After coming under strong criticism from several Islamic groups, banners and billboards promoting a Halloween night event at an international school were reportedly taken down by the Seremban municipal council.
Sinar Harian reported
yesterday that the council had earlier approved the putting up of the
banners "without realising" the meaning of Halloween and the controversy
it could spark, and has now decided to take down all the promotional
materials.The four-hour Halloween celebration was slated to be held at an international school in Bandar Sri Sendayan on Oct 31, and had invited the general public to join the event.
Halloween is a festival traditionally observed in the West on Oct 31.
However several Islamic groups including Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) had reportedly protested, saying such a programme should never be organised because it is against Islamic culture.
The groups accused the holding of the event in a school as an attempt to spread "Western teachings" to children.
'What's the organisers' motives?' read the Sinar's front page headline.
According to the Malay daily, Isma also took issue with the organisers promoting the event in Bahasa Malaysia.
Last week conservative Islamists were up in arms over an event to help Muslims overcome the fear of dogs.
Earlier this month, they took issue with Carlsberg's billboards promoting its Oktoberfest celebration in Subang, Selangor.
Pro-government quarters even lashed out at non-Muslim Pakatan MPs for showing solidarity with the event by attending its opening.
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