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I really didn't want to speak on the whole "is it ok to wish someone merry Christmas?" discourse here that people were having in the past few days.
But things were seemingly calm but then once again picked up so I'm just going to put forth my opinion.
But things were seemingly calm but then once again picked up so I'm just going to put forth my opinion.
I'll break down my explanation into (#) parts for easier reading.
1) Societal Courtesy
Generally, when a non-muslim wishes you Eid Mubarak or Ramadan Kareem, they're doing it out of courtesy because that's what you do when you live in a civilized and diverse society.
Generally, when a non-muslim wishes you Eid Mubarak or Ramadan Kareem, they're doing it out of courtesy because that's what you do when you live in a civilized and diverse society.
You wish people on their festivals to make them feel a part of the community.
Does this mean the person has all of a sudden accepted the foundation of Eid and have automatically accepted Islam?
No, of course not. That's a ridiculous line of thought.
Does this mean the person has all of a sudden accepted the foundation of Eid and have automatically accepted Islam?
No, of course not. That's a ridiculous line of thought.
Similarly, when you wish someone a merry Christmas, it doesn't meant you've suddenly accepted that Jesus was the son of God and you're partaking in their festivities.
Nor does it mean that you're giving approval to the foundation of Christmas.
Nor does it mean that you're giving approval to the foundation of Christmas.
When I'm leaving my house and my neighbor looks over and says, "merry Christmas bud!", I'm going to wish him a merry Christmas back because that's what you do in a civilized society.
It doesn't mean that you've all of a sudden accepted christianity.
It doesn't mean that you've all of a sudden accepted christianity.
It just means that you acknowledge that you're living among people of other faiths and you encourage harmony through small courtesies like this.
It's a net positive.
It's a net positive.
2) Convenient faith
Whether you like it or not, the strength of you faith is also dependant on how convenient it is for you.
Whether you like it or not, the strength of you faith is also dependant on how convenient it is for you.
Most of the people here talking about the rigidity of their faith upon which they've based their arguments would fail a lot of other tests of faith.
They've probably bought the phone on which they tweet from the money in their bank account which is accruing interest as we speak.
They've probably bought the phone on which they tweet from the money in their bank account which is accruing interest as we speak.
So much for the strength of your faith.
And after tweeting, they probably go back to watching Netflix or listening to music.
So much for the strength of your faith.
And after tweeting, they probably go back to watching Netflix or listening to music.
So much for the strength of your faith.
It's probably convenient for you to take this rigid stance on Twitter but not convenient for you to have your money in a bank a/c that doesn't accrue interest.
You shake hands with your non-mahram colleagues because it's more convenient than having to explain why you shouldn't to your entire office.
You make these choices based on what's convenient for you and also make stances based on that.
You make these choices based on what's convenient for you and also make stances based on that.
I'm not perfect in my faith, far from it actually but I at least live in reality where I'm able to accept this fact about how we all pick and choose what works best for us based on what's most convenient for us.
3) Cultural Significance
If you live in the west, Christmas is far more of a cultural festival than a religious one. You'll see it everywhere. Literally everywhere.
The entire country is lit up. Literally and metaphorically.
If you live in the west, Christmas is far more of a cultural festival than a religious one. You'll see it everywhere. Literally everywhere.
The entire country is lit up. Literally and metaphorically.
Anything short of actually going to church on Christmas day is all baked into the culture.
You're surrounded by ppl everywhere that are wishing you a merry Christmas and you wish it back to them.
If you haven't experienced cultural holidays, thn this wouldn't make sense to you.
You're surrounded by ppl everywhere that are wishing you a merry Christmas and you wish it back to them.
If you haven't experienced cultural holidays, thn this wouldn't make sense to you.
4) Find something actually worthwhile to outrage about.
This one's self explanatory and I don't want to sound like a preacher. I'm going to assume everyone knows exactly what I'm talking about here.
This one's self explanatory and I don't want to sound like a preacher. I'm going to assume everyone knows exactly what I'm talking about here.
That being said, I'm not really looking to debate on this topic.
These are just my thoughts on the whole discourse. Take it for what it's worth. Or not. It's still up to you.
These are just my thoughts on the whole discourse. Take it for what it's worth. Or not. It's still up to you.
