Spreading their usual warmth and good cheer ahead of the Orthodox observance of Christmas.
No word on Hanukkah, but you can probably more or less connect the dots. We also can’t rule out a Festivus Fatwa somewhere down the line, while they’re at it, to prohibit Muslim participation in the Airing of Grievances. And the Saudi religious police can crack down on the sale of metal poles in advance of the “holiday.” “Egypt’s Islamist hard-liners oppose Christmas greetings,” from the Associated Press, January 1:
CAIRO “” An ultraconservative Egyptian Islamist group says sending Christmas greetings to Christians is “against our beliefs,” a position immediately rebuked by other Muslims.
Nadar Bakar, spokesman of the hard-line Al-Nour party, said Wednesday that Muslims should give greetings to Christians only on “personal occasions,” not religious ones.
Al-Nour represents the ultraconservative Salafi movement, which wants to strictly impose Islamic law in Egypt. Al-Nour has won a surprisingly strong 20 percent of the vote so far in Egypt’s staggered parliamentary elections.
The gradualist Ikhwan still sees an advantage in doing otherwise:
The remarks prompted Egypt’s Al Azhar, the most eminent religious institution, to issue a religious edict approving Christmas greetings. The country’s most influential Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, responded by sending “its best Christmas wishes to our brotherly Christians and Muslims as well.”