Several UK police forces warn that celebrating Halloween may upset Muslims
Police warnings coincide with calls from associations and Islamic leaders not to celebrate Halloween
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Police forces in the United Kingdom have warned that Halloween celebrations may offend the religious or cultural beliefs of some neighbours. On the occasion of the 31 October celebration, British police and councils have distributed posters bearing the message “No trick or treat” so that residents can indicate they do not wish to receive children asking for sweets. According to The Independent, Leicestershire Police has justified these recommendations by recalling that some residents follow “religious or cultural beliefs that do not include Halloween” and has also asked to avoid homes that do not display decorations related to this festival.
Police and councils distribute posters
The warnings have been extended to various British localities. Swale Borough Council, in the county of Kent, has distributed posters in collaboration with Kent Police so that residents can indicate that they do not wish to take part in Halloween. Councillor Hannah Perkin has defended the initiative, reminding people that some families reject this celebration for religious reasons. The posters can be downloaded from the internet and are also distributed free of charge at municipal offices.
The Leicestershire Police has also distributed posters that allow people to identify the homes where visits are welcome and those where they are not. In some areas, officers recommend that children only knock on the doors of houses that have explicitly indicated they are taking part in the celebration. Meanwhile, the Oadby and Wigston police have justified these instructions with the aim of maintaining communities that are “safe, respectful and inclusive”.
In this way, the British authorities have incorporated respect for religious and cultural beliefs into the official discourse on how Halloween should be celebrated. A popular celebration in which children dress up and ask neighbours for sweets thus becomes the subject of police warnings about inclusion and religious sensitivities.
Neighbours who “fight their own demons”
In Buckinghamshire, the county council has warned that some neighbours may not want to receive children asking for sweets because they are “fighting their own demons”. Authorities recommend not knocking too loudly on doors, avoiding homes without Halloween decorations and respecting signs indicating that they do not wish to take part in the celebration. They also advise replacing traditional pumpkin candles with battery-powered lights and avoiding pranks that could prove dangerous.
For its part, the Metropolitan Police of London has warned that Halloween, despite being a day of “harmless family fun” for some, can become a “moment of fear” for many residents of the capital. These recommendations join those of other British police forces, which are appealing to safety, respect and inclusion by asking citizens to moderate a popular tradition such as going out in costume to ask for sweets.
Muslim leaders ban Halloween
Several Islamic leaders openly reject Halloween and call on Muslims not to take part in this celebration. In the United Kingdom, the Muslim preacher Shaykha Barkatulla has declared that “Muslims cannot celebrate Halloween in any way because of its pagan origins and its non-Islamic traditions”. She also considers it inadvisable to dress up, hollow out pumpkins or hand out sweets, because these activities represent participation in a celebration contrary to Islamic values. For its part, the religious portal IslamWeb states that “the celebration of Halloween is absolutely forbidden in Islam” and warns that even Muslims who stay at home and hand out sweets to children are participating in a forbidden celebration.
In Canada, the Islamic Association of Windsor has circulated a statement attributed to its imam which urges Muslim parents to reinforce their children’s religious identity so that they “do not feel the need to take part in non-Muslims’ celebrations”. The document states that “celebrating Halloween, decorating the home and giving gifts to children on this day are all forbidden acts that must be avoided”. The imam places particular emphasis on children aged six to ten, when he believes the sense of belonging is formed, and calls for them to be educated to reject practices that conflict with their Islamic identity.
The warnings from British police coincide with the explicit rejection of Halloween by certain Islamic leaders. Meanwhile, the authorities invoke inclusion, cultural diversity and respect for religious beliefs to issue instructions on how a popular festival rooted in British society should be celebrated. An inclusion that gives greater weight to religious objections than to the normality of shared traditions.
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