Posted on 12/25/2006 9:38:25 AM PST by do the dhue
KUWAIT CITY — Is it religiously acceptable for Muslims to wish their Christian colleagues or acquaintances a Merry Christmas? In Kuwait, it depends on who you ask.
Days before the holiday that is not officially celebrated in this small oil-rich state, fundamentalists like Mohammed al-Kandari began urging fellow Muslims not to extend the greeting to Christians they know.
Al-Kandari, who heads the Society of Sharia, or Islamic law, told Al-Watan daily the celebration contradicted with Islam because Christians believe Jesus was the son of God.
The decline in tolerance of other faiths comes as political Islam is sharply increasing its presence in mainstream politics across the region.
Kuwait University political science teacher Ahmed al-Baghdadi said posters expressing sentiments similar to Al-Kandari's appeared around campus for several days. "It is dangerous because it means that the extremist movement feels stronger than before ...maybe in the future they will call for closing down (non-Muslim) places of worship."
Senior Shiite scholar Mohammed Baqer al-Mohri issued a statement saying Muslims can "congratulate their brethren the Christians" on Christmas and "show joy" on the occasion.
"Let all Christians in the world know that all Muslims love Jesus ... and his mother Mary," just like the holy Quran tells us to, al-Mohri said.
The government is fighting extremism with a campaign to spread "moderation" especially among young men, many of whom have adopted fundamentalist Islam and taken up arms in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
On Christmas Eve, Al-Watan columnist Nabil al-Fadhl urged officials leading the campaign to make a concrete gesture to Christians.
"It is a silly joke to try to preach moderation .... if you do nothing about those who fight Christmas and describe as infidel
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I like the soft pedal spin that FNC puts.
It is not "some" is ti s the 99.9% majority. The .01% never heard of Christmas.
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