BRUSSELS BANS CHRISTMAS TREES because they are offensive to Muslims

Who’s next? London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Dearborn? Until last year there was an annual Christmas tree standing in the center of the Grote Market in Brussels. Councillor Bianca Debaets regrets that this year the traditional Market tree will not be there. “I suspect that the reference to the Christian religion was the decisive factor,” she added.

CDL (h/t Don L)  The City has announced that there will be no tree at the Grote Markt this year.  It will be replaced by an exhibit of lights that looks like an Evergreen tree. Debaets is not happy with that decision as she sees Christmas being gradually replaced by “Winter Celebration’ terminology. “Not that the Christmas tree is a Christian religious symbol, but the tree obviously is a reference to Christmas itself, which is why it has been banished from the Market. And that’s a shame.

Debaets think a historical and multireligious city should keep the historical traditions alive while allowing all ideologies (even the violent ones like Islam?). “For a lot of people (Muslims) who are not Christians, the tree there is offensive to them,” she concluded.

“What’s next?” Debaets wondered. “Will all eggs be banned from the city because they are symbolic of  Easter? Is this what Brussels has become – a Muslim city? “Nicolas Dassonville, spokesman for Mayor Thielemans (PS), is claiming that the change had nothing to do with anti-religious motives.“ (HAH!)

UK Muslim groups are calling for Christmas to be banned: