Christmas time at the Wafi Mall in Dubai

A Muslim Christmas?

Inside Islam: Dialogues and Debates, University of Wisconsin

December 25th was an an average day for the majority of the world’s Muslims, but for some, it signified Christmas along with its variety of associated meanings. Muslim beliefs related to Christmas and its celebration vary considerably–from a fun-loving holiday, to a dangerous heretical practice. The majority of the world’s Muslims don’t give the 25th of December much thought at all, but with increasing numbers of Muslims living in the predominately Christian West and Christians living in the predominately Muslim Middle East, it’s difficult not to have some kind of opinion or interpretation of Christmas.

View of the Christmas tree in Manger Square with the Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, 23 December 2012. – EPA/ABED HASHLAMOUN

A growing number of Muslims around the world see Christmas as an opportunity to display their love and generosity to family, friends, and work colleagues through gift giving. Christian reformist resistance to attaching religious significance to Christmas during the 17th Century encouraged its growth as a secular holiday. The subsequent commercialization of Christmas, especially in the US and Europe, opened the door for many Muslims to feel more included in the holiday. Many Muslim Americans see December 25th as a time to celebrate their American identity, joining a host of other non-Christians who celebrate the day.

But opinions on the degree of recognition and celebration of Christmas vary widely. While Christmas cheer gains steam among many Muslims living in the West, there are those, both in western and non-western countries, who see aspects of Christmas, or all its forms as bid’ah, or a religious innovation, forbidden in Islam. Some western Muslims contend that saying “Merry Christmas” is like saying “happy disbelief.” In response to other Muslims’ viewing this position as a lost opportunity to build community with their Christian neighbors, non-Christmas-observing Muslims suggest that neighborly love be enacted all the time, and not just once a year.

Interestingly, while debates over the religious appropriateness of singing Christmas carols, gift giving, and stories of Santa Clause heat up, the recognition of December 25th is anything but new in many majority-Muslim countries. Honoring the birth of Jesus–the second of three prophetic messengers in Islam–has been a tradition for hundreds of years among some Muslims living in the Levant (Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon). In Iran, where hundreds of thousands of Christians live, the celebration of Christmas is commonplace for even non-Christian residents of Tehran. An Iranian Christian pastor recently suggested that “Iranian Muslims have put Jesus back in Christmas.” A few years ago, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad even sent an open message to the world’s Christians and congratulated them on the birthday of  the “messenger of love and friendship.”

But some Christians see the recognition of Jesus’ birthday and celebrations of Christmas by Muslims as disingenuous. One listener during our recent Inside Islam Radio Show, The Muslim Jesus, suggested that Muslims talk about Jesus in order to placate Christians. While that may be true for some Muslims, it is clear that there are a variety of ways that people around the world recognize and celebrate Christmas.

by Ilisha

These days it seems even kooky conspiracy theories have gone mutliculti.

Recently a visitor left a comment assuring us he’s not too worried about “the Mooslems” in America, but only because the real problem is the alleged “Mestizo threat,” which is apparently being facilitated by “the Joos,” who are somehow responsible for our “open borders.” Just to be sure we’re clear on his equal-opportunity bigotry, he added that it’s Europe that has the “Mooslem problem.”

Mudéjar-Style Building (aka Mooslamic Architecture Jihad)

Although many bigots seem especially concerned about Mexican Mestizo-Hispanic types taking over the country, a recent report from the Pew Research Center suggests the wave of Mexican immigration to the US has come to a halt, and in fact, the Mexican population in the US is actually decreasing. As it turns out, immigration seems to be influenced largely by economics and labor markets, and not some cabal of puppet masters from a certain religious or ethnic group. But why let facts stand in the way of a juicy, hate-filled conspiracy theory?

Now equal opportunity bigots in America have two contenders for Most Scary Diabolical Plot:  The Left-Islamist Stealth Jihad and the Judeo-Mestizo Reconquista. Why settle for just one when you can have both?

While the Left-Islamist alliance seems to  be  steadily gaining a foothold in the US, where the Mooslems may someday reach a whopping 2% of the  population, it seems there are some alarming trends south of the border that also deserve prompt attention: The Mooslems may be taking over Mexico too! Though they still comprise less than 1% of the population, these Mexican Mooslems are concentrated in a handful of cities–where they willfully refuse to eat pork and–¡Ay, caramba!–possibly consort with the Joos.

Islam in Mexico

by Nayantara Mukherji, Inside Islam, University of Wisconsin

Although traditionally known for its strong Catholic community, Mexico is also home to a small yet diverse community of Muslims. According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, the country had about 110,000 Muslims in 2009. That’s less than 1 percent of the population of Mexico. But according to Zidane Zeraoui, professor of international relations at the Technological University of Monterrey, the history of Islam in Mexico goes back to its earliest days. In my interview with Zeraoui here in Madison, he emphasized the fact that Muslims and Jews actually came to Mexico early in the colonial period.

There were ‘false Christians,’ or marranos who came to Latin America as Catholics converted by force. Officially, they were Catholics, but inside, in their private lives, they were still practicing their religions.

Zeraoui said there are many indications of early Jewish and Muslim migrations in Mexico. For example, many buildings in Mexico (including churches, convents, and government buildings) are built in an architectural style called “Mudéjar,” a term that refers to Muslims living under Christian rule in Spain. The city Zeraoui lives in, Monterrey, was founded by marranos, and even today, Jewish and Muslim influences remain strong in the city. Unlike the rest of Mexico, Zeraoui says people in Monterrey prefer goat meat to pork, an influence of kosher and halal food practices. They even have a type of meat they call “Sarassan meat.”

In Monterray, we don’t eat much pork, but if you were to go to Mexico City, the basis of food is pork.

Muslims in Mexico are generally concentrated in four cities: Tequesquitengo in Morelos, Torreón in Coahuila, San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, and Mexico City. About half the Muslims in Mexico today are converts/reverts. The groups are extremely diverse, and include both Shias and Sunnis.

Nayantara Mukherji is a journalist, editor, Inside Islam radio producer, and a recent addition to the writing team at the University of Wisconsin.

Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI). Photo: BarackObama.com

Senator Russ Feingold Takes on Islamophobia

by Nayantara Mukherji, The University of Wisconsin, Inside Islam: Dialogues and Debates

Former Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold is known for taking on monumental challenges. In 2001 he was the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act. These days, Feingold has turned his attention to another cause—US foreign policy. At a talk in Madison, Wisconsin, about his new book, While America Sleeps, Feingold argued for increased American engagement with the rest of the world. He said 9/11 highlighted the importance of engaging and understanding the rest of the world, and criticized Democrats and Republicans alike for failing to heed the message.

In making his case, Feingold, a Jewish-American, did not lose sight of domestic issues, pointing out the impact 9/11 had on the lives of Muslim Americans. He likened the situation to Japanese internment during World War II.

In the last couple of years, there have been a number of incidents where people have used the issue of alleged Muslim extremism in this country to justify things like outlawing a mosque in Southern Manhattan, the burning of Qur’ans and most despicably, hearings held by Peter King in Washington specifically focusing on so-called Muslim terrorism, as opposed to the terrorism phenomenon in general.

Feingold bemoaned the fact that the post-9/11 era has made Muslims feel like second-class citizens in their own country.

Their hope is that they can once again someday feel like they’re not strangers in their own country. … Naturally, it must be very frustrating for Muslims to have their religion characterized in a way that is essentially wrong. Islam is not a religion of the kind that’s described by the political opportunists in this country.

Feingold also argued against the characterization of Islamic values as contrary to democratic values. He recounted his experience meeting with the Madison-area Muslim community after 9/11, but long before the Arab Spring.

The thing that really angered them was that we spoke of the virtues of democracy and human rights and women’s rights, and yet we supported despots throughout the Islamic world who did just the opposite. … Even though it’s not specifically about the religious element, it’s a very significant thing in terms of the way American Muslims and Arabs think about our international policy.

Nayantara Mukherji is a journalist, editor, Inside Islam radio producer, and a recent addition to the Inside Islam writing team at the University of Wisconsin.