Empowering Muslim Children At Christmas Time

[ummtaalib]

by UmHasan, sunniforum.com
 

 

For most people living in the UK, the month of December signifies the end of the calendar year, long cold and wintery nights and above and beyond everything else, Christmas- the annual commemoration of the Christian belief of the birth of Jesus and the holiday festival that is an integral part of it. Regardless of one’s religious denomination, it is impossible to live in the West and not be affected by the huge commercial and celebratory practice that Christmas has become.

In fact, Christmas has become such a widespread phenomenon that it is not uncommon to see many Muslims also participating to some extent in the celebrations of Christmas, in particular Muslim children who cannot avoid the Christmas parties, the Christmas plays and assemblies, Santa’s visit and the exchanging of cards and gifts that takes place in every school around the country.

Yet, only a handful of us have stopped to consider how this affects our deen and our submission to Allah subhana wa ta’ala as the one and only God, whom we worship exclusively without compromise. It has become easier to be a ‘modern, adaptable Muslim’ than to ponder over whether the celebration of Christmas has any impact on our declaration to submit to the will of Allah and to worship Him alone, denouncing the practices and traditions of other faiths.

Let us acknowledge first of all what the basic tenet of our faith entails; to believe that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. To believe in Allah alone means to cease to involve oneself in any other act of worship, tradition, celebration or other activity that is the practise of other religions. This means that to celebrate Christmas or to participate in the Christmas festivities is to compromise on that submission to Islam.

The Messenger of Allah (May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) has said ‘Whosoever imitates a people is from amongst them.’ (Abu Dawood). The implication of this hadith is that even if Muslims do not participate in Christmas festivities to celebrate the occasion themselves, imitating the actions of the disbelievers is also prohibited in Islam. Imitation ultimately leads to submersion and is not possible without inclination of the heart. After the initial stages of imitation and inclination comes submersion in the deed itself.

So the question that now arises is how do we, as Muslims living in the UK, with our children attending schools where Christmas festivities are taken for granted as part of the curriculum, avoid compromising our faith without excluding our children from the fun and entertainment that is all around them? And how do we avoid celebrating Christmas without being accused of intolerance and hostility towards other faiths?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Tell the true story of Isa (peace be upon him), his life, his prophethood, his miraculous birth, his ascension to the heavens and his expected return before the Last Day. Isa (peace be upon him) was one of the greatest prophets of Islam and to talk about him and his miracles will allow the children to have a greater and more accurate understanding of the Islamic beliefs regarding him as well as fulfilling the child’s curiosity. It will allow children to distinguish Islamic beliefs from Christmas narrative when listening to accounts of Isa (peace be upon him) in school or others.

2. Open up dialogue with the school about your child’s participation in Christmas assemblies and other festivities. Many of our local schools are sympathetic to Muslim beliefs and by discussing with them the extent of your child’s involvement in the festivities, they may be willing to accommodate and we can avoid putting the children in situations that compromises their faith.

3. Teach our children the distinction between learning about other religions and believing in the teachings of other religions. For younger children, this may be more of a challenge but from the age of six onwards, we can explain to our children that although they may be told about other religions and there is nothing wrong in listening to the stories, our own beliefs are different. They can be taught by example from a young age to be respectful about other religions without adopting them themselves and without displaying contempt, because that would also be inappropriate.
Allow yourself to step back from the urge to become caught up in the merriment without displaying behaviour that is conceited and disparaging.

4. Organise alternative celebrations for your children. Empower them with confidence in their own Muslim identity so they realise that don’t always need to a part of every party. They will have gifts, parties, fun and games on their own festivals and Allah has gifted us with two Eids in the year to have fun with.

5. Enjoy the holiday itself without celebrating Christmas. Avoid Christmas celebrations doesn’t necessarily mean that they cannot acknowledge the national holiday in itself. Organise activities and fun at this time of the year that is not related to Christmas. A family get- together when everyone has a holiday or a day out doing something they take pleasure in that is not Christmas related will mean the children do not feel left out.

Above all, it is important to explain to children the reasons behind our non-participation in Christmas. Children need to know why. As parents, it is important that we explain to our children the reasons behind the decisions we make so they can take an active part in understanding the requirements of their faith and so they do not feel that a decision of their parents is being imposed on them. In particular, by explaining the radical differences between the Islamic belief of the Oneness of Allah compared to the Christian belief of trinity and the difference between the Islamic teachings of simplicity and contentment compared to the mass consumerism epidemic that overcomes people at Christmas time.

 

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