Posted on 12/31/2002 7:16:26 AM PST by Lorenb420
Muslim leaders across Canada yesterday denounced a Christmas Day message from a Toronto mosque that said wishing someone Merry Christmas is comparable to congratulating them for committing murder or engaging in adultery.
The message, sent via the e-mail message service of the Khalid Bin Al-Walid Mosque, equates celebrating the Christian Christmas holiday with activities that are against Islamic law, including murder, illicit sex and drinking alcohol.
The message also said Muslims who participate in the Christian celebration by extending their greetings imply support for Christianity.
Several Muslim leaders spoke out sternly against the message.
The Muslim leaders condemned the message for not only contradicting the teachings of Islam but for building walls between Muslims and Christians in Canada.
"It is a ridiculous statement and doesn't follow Islamic teaching. Whoever says this is saying it out of ignorance of his or her own religion," said Mohamed Elmasry, national president of the Canadian Islamic Congress.
Dr. Elmasry said extending Christmas greetings to Christians is not only the polite and neighbourly thing to do but is completely appropriate within Islam.
"We might inform others that, although we don't celebrate Christmas, we would be happy to accept your invitation to a Christmas party at work or in the neighbourhood or to a family or friend's home," he said.
Iskandar Khan, spokesman for the British Columbia Muslim Association, said the statement does not represent the view of the vast majority of Muslims.
"That is an extreme statement. We disagree with the sentiment of the statement. Muslims, as a whole, do recognize the holidays of the other faith groups," Mr. Khan said.
Mahmoud Haddara, spokesman for the Muslim Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, said not only is it appropriate to extend Christmas greetings to Christians, he also opposes the movement to take Christian themes out of Christmas celebrations in Canada.
"These people [who wrote the message] are out to lunch. As Muslims, we appreciate Christmas is a Christian event and we wish our neighbours the best wishes for the event because it is part of the celebrations for their religion."
Dr. Elmasry said Islam allows followers to marry Jews and Christians and in Canada there are many multi-faith families, including his own.
"My wife used to be Roman Catholic and converted to Islam. My kids have uncles and aunts who are Christian and we wish them Happy Christmas and they also wish us Happy Eid [an Islamic holy day]," he said.
A spokesman for the Khalid Bin Al-Walid Mosque did not return phone calls yesterday. A spokesman for the mosque told a Toronto newspaper, however, that the e-mail was sent by a junior employee without approval from the leadership and that it does not represent the official position of the mosque.
The Khalid Bin Al-Walid Mosque was founded by the Somali Islamic Society of Canada, a charitable organization formed in 1990 to help Somali Muslims preserve their religious identity.
The organization purchased nearly an acre of land on Bethridge Road in Etobicoke in 1996 and built the mosque, which caters largely to Muslims with a Somali background.
Or merely running scared?
... "That is an extreme statement. We disagree with the sentiment of the statement. Muslims, as a whole, do recognize the holidays of the other faith groups," Mr. Khan said ...Like, say, Yom Kippur?
An interesting multi-faith marriage.
Isn't that big of him?
Either way, let's wish them all a Happy Rammalammadingdong.
"It is a ridiculous statement and doesn't follow Islamic teaching. Whoever says this is saying it out of ignorance of his or her own religion," said Mohamed Elmasry, national president of the Canadian Islamic Congress."
These are the kinds of statements we can appreciate hearing from "main stream" Muslims, if there is such a thing. This would be the first glimmer I have seen, if so.
The Quaran seems to say many things that contradict each other.
This is honestly the first time I have heard of a Muslim Cleric call for tolerance of any other religion.
An interesting multi-faith marriage.
I rarely read of such a marriage where the wife does not convert to Islam as a PRECONDITION to the marriage. The most important thing is that she breed more Muslims. Kinda crude but that's the level Islam operates on. Islam is about quantity not quality. 1.3 billion strong and growing is what they like to crow.
Orthodox Jewish men will do the same but how many Orthodox Jews are on this planet? 4 million?
Happy Hanna-Dan-a-Wanzaa-Mas!
This all inclusive greeting is the only culturally sensitive way to express felicitations of the season.
trek
Ofcourse! Don't forget the muslim fireworks of Yom Kipur war.
Too bad it took 15 months. Nevertheless, I encourage Muslims willing to live side-by-side with other faiths to stand up to terror supporting Islamists. If you can recapture your religion from them, the destruction of Islam will not be required.
Good luck!
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