Toronto
Star
Dec. 12. 2004
With the rapid spread
of foot-in-mouth disease by the religious right and the "righteously
religious" from Washington to Waterloo via Vancouver, I can't think
of a better time to come out of the closet as a "Merry Muslim".
To acknowledge that
I love this time of year and have already been an active participant in
the launch of the Christmas season is challenging to say the least. I use
the "C" word, Christmas, with feeling since I recently
celebrated my own festival of Eid on Nov. 15, wished my Hindu and Sikh
friends a delightful Diwali on Nov. 12 and was invited to a Hanukkah
celebration this week. So I feel I can participate in celebrations for
Christmas with my Christian colleagues and friends who, we should
remember, form the majority in this
country.
Before people get
their knickers in a knot and slap fatwa #2 on my head (I received fatwa #1
last year for celebrating the birth of my own Prophet), let me clarify
that I indulge in celebrations of the cultural and non-alcoholic kind,
keeping my feet firmly grounded in my own faith. In fact, it's because of
my religious convictions that I feel it's important to greet others on
their day of celebration.
Last month, the
provincial plaque marking the 100th anniversary of the Santa Claus Parade
was unveiled, and I was front and centre as a volunteer. Wrapped in my
deepest red shawl, red jingly antlers perched on my head, I spent the
afternoon at Nathan Philips Square shaking my bells to Christmas carols
sung by the St. Michael's Choir School.
I was honoured to be
part of this event, which highlighted the history of the parade. It was
delightful to see and feel the enthusiasm of the choir, a multicultural
group of young, talented kids who were my responsibility to organize. When
the surprise guest, Santa, emerged from City Hall, I cheerfully posed for
photos.
This is when I was
fondly dubbed the Merry Muslim, which I take as a compliment since I have
long tried to get everyone to say Merry Christmas instead of Happy
Holidays.
A Muslim friend who
is an elementary school principal decorates her office and talks during
assembly about each specific holiday as it is observed. This, she says, is
like anti-racism instruction and a lesson in world religions. From
aboriginal students to Zoroastrians, everyone's culture and faith is
celebrated, including, of course, Christmas. She admits it's a lot of
work, but it keeps her school in a constant state of celebration.
How inspiring. I
wish we did this in our workplaces where people get hot under the collar
over calling things by their proper names. I am on the committee
organizing our Christmas celebration at work — and I refuse to call it
anything but that.
Ironically, my
colleagues on the committee are all Christians who are trying to convince
me that calling our event a Christmas party won't be acceptable to all.
Hello? Was anyone listening or reading my annual column pointing out that
people around the globe, from Afghanis to Zambians, do call Dec. 25
Christmas, whether they celebrate it or not.
So please, let's
call Christmas by its real name. By sharing one another's faith and
culture, we can promote goodwill and good cheer.
So Merry Christmas
from a Merry Muslim.
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