Calling it a "security" issue and arguing utility poles are not built to sustain their weight, the chief of the Swedish Transport Administration has banned Christmas lights from most towns this year.

But some critics believe it's actually an attempt at appease a growing Muslim population of immigrants.

The non-profit Barnabas Aid, which works with persecuted Christians, pointed out that while the head of the Transport Administration officially has claimed the lights are banned because "the poles are not designed for the weight of Christmas lights," that's never been a problem before.

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Author and blogger Pamela Geller wrote that "the argument that the lights are too heavy and pose a safety risk sounds like complete baloney."

"Swedes are being asked to believe that lights normally held up by tree branches are now too weighty to be supported by metal poles. ... This new rule has been instituted right after record numbers of Muslim migrants flooded into the country – just a coincidence I'm sure."

She contended the Christmas lights ban is "almost certainly an effort to avoid offending Muslim migrants who are causing chaos in cities like Malmo, where the firebombing of cars and businesses in or near Muslim ghetto 'no-go areas' is becoming a routine occurrence."

She noted some areas of Sweden are even "capitulating to returning ISIS terrorists by offering jihadists free driving licenses and housing benefits to help them 'reintegrate into the job market.'"

Barnabas Aid agreed.

"It appears more likely that the 'security' issues relate to the violence that Sweden has experienced this year from radical Islamists and is an attempt to appease them. If so, this is a very dangerous strategy. It directly follows the actions of oppressive countries in the Islamic world which seek to ban Christian celebrations."

Barnabas Aid noted last year it reported that Brunei, where 9 percent of the population are Christians "and which had only the previous year introduced Shariah enforcement, banned any public celebration of Christmas with the threat of five years' imprisonment for any violation.'

"This was followed a few days later by Somalia also banning Christmas. While even in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, the Palestinian Authority instructed Christians that there should be a 'certain decrease' in public celebration of Christmas."

The real problem, Barnabas Aid explained, isn't Christmas lights.

"This is the deliberate downplaying of the country's Christian heritage alongside a desire to avoid 'offending' the large number of Muslim migrants who have recently arrived in Sweden. Disturbingly, this policy has created a culture that attempts to silence those who speak about the persecution of Christians, particularly where it is driven by Islamic ideology.

"This is something which, as we have previously reported, even the Swedish state church has been guilty of. However, its most disturbing aspect has been the refusal of the Swedish government to even recognize, still less act to prevent, the widespread persecution of Christian refugees from the Middle East that is taking place in Swedish refugee shelters," the organization reported.

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