Selain natalan juga tgl 14/2-. Bakalan diributkan lagi .
Herannya tgl 1 januari-tahun baru malahan ikut2-an dirayakan.
Ada acara tausyiah, zikiran, dangdutan.
Padahal 1 januari juga kan hari natal.
Mustinya konsekuen kalo perayaan natal ditolak , tahun baru 1/1 juga ditolak.
salam,
l.meilany
Sangat mengherankan. Setiap tahun ketika menjelang hari
Natal, umat Islam (Indonesia) ribut dan seperti kebakaran
jenggot. Dari tahun ke tahun muncul tulisan/posting
"denouncing" Natal dengan cerita yang itu-itu juga. Seolah-
olah ada ketidak ikhlasan kalau ada umat agama lain
merayakan heri besar agama mereka. Ataukah ini manifestasi
perasaan rendah diri karena takut kalah bersaing?
Perasaan rendah diri karena takut kalah bersaing ini
menonjol karena yang dimusuhi hanyalah umat Nasrani, yang
bagi orang Islam Indonesia nampak sebagai representasi
negara-negara maju, sementara umat Hindu atau Budha tidak
pernah disentuh karena mungkin penganut agama Hindu dan
Budha sebagian besar berada di negara-negara kurang maju
sebagaimana juga penganut agama Islam.
Kapan umat Islam (Indonesia) bisa bersikap dewasa?
KM
----Original Message----
From: mnur.abdurrahman@yahoo.co.id
Date: 24/12/2010 22:42
To: <wanita-muslimah@yahoogroups.com>
Subj: [wanita-muslimah] Fw: [Sabili] christmas
Forwarded by HMNA
Because you have right to know
----- Original Message -----
From: "Leo Imanov" <leo_imanov@yahoo.co.uk>
To: <sabili@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, December 24, 2010 20:53
Subject: [Sabili] christmas
Ignorantly they have assumed that Christmas is typically
associated with
nationalism rather than theology, and in their fervent
desire to assimilate
into a British identity...
As Muslims who live in the West, we find ourselves
surrounded by a culture
of
capitalism which utilizes anything in its means to further
its spread and
acceptance. Amid this culture is the widespread acceptance
of the 25th of
December being the birthday of Jesus Christ. However, as
Pastors and
Priests of
the Christian faith have accepted over the years, this is
an erroneous
claim.
Nevertheless they have continued to re-enact the nativity
in their churches
and
narrate stories surrounding it which clearly demonstrates
both their lack
of
desire for the truth and the way in which they easily
accept falsehood and
implement it into their religion.
Additionally, there is a phenomenon among a number of
Muslims to partake in
the
Christmas festivities where they erect Christmas trees
and exchange gifts.
Ignorantly they have assumed that Christmas is typically
associated with
nationalism rather than theology, and in their fervent
desire to assimilate
into a British identity they feel obliged to get
involved. However, as this
article aims to demonstrate, Christmas is deeply
theological and
additionally,
based in pagan and not Christian beliefs.
Christmas, also known as Christ's Mass, is arguably the
most popular
celebration that takes place in the West. It is an annual
holiday which
celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th of
December. Generally,
festivities are combined with both secular and pagan
customs and begin on
the
24th of December until after Boxing Day (26th of
December). For a long time
people have assumed that Christmas Day is the actual day
of the birth of
Jesus
Christ, however, there is much proof to the contrary
which is found in the
bible and the books of history.
A close reading of the New Testament provides no specific
date for the
birth
of Jesus. Additionally, only two gospels of the four
actually narrate the
nativity story although both apparently contradict each
other. The Gospel
of
Luke describes how the archangel Gabriel came to Mary to
inform her of a
son to
be born to her. She responded that she was a virgin to
which the angel then
stated 'nothing will be impossible with God' to which she
replied 'here I
am
the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according with
the Lord's
word.'1Whilst pregnant, Mary and her husband traveled to
Bethlehem to
register
for a national census. Having found no room at an inn,
they lodged in the
barn.
Meanwhile an angel appeared to some shepherds nearby and
informed them of
Jesus' birth whilst at that moment a 'heavenly host'
appeared to them and
said
'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace
to men on whom his
favor rests.'2Based on the accounts in Luke of the
shepherds' activities,
the
time of year depicted for Jesus' birth could possibly be
either spring or
summer thus contradicting the notion that Christ was born
in winter. The
Gospel
of Matthew narrates a different version of events, and
relates that the
'good
news' was told to Joseph (and not Mary) in a dream, after
which he fled
with
his family to Egypt seeking safety from Herod. Matthew
also included the
story
of the foreign magi (three wise men) although Luke
mentions shepherds who
are
guarding their flock nearby. These contradictions are
clearly apparent and
have
clearly confused most Christians as there is no clear
narration detailing
Christ's birth, to the extent that most Christians are
ignorant of the fact
that Jesus is narrated as having traveled to Egypt in the
early part of his
life. Although there is a possibility of reconciling the
two narrations by
means of combining the two stories, it seems extremely
questionable that
Luke
fails to mention the Maji, and Matthew the 'heavenly
host.' Thus we see
many
nativity plays which differ from one another where
Christians randomly pick
and
choose events which they believe will increase the
entertaining value of
the
play.
In re-analysing story in the narration of Matthew, it is
noticeable that
pagan
acts manage to sneak into the story. We are told of the
magi from the East
who
come to worship Jesus. Most historiansconsider the Magis
Midian Zoroastrian
priests who were experts in astronomy. Some Muslim
commentators have argued
that 'worship' here meant sajdah al ta'dheem (prostration
out of respect)
which
is likely if the story is true as Persians were known to
prostrate in front
of
their kings out of respect. However, the narration of
Luke completely
disregards the Magi - and it seems probable due to the
fact that Luke's
version
is more consistent with Christian theology. Additionally
he narrates the
verse
'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace
to men on whom His
favor rests'3which refutes many Christian beliefs as it
implies three
things:
1. that God is not the baby Jesus which is born to Mary
based on the fact
that
God is "in the highest heaven" and Jesus is a baby on
Earth;
2. that Jesus is a man of those 'on whom His favor rests';
3. God is in/above the heavens and not everywhere as most
Christians and
pantheists claim.
Even though there are many major discrepancies in the
nativity story, a
brief
look at Christianity proves that the early Christians
disregarded the
birthday
of Jesus as is evident through the fact that Iraneus and
Tertullian4did not
list Christmas as a Christian festival and omitted it from
their list of
feasts.5 There is additional proof which states that
Christians held
birthdays
as sinful. Origen6states, 'of all the holy people in the
Scriptures, no one
is
recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on
his birthday. It
is
only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod) who make great
rejoicings over the
day
on which they were born into this world below.'7Thus
theologically,
celebrations
surrounding birthdays were not only non-existentin early
Christianity, but
also
quite deviant.
This then begs the question, when and where did Christmas
come about? We
find
in most records that Christmas began to be practiced as a
festival as early
as
the 4th century by Roman Christians and gained
significant prominence when
Charlemagne8was crowned in the year 800 AD on the 25th of
December.
Originally,
the pagans celebrated a number of festivals during the
winter solstice such
as
Saturnalia, Sol Invinctus and Yule. All of these had a
profound
contribution in
forming Christmas during the spread of Christianity
throughout Europe.
Saturnalia was the festival that the pagan Romans
celebrated in order to
commemorate the temple of Saturn. On this day, just as
Christmas day,
public
festivities would ensue which involved sacrifices and the
making and giving
of
small presents, saturnalia et sigillaricia. Additionally,
there was a time
of
general relaxation, feasting, merry-making, and a
cessation of formal
rules.9During Saturnalia, business was postponed and even
slaves feasted.
There
was drinking, gambling, singing, and even public nudity.
It was the 'best
of
days' according to the poet Catullus10, a time to 'eat,
drink, and be
merry'.
Pagans decorated their houses with clippings of evergreen
shrubs and
decorated
living trees with bits of metal and replicas of their
God, Bacchus. It is
noted
that Tertullian complained that too many Christians were
imitating
paganistic
practice of adorning their houses with lamps and wreathes
of laurel during
the
winter solstice. In addition, the Talmud and
Mishna11relate accounts of a
pagan
festival called Saturnura which has claimed its origins
to Adam, the first
man,
who noticed that the days were getting shorter and
assumed that it was
punishment for his sin. Afraid that the world was
returning to the chaos
and
emptiness that existed before creation, he fasted for
eight days out of
repentance. Once he realised that this was the natural
cycle of the world,
he
celebrated for eight days, a tradition which later turned
into a pagan
festival.12
Another pagan festival which has heavily influenced
Christmas is Sol
Invinctus
which was celebrated by Romans in veneration of solar
deities such as Elah
Gabal (also known as Baal), Sol and Mithras. Followers of
the god's would
gather together on the 25th of December and celebrate Dies
Natalis Solis
Invicti
or 'the birthday of the unconquered sun', the object of
veneration. They
considered the sun 'unconquered' due to the fact that it
'survives' the
reduced
daylight hours during the winter solstice. This festival
most closely
resembles
Christmas given that it is on the same day to the extent
that a Syriac
Bishop
wrote, 'It was a custom of the Pagans to celebrate on the
same 25th
December
the birthday of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in
token of
festivity. In
these solemnities and revelries the Christians also took
part. Accordingly
when
the doctors of the Church perceived that the Christians
had a leaning to
this
festival, they took counsel and resolved that the true
Nativity should be
solemnised on that day.'13As is evident, the Church chose
the 25th of
December
as a religious celebration in order to sanctify the fact
that Christians
were
celebrating an openly pagan festival. To that extent the
Catholic
Encyclopedia
states, 'The well-known solar feast, however, of Natalis
Invicti,
celebrated on
25th December, has a strong claim on the responsibility
for our December
date.'14
Most traditions which have passed on to Christians in the
UK are derived
from
Yule which is celebrated in Scandinavia and used
interchangeably with
Christmas. Although it became a Christian festival during
the process of
Christianisation, it was deeply pagan and many traditions
were carried over
into Christianity, especially the way in which Christmas
is practiced in
the UK
and consequently the United States. When the Germanic
peoples began to
convert,
missionaries found it convenient to provide a Christian
reinterpretation of
popular pagan holidays such as Yule and allowed the pagan
celebrations
themselves to go on largely unchanged - examples being
that of decorating
Christmas trees, eating roasted Pig, and hanging
mistletoe and holly. These
practices have no basis in Christian texts, and some are
actually
condemned.
For example, as is common during Christmas, many people
including Muslims
erect Christmas trees in their homes adorning them with
decorations such as
tinsel, fairy lights and baubles. Underneath the tree
there are usually a
pile
of presents which are opened on Christmas day. However,
all of these
practices
originate from paganism. Erecting trees and adorning them
for celebrations
originated from pre-Christianity, to the extent that
Jeremiah states in the
Old
Testament, 'For the customs of the people are vain: for
one cuts a tree out
of
the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with
the axe. They deck
it
with silver and with gold;,they fasten it with nails and
with hammers, that
it
move not.'15Additionally, the actual Christmas trees used
in Britain stem
from
Norse paganism (and their celebrations during Yule),
while decorations
such as
baubles represent the sun synonymous with the festival of
Sol Invinctus. A
practice which resembles Saturnalia is kissing under the
mistletoe, and
although fornication is explicitly forbidden in
Christianity, many people
have
adopted this pagan practice of kissing strangers using
mistletoe as an
excuse
to satisfy sexual desires - it was first practiced in
Britain during
solstitial
rites among the pagan Druids.
Another major myth and tradition surrounding Christmas is
that of Santa
Claus.
The name is actually a mispronunciation of the Dutch name
Sinterklass (from
St
Nicholas). It is widely held that Santa Claus is a
representation of Saint
Nicholas and stories surrounding his charitable life. In
Germanic and Norse
mythology a figure by the name of Odin who was considered
a major pagan god
who
would be 'seen' hunting in the sky during Yule. According
to Siefker,
children
would place their boots, filled with carrot, straw or
sugar, near the
chimney
for Odin's flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. Odin would
then reward those
children for their kindness by replacing Sleipnir's food
with gifts or
sweets.16The physical appearance of Odin resembles that of
Santa Claus like
the
beard, hat and staff, and the cloth bag held by the
servants to capture
naughty
children. Although widespread images of Santa Claus are
based upon American
(and usually capitalist) representations, the notion of a
fat bearded
flying
man come from entrenched pagan beliefs.
Even though most of the West has immersed itself into the
Christmas culture
without questioning its origins or pagan connotations,
the paganisation of
the
Christian faith has not gone unnoticed by all, rather we
see in the past
that
Christmas was rejected by many Protestant groups during
the 16th century,
and
in addition, Puritans of 17th century England and America
banned the
festival
of Christmas as pagan. Oliver Cromwell also banned
Christmas after the
English
Civil War due to the belief that it was a pagan belief
which encouraged sin
and
immorality interpolated into the Christian faith.
Christians suchas Jehovah
Witnesses continue to hold beliefs similar to the Puritans
and reject the
notion of Christmas altogether.
We also find that the process of secularization has caused
Christmas in the
past few years to lose all remnants of the Christian faith
and has made it
a
secular holiday with paganistic practices. Capitalist
ideals have utilized
the
festival to make even more money from theologically-
ignorant shoppers,
causing
them to drown in debt. As Muslims we must refrain from
becoming involved in
such practices whether it is in the name of nationalism
or integration. The
Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stated: 'whoever
imitates a people
is
one of them'17and Abdullah Ibn al-‘Aas (may Allah be
pleased with him) said,
"Whoever lives in the land of the polytheists and
celebrates their Nawrooz
(New
Year) and their festivals imitating until he dies, he
will be a loser on
the
Day of Resurrection." This is not to say that Muslims
should not shop
during
this period but there are some that are affected by the
culture of
capitalism
and squander during the Christmas period. It is not an
innocent festival
based
on regional customs, but an ideological celebration based
on the
theological
beliefs of Christians and pagans, and used by capitalists
to exploit
unaware
citizens.
Allah the Most High states,
And those who do not witness falsehood, and if they pass
by some evil play
or
evil talk, they pass it by with dignity.18
We as Muslims should pass this festival by with dignity,
refraining from
the
office parties', Christmas celebrations, the exchange of
gifts, and even
exchanging Christmas greetings. There are a number of
reasons for this;
firstly, to become involved in a festival is to sanction
the beliefs behind
such a festival and as Muslims we are forbidden to
sanction anything other
than
Islam. Just as we as Muslims distance ourselves from
celebrations such as
Diwali (Hinduism) and Hanukkah (Judaism), we must also do
so with
Christmas. By
celebrating Christmas, not only do we sanction pagan and
Christian
practices,
but we imply that the festival of polytheism is pleasing
to us although
Allah
states,
This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed
My favour upon
you,
and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.19
Secondly, Allah describes Christians as "those who went
astray" in the
opening
chapter of the Qur'an, thus to celebrate something that is
not even
sanctioned
in their religion is to imply that their straying is of
no consequence.
Thirdly, to take part in their festivities or to give
greetings such as
'merry/happy Christmas' is to encourage and congratulate
them in their
actions
instead of censuring them for their falsehood. This is in
opposition to
Qur'anic teachings whereby Allah states,
They believe in Allah and the Last Day; they enjoin what
is right, and
forbid
what is wrong; and they hasten (in emulation) in (all)
good works: They are
in
the ranks of the righteous.20
>
>Help ye one another in righteousness and piety, but help
ye not one
>another in
>sin and rancour. Fear Allah, for Allah is strict in
punishment.21
Muslims, by the grace of Allah, have been afforded a
complete way of life
which
details that which is best and most beneficial for the
entire human race.
We
have the Qur'an and sunnah, and to cling to them is an
aspect of the faith,
regardless of the taunts of liberal Muslims and non-
Muslims who may call us
'radicals' and 'fundamentalists'. To befundamental is a
part of Islam as
A'ishah
(may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Prophet
(peace be upon
him)
said 'Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours
(Islam) that is
not a
part of it will have it rejected.'22
Christmas remains a stark warning and example to Muslims
of what can happen
to
Islam if we were to accept innovations into our faith. To
cling to the
Qur'an
and sunnah as understood by the salaf is the only way to
remain within the
sanctified parameters of our deen. Christmas is a
phenomenon that should
encite
the awareness of the Muslim laity to be mindful about
those from whom they
take
their religion and religious knowledge. We thank Allah
for preserving our
faith and pray that he bestow upon us the ability to stay
on the Straight
Path.
__________________________________________________________
Notes:
Source: www.islam21c.com
1. Luke 1:31-38
2. Luke 2:8-15
3. Luke 2:8-15
4. Early distinguished fathers and scholars of the
Christian Church.
5. The Catholic Encyclopedia
6. An early Christian scholar and theologian who is
considered one of the
most
distinguished early fathers of the Christian Church.
7. Origen, in Levit., Hom. VIII, in Migne P.G., XII, 495
8. Considered the father of Europe
9. http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/SF/WinSol.html
10. http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/242252
11. Important Jewish texts
12. Avodah Zara 8a
13. Cited in MacMullen. R. Christianity and Paganism in
the Fourth to Eighth
Centuries. Yale:1997
14. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04636c.htm
15. Jeremiah 10:3-4
16. Siefker. P. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The
Origins and
Evolution of
Saint Nicholas, Spanning 50,000 Years. McFarland:1997
17. Related in Sunan Abu Dawud
18. Surah al-Furqan 25:72
19. Surah al-Ma'idah 5:3
20. Surah Aali Imran 3:114
21. Surah al-Ma'idah 5:2
22. Related in Sahih al-Bukhari
"Fa maadza ba'da-lhaqq, illa-dl_dlalaal"
Leo Imanov
Abdu-lLah
AllahsSlave
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