Fatwa ... The head imam at Lakemba
Mosque has told the congregation they should not participate in anything
to do with Christmas.
Photo: Kate Geraghty
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”.
A community leader, Dr Jamal Rifi, said he did not agree with the school of thought behind the fatwa.
"We can share the festivities with friends and families and
neighbours – I don't think there is any civil, religious or ethical
reason not to," he said.
Dr Rifi and Sheikh Youssef Nabha, the imam of the
Kingsgrove Mosque, are travelling to Nauru on Sunday night with
priests from the Maronite and Melkite churches in Sydney to attend
Christmas celebrations with the asylum seekers held there.
Dr Rifi said he and Sheikh Youssef would be distributing Christmas cards during the visit.
A community advocate and Muslim convert, Rebecca Kay, told
Fairfax Media: "It's sad to see the Lebanese Muslim Association, which
considers itself the peak body representing Australian Muslims, with
comments like these. It goes to show how far they are from representing
the community.
"The notion that Muslims wishing other people a merry
Christmas will take them out of their faith is outright ridiculous,
laughable and borders on the extreme."
Keysar Trad, a former official with the Lebanese Muslim
Association, said in his time with the organisation they used to
regularly greet people with merry Christmas. "I don't know what has
changed," he said. "But now as a representative of Australia's peak
Muslim body, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, I would
like to wish all your readers a merry Christmas and a happy new year."
theage.com.au 23 Dec 2012
There is a concerning (for Catholics) global trend of Anti-Catholicism that is not only perpetuated by other religions, but also supported by law and governments.
Allegedly in this order of the new world, it is no longer acceptable to degrade religious beliefs. This is not so when it comes to the Catholic belief system.
The authorities are not of the catholic belief system, so their actions speak louder in that they support any Anti-Catholic movements.
If the reverse was done against the Islam, there would be a (justified) war raged in Australia.
No comments:
Post a Comment