“This is a love letter to the Muslims we know and who come, that they’re going to feel like they’re incorporated in the Christmas holiday.”
Great. When is the Muslim theater company going to reciprocate with a play depicting the Christian view of Jesus’ birth?
Once again we see it: these “outreach” efforts are always and in every case one-way.
“A new play, ‘Christmas Mubarak,’ mixes Christian and Muslim stories of Jesus’ birth,” Religion News Service, December 5, 2018 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
CHICAGO (RNS) — The scene is familiar from many Nativity scenes arranged at this time of year: the Virgin Mary, cradling the newborn Jesus.
Then, the baby speaks, defending his mother’s innocence and declaring he has been appointed as a prophet.
That might come as a surprise to Christians in the audience of the new play “Christmas Mubarak.”
The play, an original production from the Chicago theater company Silk Road Rising, sets the story of the births and lives of both Mary and Jesus from the Quran and Muslim traditions alongside the Christmas music of Christian traditions, in hopes it will illustrate how much the two religions have in common.
“Christmas Mubarak” premiered last weekend in Silk Road Rising’s basement theater at the Chicago Temple, home to First United Methodist Church. The theater company was formed after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, to shape conversation about Asian and Middle Eastern Americans and became the church’s company in residence several years later.
With an ensemble cast of four playing all the characters and adding scholarly asides where Muslim traditions interpret stories differently, the show is — in its own words — the story of “a love affair” between Islam and Jesus, who is viewed as a prophet by Muslims.
The songs in the show, which range from a Byzantine Christian hymn to Christmas carols like “Oh Holy Night” to contemporary Christian songs like “Mary Did You Know,” are performed by several members of First United Methodist’s choir.
“This is a love letter to the Muslims we know and who come, that they’re going to feel like they’re incorporated in the Christmas holiday,” said Corey Pond, a Silk Road member who directed and adapted the play, working with a consultant on Islam to make sure it wouldn’t offend.
Pond, who was raised United Methodist, began working on the play over the summer. He said he wanted to tell the Muslim stories of Jesus’ life chronologically, from the promise of his birth to the promise of his return, and chose stories that, if they weren’t the same in both Islam and Christianity, were similar enough to feel familiar to Christians in the audience….
After a workshop performance on Nov. 30, one audience member described “Christmas Mubarak” as the “Muslim ‘Godspell,’” referring to the Broadway musical of the 1970s based on the Gospel of Matthew. Others called it “a learning experience,” expressing surprise that in the Quran Jesus didn’t die on a cross — or that he appeared in the Quran at all.
In fact, as the play notes in one of its scholarly asides, Jesus is named more often than any other figure in the Quran. And Mary is the only woman explicitly named in Muslims’ holy book, appearing more frequently in the Quran than she is in the Christian New Testament. An entire chapter is named after her in the Quran….
Jack Holan says
Fools! Only Muslims would be able to express feelings about Jesus if they were honest.
J D S says
Muslim view of the birth of Jesus. Mary gave birth to Jesus under a tree and His birth was just the birth of another prophet.
Now tradition says that Jesus was born in December …I do have a small problem with that but the Holy Bible says Jesus was born in a stable not under a tree and born the Messiah not just a prophet.
beyondculturewars says
Issa of the Koran is not Jeus of the New Testament. Allah is not Yaweh of the Old Testament.
see Jay Smith’s polemics. He even uses Spencer’s book, Did Mohammed Exist?
Sam says
Why do these Christians not study Islam to be able to talk to and convert muslims? Sorry I know the answer. First muslims do not give a damn about infidels and “liberal” Christians are too lazy to understand their own religion and have no time left, after spreading love in wrong places, to read the Koran
RonaldB says
Very interesting. This is supposed to present aspects of Christian and Islamic views of Jesus. Pond consulted with Muslim authorities to make sure they won’t be offended. Did he consult with Christian authorities? Muslims find it offensive to allude to the divinity of Jesus or to the divine trinity. So, my guess is, in the whole shebang with all its stories, songs and prophecies, there is no reference to the divinity of Jesus. This would offend Muslims and go directly counter to the Koran. Going against the teachings of the Koran is, by definition, offensive to Muslims.
I see no value in the entire deluded exercise, except for Muslims who see their view of dhimmis and the mandate of dhimmis to not contradict Islamic doctrine, confirmed. The Christians who didn’t know the Koran mentioned Jesus, and who find the knowledge significant, are obviously disengaged from the consequences of Muslim immigration anyway.
I’m looking forward to a Jewish blending of Passover and the Koran, where confused Jews can find out that Abraham, Moses, and the rest of the prophets were actually practicing Muslims.
somehistory says
This is so disgusting…and offensive. There is no similarity between what the Bible says about Jesus Christ and what is written in the filthy book moslims kill by.
Jesus, as a baby, did not speak. He was the Son of God, but He did not speak as a newborn child. Holy Spirit and the angelic Son’s of God, told about Him. The angels told the shepherds to spread the word to others.
And moslims say Jesus will “return” to kill off all those who believe what the Bible says about Him and try to live accordingly. This is so blasphemous, right along with the claims that He is not the Son of God and that He didn’t sacrifice His life for us.
The Apostle Paul warned about this sitting down with demons to share a meal. It will not turn out well for any who participate in this meal sharing.
1 Cor. 10:21 “You cannot drink from the cup of demons and still drink from the Lord’s cup. You cannot eat at the table of demons and still eat at the Lord’s table. ” (Contemporary English Version)
And, this guy, pond, who was “raised” a methodist…does this phrase mean that he is now a moslim? Certainly acting like one, who has or will “convert.”
Richard says
You are absolutely right! The danger, though, is all the “Christians” who know very little about their religion, have been deluded by liberal churches which edit or rewrite scripture to not offend anyone, and who have perhaps never read the Bible. These people may well take this inane play seriously and become Muslim. “Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly”.
DAvid says
Chapter 6
1 And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. 2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. 4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. 5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching. 7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; 8 And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: 9 But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. 10 And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. 11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. 12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. 14 And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. 15 Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. 16 But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. 17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. 18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. 19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: 20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. 21 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; 22 And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. 24 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25 And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. 26 And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29 And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. 30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. 33 And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. 34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. 35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: 36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. 37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? 38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. 39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. 41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 42 And they did all eat, and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men. 45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. 46 And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. 47 And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. 48 And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. 49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: 50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. 51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. 52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened. 53 And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. 54 And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him, 55 And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. 56 And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.
FYI says
Here’s a lovely seasonal Christmas story inspired by the koran’s take on the birth of Jesus.
Christmas mubarak indeed!
*********************************
Koran 19 v 22-34 Maryam
{or,as I call it, the astonishing tale of the TALKING BABY JESUS IN A CRIB}
scene:-
The child is born and then Mother Mary, “carrying him”, brought the BABY Jesus to her own folk.The relatives wonder..they wonder…
“They said:How can we talk to one who is IN THE CRADLE,a little infant boy” koran 19 v 29
Well wonder no more!..Because mirabile dictu..this is the koran….and..
“he spake”.
Yes,allah has the BABY JESUS TALKING IN HIS CRIB LIKE AN ADULT.
“he spake”
“He spake!Lo! I am the slave of allah.he hath given me the scripture and hath appointed me a prophet” koran 19 v 30
..SAID THE NEWBORN INFANT IN HIS CRIB.
Who knew an INFANT IN A CRIB could 1)speak 2)read or know about “scripture”{the Gospel} and 3)even know what a prophet was?It was in arabic too of course,right?..since in islam,Jesus is MUSLIM and definitely NOT JEWISH so it couldn’t possibly be Aramaic or Hebrew{allah hates the Jews..}
I imagine this scenario..
INFANT JESUS googlygoogly wah wah..
RELATIVES Can we talk to the Baby..?
MARY sure..he speaks Arabic fluently..like all newborn babies…
RELATIVES Well hello there lil’fella…haha..hiya!
INFANT JESUS lo!I am the slave of allah.he hath given me the scripture*and appointed me a prophet
RELATIVES WOW!whoa! A TALKING BABY..
Note to muslims>>
1.Christians don’t believe BABIES TALK ,not even Infant Jesus..
2 That Gospel{the scripture} allah say he gave to Jesus?It did not exist in the time of Jesus and was written down AFTER Jesus’s time.. by HUMANS.
Christians don’t believe God Himself wrote the Gospel:yet allah seems to think he did{and the Torah too}
3 Jesus Christ says He is JEWISH {John 4 v 22} in that very Gospel that allah pretends he wrote…this has to be written big..
JESUS CHRIST IS NOT MUSLIM.JESUS CHRIST SAID HE WAS A JEW.
And what does the koran say about the Jews?koran 2:65
Sorry Jesus!allah doesn’t love the Jews……
* allah,who of course claims he wrote the Gospel…. himself.allah said “We bestowed on Jesus the Gospel”koran 5 v 46-47.In the Crib perhaps?As it seems the INFANT JESUS had the “scripture” and despite being an INFANT was already familiar with it…and BTW that Gospel…was it in Arabic like allah’s Torah must have been in Arabic?{koran 2:87}
Richard says
The original Gospels were in Aramaic. That was Jesus’ native language, and that of the Jews to whom He preached after the Babylonian Captivity. The multiple meanings of the words in Scripture show this, as does the poetry. The Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic is a breathtaking poem. St. Paul also uses poetry on occasion. It all disappears in translation. One word Jesus uses to insult someone has nine different meanings – each of them a horrible insult. An accurate translation would be forced to select only one meaning. A positive example is the branch out of Jesse out of which comes a word that means flower, fruit or bird. Jesus is the fruit of Mary’s womb. Mary is the New Eve and Jesus is the New Adam, come to undo the curse upon Eve and Adam from eating a quite different fruit. So Eve took the fruit of damnation into her belly though satan and Mary took the fruit of salvation into hers through the Holy Ghost. The second meaning of that same word is bird. As a bird descends upon the branch rising from the root of Jesse, so does the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove descend upon Jesus, the fruit of Mary’s womb. This can go on and on from that simple Aramaic word. God being always in charge, we must remember that God caused the Babylonian Captivity , during which the Jews lost their Hebrew language and began speaking Aramaic, because it was Aramaic which God wanted to speak on earth, and in which He wished to preach to get certain ideas across better than He could in any other language.
DHazard says
Christians in general are a tolerant bunch and distance themselves from the wrathful Old Testament God in favor of more or less unconditional love of Christ. But Jesus and Muhammad are so fundamentally apart that any attempt to bridge that gap would have to be fantasy. Is Muhammad’s life even worth remembering anyway, much less emulating?
Why don’t we revile him for wanting to “rid the Arabian peninsula of all Jews”, and his racist slaughter of them like we revile the Nazis?
Muhammad almost became a man of peace, then he lost the point. Now, years later, what has Islam contributed to the World at large weighed against the cumulative damage caused by it’s fanatic and violent “soldiers” and “scholars”? Are all sensible questions about Islam and violence rhetorical?
loki says
Don’t these idiots realize that Muslims consider any request they be incorporated into a Christian holiday to be blasphemy? This little theater company needs to hire some security, fast.
gravenimage says
In Dar-al-Islam they would be threatened by Muslims.
By the way, despite the name of this group, all the people I can find associated with it seem to be American and Jewish-American–so these are apt to be mostly appeasing dhimmis, rather than Muslims themselves.
mortimer says
RATHER PREACH THE GOSPEL TO MUSLIMS.
Islam is a Death Cult and a Christiano-phobia Cult.
gravenimage says
+1
beyondculturewars says
+2 See Jay Smith’s polemic arguments, honed from years on speakers’ corner in UK.
Lydia Church says
All they are accomplishing here is:
1. Building the one world religion under antichrist.
2. Getting Christians to deny their faith publicly.
3. Getting muslims to feel affirmed where they are instead of knowing they need to get out of it.
4. Singing a love song to the devil.
Christianity has absolutely NOTHING in common with islam. Since the descriptions of Jesus contradict, they are not the same Jesus. All false religions include a false version of Jesus, all deception from the devil to make it look like ‘see, we like Jesus too,’ but they don’t.
When you preach the real Jesus, the one who died on the cross for your sins, providing the only way for you to be saved, and physically resurrected three days later, conceived by the Holy Spirit as the Son of God, second person of the Trinity, the one who said you MUST come to Him to be saved, and He is God, and no other ‘prophet’ is God, and prophets from other religions are all false, and the other exclusive claims of the real Jesus Christ, all the nicey-nice smiles drop like a mask from a snarling demon! If you don’t include the real aspects of the real Jesus, no one will come to real salvation! Only some lukewarm Christians will warm up to islam, which is another thing the devil wanted all along in things like this. The church is in apostasy and has lost its course!
Preach the gospel. They have to come to the gospel. We don’t go to them with anything but the gospel. Period. The gospel is enough. Anything else will not result in anyone’s salvation, but only in more becoming lost.
And yes, that can happen, for example if you deny Him, He will deny you. The bridge goes only one way, from them to us. If you even set foot on it, it will collapse with you on it and you will be as lost as them on the other side of it.
gravenimage says
Chicago: Play company based in a church presents Muslim view of Jesus’ birth as a “love letter to the Muslims”
“This is a love letter to the Muslims we know and who come, that they’re going to feel like they’re incorporated in the Christmas holiday.”
……………………….
My, how lovely and inclusive.
Is the Silk Road Rising theater company also going to tell the audience that the Muslim “Jesus”–“prophet Isa”–will grow up to slaughter Christians in the last days? Because *that* would certainly be festive…
Richard says
Amen !! Yes, hang Christian heads on Christmas trees instead of lights, balls and tinsel! That’s Islamic inclusion. I can deal with the murders. I can’t deal with the rapes – especially as we read in the Hadiths about Mohammed and his merry men massacring men and raping their widows. What a lovely religion!
TWG says
See here? THIS is precisely the reason that I absolutely will not attend church any more. Follow the money, folks. Church World Services, and a plethora of other nefarious front groups posing as Christians have infected the churches with their cancer. And the vatican has become nothing more than Satan’s lair.
I pray our Lord and Savior SMITE THEM ALL. Every last one of them.
Alain Lenferna de la Motte says
In Islam, to disbelief any of the verses of the Qur’an is deemed to be apostasy. In Islam, apostasy and blasphemy against Islam is punishable by death. The Qur’an clearly states: “O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.” (Qur’an 5:51) – Sahih International. These Christians do not seem to know too much about Islamic teaching. Were they to educate themselves as to the teaching of Islam, they might well realise that they should rather present a play on the real tenets of Islam. And in this case, it is that Muslim do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God. Willful ignorance or willing submission to Islam?
Jan Favre says
Isa (Jesus?) of the Quran is not son of God and has not died on the cross to save the world. At the day of judgement, Isa will be assistant of the Mahdi and will confirm Islam is the true religion. Isa and Yeshua are not the same person and Islam is the antinomy of Christianity.Since Isa is not the son of God, I am not impressed about his virginal birth, which does not make sense. Who is his father? Arch angel Michael?
While Judaism says that righteous are son of the heavenly Father and Jesus enhances our sonship of Abba, the Quran says: Chapter (17) sūrat l-isrā (The Night Journey). Sahih International: And say, “Praise to Allah , who has not taken a son and has had no partner in [His] dominion . Surah Al-Furqan 63: And the slaves of the Most Beneficent (Allah) are those who walk on the earth in humility and sedateness. Hence, Allah has nothing in common with the Judean Christian God.
Main stream churches are mared by Chrislamism invented by Vatican II. Since 1964, Vatican II has introduced the concept that Allah and Yahweh are the same starting a new religion we can call
Chrislamism:”Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium 16, November 21, 1964
“But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place among whom are the
Muslims: these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s
judge on the last day.” Since then, we can see that subsequent Popes visited Muslim centers where we can see those
kissing the Quran, which is calling to kill Jews and Christians. In spite this kneeling of Vatican towards Islam, one see an increasing persecution of Christians in Muslim countries.
The perversion of Chrislamism sees that main stream Christian denominations participate to the islamisation of the West through advocating mass Islamic immigration and fruitless dialogues instead to increase resistance to it.
beyondculturewars says
Christians don’t have to invoke Vatican II and turn on each other, to dispel the widely mis-held belief that Isa is Yeshua.
Look into the background and origins of both the Koran, hadiths and the canonization of islamic dogmas, and you will find that everything in Islam is anti-christ, down to the eschantology.
We need to stand up with one unified voice, to dispel the untruths of the islamic isa and bring home the misguided of all muslim factions.
Obbop says
Appease the barbarians until they enslave your sons and daughter… sex slaves for the daughters and the more attractive male infidel slaves. Submit to Islam or have your last thoughts be filled with the knowledge your death is imminent as the pain of blade slicing arteries and veins fills your final thoughts. Hopefully, you filthy infidel, you are murdered before your beloved is so that you are not forced to watch her murder or watch your children brutally raped by the superior Moslem masters who have conquered your country as their latest conquest.
Appease barbarians and you eventually die or are enslaved. Tyrants within the USA with immense wealth thus power and using the corporate entities they own and the government agencies they have huge influence with to indoctrinate many of We, the People to be submissive sheep ripe for lording over. Defy tyranny or the horrors written here COULD conceivably become a new reality as a New Dark Age descends upon the USA.
A_M_Swallow says
IMHO The Koran is the most blasphemous book in Christendom.