I think the best way to look at Muslims and Christmas would be to look at the country that they are in, for instance, Christmas is going on in places like Dubai, Turkey or Afghanistan… but it’s not the same affair as in Britain, and so the Christians in these predominantly Muslim countries would celebrate in their own way. In places like Britain, America, France Canada etc, Christianity is the majority and therefore Christmas follows suit. And Muslims, whilst not celebrating Christmas in the biblical sense, can sometimes get into the traditions. I mean, it’s a day when everyone is off, there is great TV on (usually), family can come by and generally everyone is worry free for a couple of days, what’s not to like? That being said, there are some that want to get into the traditions more than others. It’s not uncommon to see some Muslim families putting lights on the house, buying presents or even putting a tree up, some say its fine, others say it isn’t, so equally, there will be some Muslim families that don’t do anything, or maybe even actively reject it. Somalia and Bahrain, for instance, have banned the celebration if Christmas in their countries to “Protect Islam”. But as I mentioned, you must go by the country.
There are plenty of stories about Islam and Christmas that crop up from time to time: people having to change “Merry Christmas” to “Happy Holidays” to not offend anyone, forgoing putting Christmas lights up in towns where there is a Muslim family, schools banning Christmas cards so that the Muslim students don’t feel out of place. Whilst I can’t speak for all Muslims, I’m not offended by these things. Asian Muslims in this country are 3rd, 4th or maybe even 5th generation now, which means the majority of them have never known a life without Christmas being a part of it somehow.
