American Muslims Celebrating Christmas. Photo courtesy: qz.com

When I was growing up, I always wanted a Christmas tree in our family home but unfortunately for me, this was an idea my parents staunchly resisted. Once, I even offered to make a homemade one but my parents wouldn’t entertain the idea because “we were Muslim.”

We weren’t very strict Muslims, but we were practicing, and a Christmas tree was seen as a contradiction to our religious values back then. I wasn’t alone either; most of my Muslim friends have a similar story to tell. Fast forward years later, and the same parents are now gifting Christmas presents to their grandchildren.

…Although the “Christmas spirit” can be everywhere, the origins are not in a department store or in snowy Lapland, Finland. The origins are in the Middle East, a place with an ongoing horror story in dire need of the world’s humanitarian assistance. Maybe if Christmas wasn’t so devoid of this identity then my own Muslim parents wouldn’t have seen it solely as a Western cultural celebration, as unrelated to their Muslim background.

Religious literacy of Quranic narratives can help reduce a blindness amongst Muslims around commonalities that we share with others. This can enhance an openness to positively share Islam in a way that is relevant and can bring a fresh perspective to interfaith dialogue and bridge building.

The Islamic narrative of Jesus’ birth can anchor the well-known Christian one and reminds us that the Quran places Jesus and Mary beneath a “Christmas tree.” They are described in the Quran as a “token” or a “sign” for all peoples, so perhaps their embodiment of love and peace for all are Christmas presents to the world.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Click here for full story on Huffington Post.

Also read: Muslims love Jesus, too: 6 things you didn’t know about Jesus in Islam.

Also read: The magic and solidarity of celebrating Christmas in a 95%-Muslim country.

Also read: Iraq's Muslims celebrate Christmas in solidarity with Christians

The post The Little-Known Story Of The Islamic ‘Christmas Tree’ appeared first on SabrangIndia.

MEERUT: Hundreds of Facebook friends united to campaign against the blocking of the account of a social media activist for sharing an "objectionable" post.

Soon after Rajiv Tyagi, a Meerut-based ex-fighter pilot, received communication from Facebook that he had been blocked for a month for sharing an "anti-Hindu" post, a large number of his friends on the social media site swung into action, compelling Facebook's top management to look into the matter and unblock him less than 48 hours later.

The full report published on The Times of India may be read here.

The post ‘Liberal Friends’ Unite to get Ex-fighter Pilot and Modi Critic Unblocked on Facebook appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The RSS may not harm Islam in India, but it will certainly destroy Hinduism, Hindi poet Ashok Vajpeyi said on Thursday.

“Mahatma Gandhi had once said that all religions are true, but they are not perfect. Through this he is saying that each religion can learn from another religion. A nation which is called so diverse which has millions of gods and over 700 languages.

“Now they are saying that you are a traitor. So if I am a traitor let me say something. At present in India, I don’t know how Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will harm Islam, but it will certainly destroy Hinduism,” he said, delivering a public lecture on the occasion of the Constitution Day at the Gandhi Peace Foundation here.

A vociferous critic of the policies of the Narendra Modi-led central government, Vajpeyi has been under attack by the Sangh parivar for returning his Sahitya Akademi award to protest rising intolerance in the country.

Referring to the recent controversy over the statements made by Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, he said: “There is a difference between the nation and its government. The nation is larger than the government. Protesting against the government doesn’t mean one is protesting against the nation.”

Intellectuals and activists were present at the gathering to mark 66 years since the country’s constitution was adopted, and the present socio-economic political situation, democracy, existing inequalities and right to equality and justice were among the issues taken up. The event was organised by Jan Awaaz, a citizen’s platform created to highlight public concerns.

Among others who spoke were Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaising, activists Usha Ramanathan and Nikhil Dey and Delhi High Court’s former chief justice Rajinder Sachar.

(Ashok Vajpeyi is an Indian poet in Hindi, essayist, literary-cultural critic, apart from being a noted cultural and arts administrator, and a former civil servant.)
 

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