Read on Twitter
I saw this earlier and it’s been annoying me. I’ve just had a cup of coffee and I’m all good to go, so bear with me for what could be a big thread. Plus I will be putting my Muslim cap on for a bit. https://twitter.com/5ivehad/status/1342233791373443073
There’s so much wrong with this idea that Muslims shouldn’t celebrate Christmas and all sorts of excuses are provided by people who coat them in some vague religious explanation.
Firstly, yes. Christians do think that Jesus is God as well as the son of God. From a Muslim perspective this has always baffled and annoyed me, but I’m not going to convert anybody and nobody can ever convince me this is true.
But Christmas is essentially a celebration of the birth of Messiah. It’s probably on the wrong day, and probably heavily influenced by pre-Christian Northern European and Roman cults, but we have the same pagan residues in Islam so this can’t be a reason not to celebrate
Jesus is not God, nor the son of God, but the son of the Virgin Mary. Born in a stable to a family with nothing but the clothes on their backs. No riches. No powerful family name to protect him. Coming with a message to the world.
As Muslims we believe in the Holy Spirit too, it is the same Spirit that God breathed into Adam - Rouh Allah. The Shiites can helpfully point out that Ayatollah Khomeini’s first name was Ruhollah.
And when Khomeini was in exile in France before the revolution he saw his neighbours celebrating Christmas so he congratulated them. He said why shouldn’t we celebrate the birth of Jesus too?
And indeed why shouldn’t we. When the Prophet Muhammad saw that the Jews fasted the day of Ashoura to celebrate Moses and the Israelites being saved from Pharoah he fasted that day too.
The Prophet said, we are worthier of Moses than you. And putting aside the religious enmity for a second, it shows us that from an Islamic perspective we have *every* right to celebrate each and every prophet’s life as much as we do the Prophet Muhammad.
One could argue that the ossification of faith today spreads beyond just Muslims and Christians. Sunnis feel like they cannot celebrate Hassan and Hussain or Ali or Khidr because they have become Shia symbols. Or that the six pointed star is a Jewish symbol.
So today we find ourselves in a position where Muslims caricature themselves so that you can only be Muslim if you where a thowb or hijab. That you must ignore Christmas but then celebrate Eid like Christmas. That you should eat only the Islamic version of Kosher meat. And so on.
All of this misses the point utterly, which is that by celebrating Christmas you are also celebrating being Muslim. The first lines of the Quran in Surat al Baqara praises those who believe in the Prophet and those who came before him.
Does it matter that some of the people celebrating Christmas think he is God and the son of God, when as Muslims we know this not to be the case? And does it really shake our faith to the point where we should abandon the holiday entirely? And be rude to Muslims who celebrate it?
The answer is a very simple no. If you’re faith is simply a counterpoint to what other people believe, rather than acting as a vehicle for your personal salvation and happiness, then you are doing it wrong.
So a belated Merry Christmas to all. And I hope that we can all rediscover the universal human values and message behind the birth and life of Jesus 
