WASHINGTON – A brightly decorated Christmas tree welcomes visitors to Sarwat’s house along with the traditional "Merry Christmas" greeting in a typical Christmas scene.
The only thing exceptional is that the host and her family are practicing Muslims.
"It was in 1970 that I and my husband started to invite people to our house to celebrate Christmas," Sarwat Husain, president of the San Antonio, Texas, chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
"Our celebration has continued ever since."
Husain says her celebration of Christmas began even before she came to the US as a teenager with her parents.
"It was our family tradition to celebrate Christmas, and my father used to take the occasion to let us read the Bible and the Old Testament and the Qur’an to learn from them and discuss prophets stories," she said.
"The discussions were mainly about prophets Abraham, Jesus Christ and Muhammad, peace and blessings on all of them."
Christmas is an annual holiday celebrated by Christians worldwide to commemorate the birth of Jesus and reach its peak at 12:00 PM on December 24 of every year.
Muslims believe in Jesus as one of the great Prophets of God and that he is the son of Virgin Mary but not the son of God. He was conceived and born miraculously.
As for his crucifixion, Muslims believe that Jesus was not crucified but was lifted up to heaven.
Muslims believe he will come back to earth before the end of time to restore peace and order, fight the Anti-Christ (Al-Masih Al-Dajjal) and bring victory for truth and righteousness.
Educating
Husain continued the family tradition of celebrating Christmas after she got married.
"Me and my husband invited our neighbors and colleagues and made big celebration."
But Husain insists that her way of celebrating Christmas is special and educational.
"When we came to the US, I was so stunned by the big celebrations. I thought ‘where is the story about Jesus and his teachings in all this’," she recalls.
"We are not celebrating it the way it is celebrated here. What you see under the surface is the commercialization of Christmas and that is what we don’t like."
She is more interested in spreading the knowledge of one of the prophets the Noble Qur’an describes as the word of Allah.
"It is mainly about prophet Jesus life, what he taught us to do what we should do during Christmas."
Husain also commemorates Christmas by giving money to a nearby church which uses it to buy necessary goods to charities and people in shelters.
She recalls that when she first started this tradition with her husband no questions were asked.
"Today it is a different environment and many question everything Muslims do. There are those who do not understand where this is coming from," she notes.
"But when I explain to them they understand.
"This is all about communication and understanding."
By Dina Rabie, IOL Staff
The only thing exceptional is that the host and her family are practicing Muslims.
"It was in 1970 that I and my husband started to invite people to our house to celebrate Christmas," Sarwat Husain, president of the San Antonio, Texas, chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
"Our celebration has continued ever since."
Husain says her celebration of Christmas began even before she came to the US as a teenager with her parents.
"It was our family tradition to celebrate Christmas, and my father used to take the occasion to let us read the Bible and the Old Testament and the Qur’an to learn from them and discuss prophets stories," she said.
"The discussions were mainly about prophets Abraham, Jesus Christ and Muhammad, peace and blessings on all of them."
Christmas is an annual holiday celebrated by Christians worldwide to commemorate the birth of Jesus and reach its peak at 12:00 PM on December 24 of every year.
Muslims believe in Jesus as one of the great Prophets of God and that he is the son of Virgin Mary but not the son of God. He was conceived and born miraculously.
As for his crucifixion, Muslims believe that Jesus was not crucified but was lifted up to heaven.
Muslims believe he will come back to earth before the end of time to restore peace and order, fight the Anti-Christ (Al-Masih Al-Dajjal) and bring victory for truth and righteousness.
Educating
Husain continued the family tradition of celebrating Christmas after she got married.
"Me and my husband invited our neighbors and colleagues and made big celebration."
But Husain insists that her way of celebrating Christmas is special and educational.
"When we came to the US, I was so stunned by the big celebrations. I thought ‘where is the story about Jesus and his teachings in all this’," she recalls.
"We are not celebrating it the way it is celebrated here. What you see under the surface is the commercialization of Christmas and that is what we don’t like."
She is more interested in spreading the knowledge of one of the prophets the Noble Qur’an describes as the word of Allah.
"It is mainly about prophet Jesus life, what he taught us to do what we should do during Christmas."
Husain also commemorates Christmas by giving money to a nearby church which uses it to buy necessary goods to charities and people in shelters.
She recalls that when she first started this tradition with her husband no questions were asked.
"Today it is a different environment and many question everything Muslims do. There are those who do not understand where this is coming from," she notes.
"But when I explain to them they understand.
"This is all about communication and understanding."
By Dina Rabie, IOL Staff
