Why We Greet Christians

A reader called Suad sent me a complaint saying that she noticed that I make sure to wish Christians happy holidays in my column every year during Christmas, whereas I never make similar greetings to Muslims during the Eid holidays.

The reader then argues that I need to be more fair, and avoid discriminating between people based on religious beliefs, especially that I claim to be a liberal, or something along those lines. While I do not deny Suad's statements, I believe that comparing between Muslims and Christians in the Middle East is unfair to begin with.

In order to have a fair comparison between two different aspects, the factors of comparison should be equal or at least at a close level to each other. My columns are originally written in Arabic, and published in a Kuwaiti newspaper that is distributed in Kuwait and the region and is followed online by readers around the world.

I also live within a wide Islamic perimeter, and therefore my Christmas greetings are not directed to Christians in the West who enjoy safety and security, as much as they are directed to those living in small gatherings within my perimeter. Those people who lived on this land for over two thousand years, and who have always been an inspiration to many of us.

I write to them in hope that my greetings make them feel that there are people who think about them and wish them good. I write to reassure them and urge them to stay around us, after the majority – if not all – of them have become exhausted by fear, and after their numbers reduced due to migration – if they were lucky – or due to falling victims to fanatics who took their lives, displaced their children, destroyed their houses, burned their churches and bombed their shops only because they are Christians.

I write to greet those who are still living among us. They need to hear the voice of reason and love from us, more than what Muslims do in their wide perimeter and where that job is taken care of by thousands during Muslim holidays.

But if Suad insists that I greet Muslims on their holidays, then I have to ask her this question – what holiday are you talking about? Does Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha retain their joyful spirit when a blast hits a mosque in Peshawar, a husseiniya is bombed in Baghdad, or dozens of worshipers are killed mercilessly during the holiday? Yes, Muslims do not need my greetings as much as Christians living in constant concern in our countries do. And until the situation improves, I will continue to send messages of love to our Christian brothers and sisters, wishing them every time a year with less pain, blood and tears. — Al-Qabas

By Ahmad Al-Sarraf

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