evil, part of the Pagan belief was that spirits of the dead roamed around, and sacrifices were made to both the sun god and the lord of the dead.

Christians turned Samhain into the Feast of All Saints, but many of the original Pagan customs survived, and the resulting mash-up became the Halloween we know and love today (except without the slutty costumes.)

This history is a problem for Muslims. Because virtually all aspects of Halloween are based on paganism and Christianity, Islam considers it idolatry, and the Quran is clear on its ban of false idols. As one Muslim puts it, “Halloween honors Celtic and Roman gods. Islam is strictly monotheistic, and anything having to do with the worship of any other god besides the Most Holy One [ed. we assume he’s referring to Allah here] is out of the question.” And this guy lives in the U.S., so imagine how strict they are in certain Middle Eastern countries. All the evil nuances and subtext of Halloween don’t help, either.

Rules for non-Muslims

Though any participation in Halloween is verboten for Muslims, they actually do not consider it illegal for non-Muslims living in their countries—unless they catch you at it. If you were spending time in Pakistan, for example, it would be a terrible idea to dress up like, say, a sexy black cat (or even non-sexy Winnie the Pooh, for that matter) and go trick-or-treating at your Muslim neighbor’s house. Any imitation at all of the religious customs of others is an epic no-no in Islam, and in Islamic countries, imitation includes seeing them.

However, Muslims do recognize that non-Muslims practice different religions and customs (although they throw the word “infidel” around pretty liberally), and have specific rules set out for non-Muslims within an Islamic State. The rules state that non-Muslims will be tolerated (for a fee) as long as they never engage in any public display of other religions or, for that matter, any private display that a Muslim might witness. In other words, go ahead and have your Halloween party in Iran, but it better be behind closed doors, don’t invite any locals, and your guests need to wait until after they arrive to put on costumes (sexy tourist!) Blackout shades might be a good idea, too. And you’d better keep the music down.

Exceptions for princes

Among the royal family in Saudi Arabia, it seems to only be the “behind closed doors” part of the rules that’s important. Last year, Wikileaks published documents taken from the State Department, which not only described an underground Jeddah nightlife involving drugs, top-shelf alcohol, sex, and DJs, but also a raucous Halloween party at the mansion of a lesser Saudi prince. Costumes were worn under traditional Muslim robes (sexy harem girl!), which were then discarded once the guests were inside. Apparently the religious police don’t bother the royals, as long as they keep their sins under cover.

Military

American service members in the Middle East celebrate Halloween relatively openly, of course. Because who’s going to stop them? Even if we were able to win the wars there, however, don’t expect Halloween to ever be embraced in an Islamic country.

At least not where anyone can see it.