A sharia committee in a rebel-held area of Syria has banned croissants, because the French delicacy allegedly violates Muslim morality and recalls the country’s painful colonial past. The fatwa against the manufacture, sale and consumption of croissants is in effect in rebel-controlled sections of the city Aleppo, where sharia committees had already made wearing tight clothes and make up a criminal offense for any Muslim woman. According to the fatwa, the iconic French pastry was originally created in Europe, and to this day made in a crescent shape, to celebrate Christian victories over Islam. The anti-croissant fatwa was issued by Aleppo clerics affiliated with the rebel Free Syrian Army. Traditionally, Aleppo is one of Syria’s most tolerant cities where a variety of faiths and ethnicities have lived together peacefully. Another recent fatwa issued in Aleppo mandated a year in jail for anyone not fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.