There's no 'war on Christmas' from without – only a lack of belief within.by Josie Appleton
.....Yet who really finds Christmas lights offensive? 'I find it bizarre to suggest that Muslims will be offended', says Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain's mosque and community affairs committee. There are no bands of Muslims, Jews, or Hindus tearing down nativity displays or calling on councils to mind their C-words. Indeed, many Muslims prefer Christianity to the heathen alternative of secularism, finding common cause in issues such as family values and belief in God. 'This is a Christian country, and we take heart from the fact that this country is labelled a faith country. I wish all Christians a Merry Christmas', says Mogra. In today's Guardian, Rehna Azim wrote:
'I've had occasion to meet hundreds of British Asians of all ages and faiths…. They say they love or at least respect Christmas and can't understand the newspaper stories.'....
It seems that the defenders of Christmas are fighting phantom enemies."They are stopping us from expressing our Christianity," claims the Archbishop of Canterbury. Apparently those Christmas killjoys/Muslims/PC crowd are preventing us from having a Christian Christmas. But in reality, there's little assault from without, only a lack of belief within. Church leaders are essentially blaming others for their loss of faith - it's far easier to attack 'PC puritans' than to recognise that all those angels and cribs don't mean much anymore. Dr Rowan Williams' attack on the 'PC Puritans' contains a limp and vague case for the Christian story. Apparently 'the Christian Christmas is a time of astonished delight', and 'We need to be surprised'. As a clincher he writes: 'As the detective story writer Dorothy Sayers remarked, you can say what you like about
, but one thing it isn't is boring.' When the church doesn't even hold to the truth of the Virgin Birth, it's not surprising that Dr Williams has to wing it a bit.
Christmas wars are occurring over questions of etiquette, not religious doctrine. It's the naming of trees and lights that preoccupies, not the question of which religious book has it right. In the USA, activists are arm-twisting people to 'just say Merry Christmas'. The 'Committee to Save Merry Christmas' notes that Macy's department store includes the phrase 'Merry Christmas' in its in-store signage. This is about getting people to repeat ritual words, while disregarding the fact that they mean little. Real religious differences aren't about the wrapping of Christmas. As Mogra says, 'It is not offensive that Christmas is called Christmas. Instead, I would disagree with the assertion that Jesus is the son of God'.
People at the top are certainly wary of causing offence at this time of year. Mogra tells me that he has handled dozens of calls from businesses 'just making sure' that their Christmas celebrations won't offend Muslims. 'They ask, "Is Christmas offensive to Muslims?", or "Is it okay to have a Christmas tree in the office?", or "Can we call them Christmas Sales?".' But this isn't so much a three-line whip, as people anxious about doing the right thing. 'They don't want to fall on the wrong side', as Mogra puts it. Oversensitivity isn't consigned to New Labour apparatchiks. Tellingly, Waveney has a Tory-run council and is a rural area with little cultural diversity. Once put in the spotlight, officials get even more anxious. They apologise for Christmas, then apologise for apologising. We should call a halt to this phoney war. For most people, Christmas is about family, fun and presents. That is why some people of non-Christian religions enjoy trees and presents along with everybody else. These pitched battles over the Ps and Qs of Christmas are enough to put you off your turkey.
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