Date
14/Dec/2006
Question
As-Salamu `alaykum. I have a lot of non-Muslim friends, and on Christmas day
I greet them or give them a Christmas card. To get to the point, I just try
to represent Islam as a peaceful religion and Muslims as kind and caring
people. So, can Muslims give their non-Muslim friends Christmas cards just
to be nice and show kindness as a Muslim? Or am I doing something wrong?
Topic
Interfaith Issues
Name of Counselor
AAI Editorial Staff
Answer
* This answer was kindly provided by Idris Tawfiq, a British writer who
became Muslim a few years ago. Previously, he was head of religious
education in different schools in the United Kingdom. Before embracing
Islam, he was a Roman Catholic priest. He now lives in Egypt.
Salam, Aiman.
Thank you very much for your question. It is something which many Muslims
ask themselves at this time of year. In answering it, we need to understand
what Christmas is about and we need to know where we, as Muslims, stand
towards others who celebrate it.
I, personally, have not the least problem in wishing anyone a Merry
Christmas, although I would seldom do so, but let us look at the matter
first, before drawing a conclusion.
In terms of celebrating feasts, it seems to me that Muslims have got the
balance right. Celebrating the two great feasts, `Eid Al-Fitr and `Eid
Al-Adha, means first of all going to the mosque early in the morning on the
day of the feast for the `Eid prayers. "Allahu Akbar," the imam begins, "God
is the Greatest."
When the prayers are finished, the assembled community disperses and
everyone goes home to celebrate the rest of the day with the family. A
lavish meal, if they can afford it, and new clothes for the children. That
is the essence of a Muslim feast.
Christmas, on the other hand, celebrated in December, is surrounded by so
much media hype that many of the shops have begun to display their Christmas
range from as early as October. After three months of "jingle bells,"
shoppers have had enough!
The pressure on parents each year to buy bigger and better toys for their
children is so great. Many have to borrow money to cope with the financial
burden Christmas brings. Similarly, even devout Christians find it a scandal
that obscene amounts of money are spent on food, drink, and Christmas
decorations when millions in the world are starving.
What, then, is Christmas about? The actual feast of Christmas, celebrated on
December 25 by most Christians and on January 7 by the Orthodox, remembers
the birth of Jesus (peace be upon him). In ancient times, December 25 was a
feast of the pagan sun god, celebrated in Europe in the depths of winter to
give hope that the cold, dark days of December would soon pass. The Churches
took over this date, although nowhere is it actually recorded when Jesus was
born.
The feast celebrates the belief that God sent His son into the world to
redeem it from the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, and Christmas is the time
when Jesus was born. That, in a nutshell, is what Christmas means. Whether
any of the people staggering around the streets drunk know this, is another
matter. Whether the shoppers, frantically clamoring for gifts of any kind to
give to relatives they hardly know, understand that this is what they are
celebrating is doubtful.
Most of the countries of Europe are nominally Christian and their
predominant tradition is a Christian one. Christmas, as a traditional part
of European and North American culture, is celebrated one way or another by
almost everyone in these countries, whether or not they are church-goers or
even believe in God.
During the Middle Ages, almost everyone went to church. Nowadays, the
majority do not. Nonetheless, Christmas has remained very much a part of
these societies. For most people, it has become a time to celebrate the love
of family and friends and to look back with fondness at happy memories of
childhood and to a time when people did, perhaps, pray and have some belief
in its power. This is one group.
The other group who celebrate Christmas are devout Christian believers. For
them it is a religious feast at the heart of their faith. The most important
part of the celebration for them is not the turkey or the mince pies, but
the religious service. Unfortunately for them, though, they are very much in
a minority, and their feast has been robbed from them by the salesmen and
the media.
Where, then, do Muslims stand in all of this? Clearly, as Muslims we do not
believe that Jesus was God's son, so there is nothing for us to celebrate.
That's why Christmas plays no part at all in the Muslim calendar.
In Muslim countries, for example, all the shops will be open as normal on 25
December and the majority of people, going about their everyday business,
would not even realize that this day is called Christmas Day at all. Their
lives would go on without any of the fuss associated with this day elsewhere
in the world. For this reason, Muslims would not decorate their homes,
schools, or offices with Christmas trees or fairy lights or hang cards
around the walls. Nor would they send cards to everyone they know, wishing
them a Merry Christmas.
There is yet another consideration, though, which is important at the
present time. In many countries, Muslims are at present under attack, either
physically or psychologically. Made to take the blame for terrorism,
ordinary Muslims are pointed at with suspicion, and their real motives
towards their country are questioned.
In such an atmosphere, there may be some who wish us a "Merry Christmas,"
not out of goodwill, but to provoke an argument or to embarrass us into
making a response we are not comfortable with. In such a situation, we can
politely decline to take the bait.
Muslims, however, are most respectful of what others believe and wish to
live on friendly terms with all their neighbors, whether they are Muslim or
not. In this context, returning the Christmas greetings of non-Muslim
friends does not present us with a problem.
Obviously, if we sent a card, it would not be a religious card with
Christian symbols, but rather some other symbol of the festive season. If
the people we are responding to are devout believers in the Christmas
message, we might send a greeting that says something like, "May God bless
you all as you celebrate your feast," out of respect for their religious
belief.
If they are, like the vast majority, simply celebrating what has become an
important social occasion, we can respond to a well-intentioned greeting
with a card that says something like "Compliments of the season" or
"Greetings," since neither they nor we are celebrating the religious
festival.
In such a context, even a card with a picture of a tree or some mistletoe or
a robin red-breast, and the greeting "Merry Christmas" is not really a
problem for either of us.
Going for drinks in the pub to celebrate is clearly out of the question.
Going to parties where alcohol is being consumed is not how Muslims behave.
However, if our non-Muslim neighbors invite us into their house for a piece
of Christmas cake or a mince pie, we can accept their invitation.
Christmas should not be allowed to become a time where Muslims are being
singled out as being unfriendly or not a part of the community. Indeed, we
should be seen by our neighbors as full of fun and quite comfortable living
with them. Let us not forget, though, to invite those same people to join us
in our own homes at the time of the `Eid or to join us for iftar during
Ramadan.
Showing our non-Muslim friends that Islam is a religion of peace and that we
are peaceful and kind people is, indeed, at the heart of how we should
behave. Peaceful and kind does not, of course, mean weak. We are not
offering Christmas greetings out of weakness because we are in a minority.
No, our greetings to our neighbors come from a strong and proud faith that
we are called to be Muslim.
Our actions throughout the year, not just at Christmas time, should show how
good Muslims behave and how we are faithful to prayer and dedicate all
things to the Mercy of Almighty Allah. Indeed, Christmas time is actually a
time for da`wah.
In a world which has lost all sense of God and which turns to alcohol and
consumerism to drown its sorrows, we can show that there is a better way and
that the way for all mankind to experience peace is not by kissing under the
mistletoe or visiting Santa Claus in his Grotto, but by embracing Islam. In
sha' Allah, even Christmas is a time for us to tell others about Islam.
I hope this answer is of help. Please keep in touch.
Salam
@maria.
