Sunday, December 23, 2012

Mosque leader’s fatwa forbids Muslims from wishing Merry Christmas

creeping
Allah would rather Muslims congratulate a murderer than wish someone Merry Christmas – or congratulate any non-believer on any non-Muslim occasion. Why is any sane individual opposed to ending Muslim immigration to Western nations? via No merriness here: mosque puts fatwa on Christmas.
THE Lakemba Mosque has issued a fatwa against Christmas, warning followers it is a ”sin” to even wish people a Merry Christmas.
The religious ruling, which followed a similar lecture during Friday prayers at Australia’s biggest mosque, was posted on its Facebook site on Saturday morning.
The head imam at Lakemba, Sheikh Yahya Safi, had told the congregation during prayers that they should not take part in anything to do with Christmas.
Samir Dandan, the president of the Lebanese Muslim Association, which oversees the mosque, could not be reached for comment on Saturday.
The fatwa, which has sparked widespread community debate and condemnation, warns that the “disbelievers are trying to draw Muslims away from the straight path”.
It also says that Christmas Day and associated celebrations are among the “falsehoods that a Muslim should avoid … and therefore, a Muslim is neither allowed to celebrate the Christmas Day nor is he allowed to congratulate them”.

The posting of the fatwa has shocked many Muslim leaders. The Grand Mufti of Australia, Ibrahim Abu Mohammad, said the foundations of Islam were peace, co-operation, respect and holding others in esteem.
“Anyone who says otherwise is speaking irresponsibly,” he said.
“There is difference between showing respect for someone’s belief and sharing those beliefs,” Dr Ibrahim said.
Dr Ibrahim said the views did not represent the majority of Muslims in Australia. “We are required to have good relations with all people, and to congratulate them on their joyous events is very important.”
The fatwa quotes the teacher Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim as saying that congratulating disbelievers for their rituals is forbidden, and if a “Muslim who says this does not become a disbeliever himself, he at least commits a sin as this is the same as congratulating him for his belief in the trinity, which is a greater sin and much more disliked by Almighty Allaah than congratulating him for drinking alcohol or killing a soul or committing fornication or adultery”.
As noted above, a prominent executive of ICNA and the brains behind the Why Islam dawah campaign wrote the same anti-Christmas screed on his personal blog years ago, ICNA Leader in His Own Words:
The foremost thing to realize is that Christmas is a big innovation [bidah] which is leading a big part of humanity to shirk (associating partners with God). Christianity has transgressed the limits set by Allah; therefore showing happiness and joy on Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Good Friday is like shaking hands with Satan and telling him to carry on the good work.
Therefore, a Muslim can’t enjoin in any aspect of Christmas in the disguise that Jesus is our Prophet too, we are just honoring him by celebrating Christmas. We should recognize the bidah of Christmas and the Prophet’s warning that all bidah should be rejected. Therefore, accepting Christmas invitations, attending Christmas parties, buying small plastic Christmas trees to please the kids (some Muslims actually do) should be avoided.
By greeting Christians with ‘merry Christmas’ we are legitimizing Christmas, by driving out on Christmas eve to witness the decoration of houses, we are appreciating bidah with our eyes, by placing our kids on the laps of Santa in the malls we are handing them in the hands of a fiend, by closing our Islamic Schools or shops during Christmas we are giving it our silent approval, by selling Christmas items in our shops, we are strengthening the pillars of Kufr.
Indeed Islam came to tear down the pillars of kufr and replace them with the pillars of Islam.
And just like the imam in Australia, and ICNA/MAS/CAIR and other Islamic groups in the U.S., the goal is the same wherever Muslims go and is iterated clearly in the prior sentence.
Go out of your way this year to wish any Muslim you see a very Merry Christmas!

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