All my friends who celebrate Christmas today, may you enjoy happiness and warmth in your families.

I am a Muslim. I do not celebrate Christmas. We Muslims believe that Jesus Christ was a prophet, one of the highest prophets, because of the trials he went through during his life. Our scholars praise Jesus Christ and his mother, Mary, as two holy figures who have a unique place in the history of the spread of belief in the One Almighty God.

Our not celebrating Christmas does not mean that we do not respect Christians. The Quran praises Christians for being kind to Muslims.

You will surely find the most bitter towards the believers to be the Jews and polytheists and the most gracious to be those who call themselves Christian. That is because there are priests and monks among them and they are not arrogant. (Surah Al-Maidah Verse 82)

We do not celebrate it for a strong reason, namely that we view Jesus Christ as only a prophet, not as the son of God. Islam is firm in the belief that “God never had offspring.”

Even though our beliefs are different, let’s enjoy the gladness of this day. For a more peaceful and beautiful world, we need to disguise our differences in private and express our delight and commonality in public.

Salam, cheers.