Hamas Official Ahmad Kulab: It Is Forbidden For Muslims To Congratulate Christians On Christmas; Santa Claus Has Invaded Muslim Countries

In a December 19, 2020 broadcast on Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas-Gaza), Ahmad Kulab, the Head of the Department for Training of Preachers in Hamas' Ministry of Religious Endowments, warned against Muslim participation in Christmas celebrations. He said that it is forbidden for Muslims to congratulate Christians on their holidays, explaining that this would be denial of Islamic faith. Kulab added that Christian holiday celebrations must be restricted to Christian homes or places of worship. He also said that the image of Santa Claus constitutes an invasion of Muslim countries, and that it glorifies early Christian missionaries.

Ahmad Kulab: "We are not allowed to congratulate the Christians on their holidays. Christians must [keep] the celebration of their holidays to their homes, their houses of worship, and their churches."

Other speaker: "By themselves."

Kulab: "Yes.

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"Are we supposed to congratulate the Christians for their denial of Allah?

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"This culture has entered our Muslim countries and erases Islamic identity and faith. It changes the behavior of our children and contaminates their immaculate faith. In addition, the Holy Quran encourages us to dissent against the dwellers of Hellfire, the Jews and the Christians.

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"Santa Claus is a witty and jolly personality who hands out sweets and presents in order to influence people. This image of Santa Claus constitutes an invasion of Muslim countries, because they want to ingrain the image of Santa Claus [among Muslim]. The character of Santa Claus glorifies prominent Christians, monks who used to propagate the Holy Trinity and Christianity among Roman youth, giving out presents, sweets, and so on.

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"If [a Christian] says to me: 'Happy holidays!', I can reply with something general, and say: 'May you be happy, too.' But I say that we do not even have to say this. Even if they congratulate us, we do not have to answer them. We can remain silent. That is better for us, in order to avoid falling into sin, as the Islamic scholars said."