International shipping for religious items, what’s banned in which country?

Some religious items face country-level import restrictions and the Magento checkout has to enforce them or you get expensive customs returns.

• Saudi Arabia: Bibles, crosses, statues of Hindu deities, Buddhist statues, and most non-Islamic religious items are banned for import. Even single-copy personal-use shipments get seized.
• China: Tibetan Buddhist items (Dalai Lama imagery, certain mantras) face restrictions. Religious literature in general is screened.
• UAE / Qatar / Kuwait: generally allow non-Islamic religious items for expat communities but Bibles in Arabic translation, Christian evangelistic material, and certain Christian symbols are restricted.
• India: kirpans (Sikh ceremonial sword) face length/blade restrictions in air-shipping; some Tibetan items face customs scrutiny.
• EU + US + UK + Canada + Australia: generally open, but kirpans face airline carry-on bans (must ship checked / freight).

Magento implementation: shipping-restriction rules per product attribute × destination country. At checkout, if cart contains a restricted SKU and the shipping address triggers the rule, the order is blocked with a clear customer-facing explanation. Customer-facing copy must be respectful, not judgmental, this is a regulatory limitation, not a moral one. Compliance lookup is a job for the merchant + a customs broker, but Magento enforces what they tell you.