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Being Muslim On Christmas

By on December 24, 2014 in General, Loon-at-large

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Shahida Muhammad writes about her experiences with Christmas while growing up.

Being Muslim on Christmas

December 8, 2014  By Shahida Muhammad

“Now write a list of things you want from Santa,” my 3rd-grade teacher casually instructed as she handed out a sheet of paper for us to write on.

I saw it coming – another filler assignment to occupy our attention for at least an hour or so in the last few days before the holiday break.

“I don’t celebrate Christmas, can I have something else to do?”

I spent the next 30-minutes doodling on the back of a reef coloring sheet. My classmates were in disbelief.

“Dag, you don’t get nothing on Christmas? That’s crazy! I couldn’t be no Muzlim.”

“That’s ’cause she don’t believe in Jesus, she believes in Ola.”

“No and Santa doesn’t even have anything to do with …”  They weren’t tryna hear any of it. All the comebacks I had stored up over the years from being in this same exact situation fell on deaf ears. At 8-years-old, all they could process was the shock of me waking up on December 25th without any gifts waiting for me while I was purposely avoiding red and green crayons – I was done with the holiday hoopla at this point.

This was as broad as religious discussions got in my public school elementary classrooms. Year after year, I sat through Christmas plays, visits from Santa, and tree decorating activities. There was an occasional presentation on Kwanzaa, which usually only lasted a day and included a lackluster call-and-response of a few of the principles. I also remember learning a tidbit about Jewish dreidels and Hanukkah. Exposure pretty much stopped there.

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  • downwithpants

    Damn those cat holics those ungrateful drunk cats puking and pissin everywhere.

  • 1DrM

    I don’t know what source you’re using but I think you’ve confused the system of meaning here. What you’ve missed is that the Prophet Muhammed(s.a.w.) is the one who made the statement about 73 sects within Islam, in the same way the Christian and Jews divided themselves into squabbling and competing sects. The Prophet(s.a.w.) is predicting disunity and preemptively warning Muslims NOT to divide themselves into sects, innovate and distort in matters of religion or fall under the sway of charlatans posing as religious leaders eg – Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Elijah Poole, Louis Farakhan, Khawarij( eg- ISIS aka al-CIAda) etc. This Hadith complements Quran 6:157 which states :

    ”As for those who divide Their religion and break up Into sects, you have no part in them in the least: Their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did.”

    The Qur’an makes it clear that Islam is not a new religion, and that all nations and tribes were sent messengers(not merely one person) from the very beginning to proclaim the message, hence all the Prophets, and genuine believers predating Prophet Muhammed(s.a.w.)are considered Muslims.

    Quran 10:47 : “To every people (was sent) an apostle: when their apostle comes (before them), the matter will be judged between them with justice, and they will not be wronged.

    Just a few clarifications on the matter. This should help as well :

  • 1DrM

    I knew you were a disingenuous Christian, Mark. It didn’t take long for you to show your true colors. This is the best “response” you could come up with? Peddling a link to an unconfirmed story(a savage assault but not a terrorist attack) from a discredited extremist and terrorist site like “Jihadwatch,” says volumes about your beliefs. Are you proud of spreading propaganda from a site which played a key role in radicalizing Anders Breivik, the terrorist who massacred over 90 children?

    You’ve proven my point that you are a fundamentally dishonest person incapable of dialogue.

  • Mark
  • GaribaldiOfLoonwatch

    OK.

  • 1DrM

    I did not drag Ahmadis into the discussion, Shaharyar did. In fact the troll made it a point to OBSESS about them in every post to which I responded. I reiterate that they should be left alone to go about their business. Decades before the 1974 Lahore Declaration, many Muslim nations had already taken the initiative to declare the Ahmad cult outside the fold of Islam so it wasn’t something new or unique. As for Bhutto, even a broken clock is right twice a day and he did the right thing as did the Saudis in settling the matter. I’ve asked Ahmadis I’ve come across in the US why they won’t pray with us, and join the community. It’s very simple, their silent and mysterious “elders” in the shadows have forbidden them from interacting from Muslims. It’s because the Ahmadis, just like their “leader” declare takfir on Muslims.

    As for Qasim Amin, his article the troll linked to is full of the usual failed Ahmadi talking points, all of which have been refuted decades ago. I can appreciate his fight against Islamophobia but not his Ahmadi distortions against the Qur’an and Hadith. All one has to do is sit down and go through their source material, much of it in Urdu. Bottom line : the Ahmadis can do their thing, but not pretend to be Muslims and chastise us for not accepting them.
    Enjoy this video “debate”(including Tarek Fatah dressing up in burqa):

  • downwithpants

    I read there are 72 sects of Islam?!? Wow once again humbled by what I don’t know. all of which rejected Ahmadis they’re either doing something wrong or something right. …I don’t care to speculate. Not my place from an islamic perspective. From an outsider looking in (which has no meaning or merit to your religion) seems like the newest remix from everyone’s favorite ghost writer Notorious G.O.D .
    Not because I don’t believe in God but why would someone who can be everywhere at the same time choose one person to proclaim for the message? Especially now with telemarketing? Sorry just internal thoughts coming out.. now I know this will probably start a fight though it was just my own musings on a complex subject.that I already know could not even fathom the m.o of a God.

  • Jekyll

    The secular turds won’t understand that…they want everyone to to be included into what that everyone wants to be included in. There is NO questions Ahamdis are NOT MUSLIMS.
    I condemn any violence against them and I would not call them a cult, but again they are not Muslims.

  • downwithpants

    Way ahead of you 😉 Thanks for the link.

  • GaribaldiOfLoonwatch

    Alternatively you can read up on what they have to say about themselves and make your own conclusions: http://www.alislam.org/

  • Razainc_aka_BigBoss

    As MichaelElwood has already pointed out “Your amusing use of psychobabble ” was an easy target. But we are different people the reason we used similar points

  • GaribaldiOfLoonwatch

    I’ve read through this thread and while you outed this individual as a Harry’s Place poser playing Muslim reformist, there wasn’t a need for a convo about Ahmedis on this thread, especially the way it has degenerated.

    I agree with Ilisha, theological disputes about who is and isn’t Muslim are fine but as you noted, they shouldn’t be harmed. However, this is exactly what has occurred because of the law of 74′ in Pakistan, lobbied for by Saudi petro-dollars. Strange that you would approve of a bill passed by a secular Muslim socialist like Zulfikar Bhutto! Just recently a poor Ahmedi farmer was brutally murdered. Groups in Pakistan and other places actively foment violence against them, I think you need to be equally as vociferous in your defense of their right to practice their beliefs without threat of violence as you are in your vituperative rhetoric against them.

    Also, Qasim Rashid, who is an Ahmedi, is a friend of LW, you may not agree with his theology but agree to disagree. Offensive insults his way will not be allowed and it will lead to deletion or banning.

  • GaribaldiOfLoonwatch

    Oh a commendation from the supposed reformed “former” White supremacist anti-Semite Adrian Morgan, that’s goes a long way towards establishing credibility.

  • Iekyll

    Dude, buy an Xbox, you’re missing out. We could play Battlefield 4 together! Perhaps co-op on Dark Souls 2.

  • Iekyll

    Ah OK. I think he was at your door to inform you that Islam is peace and all the usual kind of stuff.

  • Arry Ajalami

    I can’t really remember it that well now…I remember it saying a few things about Islam being peace, the usual kind of stuff. Can’t recall much else. I do remember the Ahmadi fella being short though, and I don’t know if it’s just coincidence but whenever I’ve seen pics of Ahmadis they’re all shortish too.

  • Iekyll

    DrM, I’d just like to point out (before he does), that the “Khabees Pakistani” dude is apparently an impersonator. Apparently it’s Munna Bhai MBBS
    http://www.loonwatch.com/2014/12/being-muslim-on-christmas/comment-page-2/#comment-1761776000

  • Iekyll

    Well then, could you tell me what that part said so I can tell you the reason why he was at your door? And no, I’ve never met an Ahmadi so I haven’t noticed that they’re quite short.

  • rookie

    “Are you in any way aware that ‘heliocentrism’ simply means ‘the earth
    revolves around the sun’, and that being an opponent of that (as this
    Grand Mufti was)…”.

    First, you claim “this Grand Mufti” believed earth was flat.
    Now, you claim something else…

    Are you aware that you are repeating the same nonsense just like any islamhater?
    That makes me doubt your claims concerning your IQ…or you are just another sicko…
    But, don`t worry, we have a doc here, he is an expert on patients like you

  • 1DrM

    It won’t start a fight as all agree that the Ahmadis are outside the fold of Islam. I believe they should be allowed to go about their business unmolested but when they pretend to be Muslims, we have the right challenge them and their deviant cult beliefs. I’ve always been taken aback by how theologically ignorant the average Ahmadi is referring all matters to their “elders,” with no interest in engaging the Muslim community.

  • OldBoris

    Are you in any way aware that ‘heliocentrism’ simply means ‘the earth revolves around the sun’, and that being an opponent of that (as this Grand Mufti was) means claiming that the sun revolves around the earth?

  • Jekyll

    Maybe he wanted be with you…or maybe he came in place of me, dressed as protestestant Jew.

  • OldBoris

    And yet despite all of that, there was a Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia in the 1990s who was an ardent opponent of heliocentrism.

    “You are islamophobe.”

    The fact that it took you so many months to find that out is more proof that Muslims, as well as those who like them, are weak-minded.

  • Capt. JB Hennessy

    “I would ask you again to refrain from talking about me when it has become abundantly clear that you know nothing of me”

    Well we know you are short and skinny and your penis is towering 5.2 inches when fully erect. Which would indicate your hate for Muslims is due to penis envy.

  • Capt. JB Hennessy

    “Then there was page after page on the ‘Islamic Golden Age’, and then page after page on how the Crusades were awful and all Christians, especially Catholics, were evil people who hated babies.”

    What were the names of those books?

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