All festivals are the same in the western world
January 04, 2004 www.1924.org
Many people will have witnessed the festivities of the Christmas period recently. However, no sooner was Christmas over but a new and bigger festival was to begin - the ‘Holiday Sales’! Many people in Britain have been preparing for this mammoth festival by finding out about the best bargains, and ritually looking for the signs of “Sale,” “Special Christmas Offer,” and “50% off”. All of this in the glorification of those western values of consumerism and materialism.
Throughout the month of December, under the pretext of the minor festival of Christmas, Marketing gurus were bombarding people to prepare for this major event. Even the news headlines were infatuated with the expected sales forecasts for the period. The Bank of England issued its ritualistic warning against consumer overspending and going into debt. There were even pre-festival festivities to be enjoyed, a marketing manager at a monitoring company said, “We found that in the last three days before Christmas there were a lot of people out buying. It could have been they were taking advantage of the sales that had started in many places.”
This “Frenzy” of buying started the day after Christmas, and the headline news was centred on how shoppers were queuing up outside shops, many hours before they opened. A spokesperson for the Trafford Centre (Manchester) said a third of its 10,500 parking spaces were full by 11:00AM – an Hour before doors opened. The General Manager for the centre said, “We have had a lot of families coming in looking for bargains and anything they can get their hands on.” A female shopper said she had filled her car with bargains and had returned to the shops for more of the same. Some shops even decided to open as early as 5am, and people had queued the whole night to get in first!
It can be seen that the hype around Christmas is not for the religious significance, rather the ‘bargains’ that follow it. This trend is not restricted to Christmas only, we see this throughout the year whatever the occasion; Christmas sales, January sales, Easter sales, Spring sales, Summer sales, and the list goes on. If that is not enough, no chance is missed to create an occasion that nurtures spending, such as Mother’s Day, Valentines Day, Fathers day etc.
Generation of money through sales is undoubtedly at the centre of the western Capitalist society, and it is used to measure the success and happiness of the society. People feel compelled to spend on new goods and services because of the constant bombardment they are faced with from the advertisements, festive expectations and public opinion around them. Such an environment demands people to be seen with the latest gadget and fashion accessory, even if they don’t actually need them; the mobile phone is an apt example of this. The consequence of such a reality is best summed up in the following statement delivered by an MP, even though she actually supports a political climate that encourages such blatant consumerism. She says ‘Christmas is a particularly difficult time in some families … such problems get worse at Christmas when levels of stress, alcohol and debt increase, and domestic violence reaches a peak’.
The western world has transformed all religion and all festivities to fit in with their true belief in Capitalism – so called because of its focus upon ‘capital’ or money. Such a mentality has also infected many in the Muslim community. For example, Ramadhan has just passed and many of us will know of Muslims who celebrated and spent heavily on the Eid festivities, whilst they had not fasted the month of Ramadhan. No doubt that many will celebrate Eid ul-Adha in a month or so with lavish indulgence and festivities, even though they are ageing, have plenty of money and yet still not completed the obligation of Hajj.
As Muslims we should hasten to demonstrate the true beliefs and motives of Capitalism, and its consequences on society, whilst shielding ourselves and our families from it. We should also expose the disgraceful values of consumerism and materialism that have paralysed and decayed western society. Muslims are obliged by Allah (SWT) to intellectually convince the non-Islamic societies about the Ideology of Islam, and how it alone can safeguard the future of the human race.
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“For every nation We have ordained religious ceremonies which they must follow; so let them (pagans) not dispute with you on the matter, but invite them to your Lord. Verily! You indeed are on the (true) straight guidance” [Surah Al – Hajj : 67]