Dignitary Enes Ljevakovic said in a statement issued on the web site of the Islamic Community in Bosnia that Santa Claus is directly linked with the Christian tradition and that, just as New Year celebrations, imposing these holidays is an attempt to "blur the truth and delude the public, notably Muslim children, by trying to surreptitiously introduce this Christian symbol as a neutral, acceptable and desirable model of behaviour".
He said that these holidays and tradition of gift-giving in December was imposed on the Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the totalitarian system, alluding to the Yugoslav Communist rule, and that Bosnian Muslims should therefore ignore them.
The dignitary went on to say that it is the right of every individual and family to accept the New Year holidays and Santa Claus, but added that they must assume responsibility according to Islamic tenets.
In 1996, then Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, who was a Bosnian Muslim leader, sparked off debates on whether Muslims should accept New Year festivities and Santa Claus, provoking criticism from those who said that his claims were an act of encroachment into the secular character of Bosnian society.