Christmas, a Season for Accommodating Islam
December 15, 2008 – 3:06 pmIslamist Watch (Project of MEF - Middle East Forum):
In England the weather grows colder, children fidget with anticipation, and events are being held to mark a major feast — that’s right, Eid al-Adha, the Islamic festival of sacrifice. At one Nottingham primary school, it has meant the postponement of the annual nativity play, given the “effect” of many Muslim students remaining at home this week to celebrate:
In a letter, sent by the staff at Greenwood Junior School, mothers and fathers were told: “It is with much regret that we have had to cancel this year’s Christmas performances.”
“This is due to the Eid celebrations that take place next week and its effect on our performers.”
However, following a barrage of complaints, a second letter was issued saying the show had “not been canceled outright” but has been postponed until the New Year.
That the Christmas play was shelved in a nation with an officially established Christian church makes it a potent sign of the times. And while secularists always cheer obstacles to the public acknowledgment of religious holidays, they should not be pleased with private faith-based celebrations disrupting the schedules of others.
Entire article.
On the topic:
Point #4 in an editorial on “The End of the Hajj” (MM - 12.12.08) pointed to the vandalism of a Muslim WWI cemetery in France, underlining the rising tension between Muslims and non-Muslims in Western Europe. (The picture of the vandalized cemetary is #30 in the Boston Globe’s “The Hajj and Eid al-Ahda” photojournalism story.)
