Salaams
Please comment on the issues discussed in the poem and post your own stories about how you deal with this dilemma
**Christmas is here
Tis the season to be jolly
and festive
Peace and good will to all men and women
It’s finally here
But for Muslims it holds many fears
Dilemmas
And tears
How to reject Christmas cards without being rude
Whether to send any in return
To reciprocate greetings
Or just smile and nod and appear non-committal
Christmas party is the highlight of the year
All dressed up and equal
Mistletoe and wine
Women competing to kiss you
Because you have managed to resist their charms thus far
And they know that you aint queer
Do you say no blatantly?
Or choose diplomacy
Accept, but not turn up
Due to a family tragedy
The choices are simple
Either you fit in
By compromising your iman
Or be the odd one out
By holding onto Islam
Get called names
Killjoy and fanatic
Shamed and marginalised
Subject of gossip, backbiting and slander
Promotion chances destroyed
Labelled a loner
Your career is a goner
Other Muslims quoted as examples
Mo who prays jummah every friday is coming
With his girl friend
So is Aysh who wears the hijab with her business suit
And plucked eyebrows and make up
They’re religious, British and Muslim
Both stand for the customary minutes silence
on 7/7 and 9/11
while u mysteriously disappear to the loo
Why do you have to be an extremist?
They participate
why don’t you?
You follow Islam completely
No compromise
You know to participate
In the festive season
Is blasphemy
And treason against Allah
Who never had a son as some claim
You are convinced of Islam intellectually
And they are scared to debate
You refuted their arguments about evolution
And showed it to be a fallacy
But they persist
And insist
That they are right
As they take flight
Talking about you and sending emails
But they fail
To prove how the universe came into existence
You know that honesty and truth is the best policy
Instead of lying
And playing with words
So you tell them straight
Looking them in the eye
‘I am a Muslim
We do not celebrate the festivals of other religions.’
And you feel good knowing
That you have passed a big test
No regrets
And if Allah is pleased with you
Nothing else matters.**
