By Maira Butt
Christmas is here and although it is a deeply significant Christian festival commemorating the birth of Jesus, people of all faiths and none also find meaning in the traditions.
The giving of gifts and sharing of meals with friends, family and neighbours, embodying the Christian spirit of generosity, has been easily adopted.
For British Muslims, although not celebrating Christmas in the same way as Christians, they do honour Jesus as a prophet. In Islam, Jesus is known as Isa (peace be upon him). Imam Adil Tagari, of Preston Mosque, says that the overlaps between the faiths can come as a shock to Christians.
“Most people are actually quite surprised and often Christians find the similarities jaw-dropping,” he tells the Religion Media Centre.
“For the most part, we do agree on many points, like Jesus being a prophet of God, Jesus being an Israelite, and a lot of Jesus’ teachings as well.
“At the mosque last year, I actually quoted some passages from the Gospel of Mark and some people could have mistaken them for verses of the Qur’an because the teachings are very, very similar”.
Muslims believe that Jesus was the son of a virgin woman, Mary, who is known as Maryam in the Qur’anic scripture. They accept Jesus as a Prophet, his second coming at the end of time and the vast majority teaching drawn from his life.
“But there are some points of departure and these are quite theologically consequential”, Imam Tagari said. These include the idea of the Holy Trinity, where God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which is incompatible with Islamic teaching.
This means that Muslims, like most other religious faiths, do not believe in celebrating the religious festivals of other traditions, as it is seen as paying homage to some beliefs that may be considered blasphemous. For Muslims, observing the Christian celebration of Christmas is “haram” – forbidden.
However, many British Muslim families have adopted the traditional customs, in a way that is in keeping with their faith.
Dr Azim Ahmed, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Wales, paints a picture of British Muslim families adopting some Christmas traditions, while keeping clear boundaries of anything that would suggest an honouring of the story about the birth of Jesus.
He says it’s common for families to have a family meal, and in order to avoid accusations that this is a Christmas celebration, they might avoid cooking a roast. A smaller number might decorate their homes. They may send cards of “Season’s Greetings” and offer gifts to their neighbours and colleagues.
For children, there are more situations to navigate, for example in nativity plays in schools, Muslim children would not play a part related to the story of the birth of Jesus. Dr Azim says teachers are adept and experienced at this now, out of respect.
The name and role of Father Christmas is however, not encouraged in a Muslim family. Make believe is contrary to the ethos of Islam.
With long Christmas and New Year holidays, mosques sometimes put on lecture series or events lasting several days with overnight stays, so that the community can enrich its own spiritual practices.
Like any other holiday, it’s a time for gathering. Salma Hanif, aged 30, a project manager at a local council says she spends a lot of quality time with family and friends:
“We spend time watching films like Harry Potter, Home Alone 1 and 2, the classics. Then we do have a traditional roast dinner, obviously with a Pakistani twist on it, the chicken and the meats are usually tandoori chicken, and lots of spices.
“But my brother always makes sure that everyone has at least one brussel sprout.
“We spend our time relaxing, playing board games and having snacks, and lots of desserts. That’s how we spend our day.”
Media producer Saba Zaman has a similar family story. They have an annual tradition of gathering at home, eating a Christmas dinner with chicken or lamb – though not turkey, out of choice – with all the trimmings. They watch the King’s speech together. The children watch family TV, chocolates are eaten all afternoon.
She says that because Jesus is a prophet in Islam, the season does hold some value to them, and his place is remembered. Many Muslims also give back to the community over the Christmas bank holidays, helping at homeless shelters or cooking meals for people on the streets.
Saba says it’s a festive time of the year and people make an effort with each other. She perhaps pushes the boundaries more than most – she and her friends once attended the Mayor of London’s carol service at Southwark Cathedral.
But there’s a warning of adopting the customs too much. Samia Chowdhury, aged 38, says: “Me and my family don’t really celebrate Christmas at all. In previous years we used to do big dinners and invite other family and relatives around, there’d be a roast dinner and things like that.
“In recent years I found that a lot of children in my family, and older siblings put a lot more focus and attention on the festivities surrounding Christmas and not on Eid and Ramadan. So I focus more on making those festive.
“This year, we’re not going to do anything, but we’ve decided we fancy some seafood so we’re all getting together. But that’s it, no presents, no tree, no pyjamas or Christmas movies “.
This boundary of religious observance is keenly considered. Imam Adil Tagari says celebrating religious festivals of other traditions “would be like a Liverpool fan standing in the Manchester City stands. Each religion thinks they have the truth and they are loyal to that.
“There isn’t anything confrontational or aggressive about it. There is an ayah (verse) in the Qur’an, ‘Lakum deenukum waliya deen’, which translates to ‘For you is your religion, and for me is my religion [Qur’an 109:6]’.
“We believe in letting people practice their faith and being left to practice ours.”
