Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Malaysia's Islamic department on Friday launched a campaign aimed at discouraging Muslims from celebrating Valentine's Day, which they slammed as contravening Islamic practices, officials said.
The government-run Department of Islamic Affairs plans to kick off the campaign, called Mind the Valentine's Day Trap, with a talk aimed at reminding Muslim youths of the dangers of celebrating Valentine's Day, which falls on Monday.
The programme would also see officials distributing pamphlets at universities and other public places encouraging Muslims to "reject and totally ignore" the celebration, a department officer said.
Malaysia, which has a majority Muslim population, issued a fatwa, or religious decree, in 2005 banning the celebration of Valentine's Day for all Muslims. However, the ruling goes largely ignored every year.
The ruling said the celebration has Christian elements and the "practice is mixed with immoral acts contradictory and forbidden by Islam."
Student Suhaini Rahman, 23, said she and her boyfriend planned to celebrate Valentine's Day with dinner and a movie, saying she felt that the day was more an opportunity to express love for each other.
"The edict is unreasonable," she said. "Muslims are not going to be wayward just for celebrating a day of love."
While Malaysia's official religion is Islam, the government has long promoted the multicultural nation as a model of a modern, tolerant Islamic country.
However, minority groups have claimed that their rights have been increasingly eroded over the years by rising "Islamization."