Is Christmas Anti-Islamic?

Last Christmas Nader Bakkar, a spokesman for an Egyptian Islamic group called “Party of Light,” announced an anti-Christmas edict. “The idea of Christmas is anti-Islamic,” he wrote.

Bakkar strongly urged Muslims not to recognize Christmas celebrations or give Christmas greetings to Christians.

“The vast majority of Muslim responses strongly denounced his exhortation and a number poked fun at it,” reported the Arabic ministry leader for Back to God Ministries International. “Some wrote that they were actually going to participate in Christmas celebrations.”

Zainab, a woman whose name identifies her as a very devout Muslim, blogged: “Jesus is the Solution.” She went on to exhort Bakkar: “You seem fully ignorant of the real meaning of Christmas…to me it represents the beauty, grace and love of Allah.”

Someone responded, accusing her of being a Christian who pretends to have a Muslim name. Zainab wrote back: “I am an Iraqi Sunni living in Syria and I ask Issa (Jesus) in my prayers to open the eyes of people like Nader and yourself to truly love Allah….”

What does all this dialogue among Muslims have to do with the work of BTGMI?

“As we continue to proclaim the gospel, we are seeing God at work, opening the hearts of former Muslim extremists to the message of Christ’s gospel,” says the Arabic ministry leader.

Shortly after Christmas last year, a young Arabic Christian phoned BTGMI staff to share his excitement at receiving text messages from Muslim friends wishing him a Merry Christmas.

As we approach another season of Christmas, please join in thanking God for His work in the Middle East.

 God is doing great things. Pray that as people in Muslim regions hear the Christmas story again this year, they will come to see that Christmas is not anti-Muslim, but rather that they would see Jesus as the Prince of Peace, sent to bring reconciliation and redemption to the world.