This tale by Said Rezek is a story of one hyper-tolerant Muslim and his family that are meant to reassure us:
As a Muslim I like to go to Christmas markets, eat Stollen and as a child I even got presents. Surprised? That’s not the half of it.
Muslims shy away from Christmas markets as the devil shies away from holy water, so the common prejudice. Some even think that Muslims in Germany would like to rename Christmas markets winter markets or even ban them. Apart from the fact that I don’t know any Muslims who have ever made such a demand, it would make me very sad.
Notice Rezek’s language. It is the “common prejudice” of non-Muslims that Muslims shy away from Christmas markets. Why not call it simply a “belief,” instead of denigrating it as a “prejudice”? And “some even think” that Muslims would like to rename “Christmas Markets” as “winter markets”? Said Rezek can’t for the life of him figure out why anyone would think that. Many Europeans have, however, apparently concluded that Muslims do object to the very name “Christmas Market,” and, so as not to offend them, have chosen to rename these as “Winter Markets.” In Belgium alone, the Christmas Markets have become “Winter Markets” or “Winter Lands” or “Winter Fun” in Brugge, Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, and Hasselt. Why would they have done that, if no Muslims are offended the name “Christmas Market”?
Every year I walk through the stalls in the different cities, be it Essen, Cologne, Aachen or Munster. My wife is often on the lookout for decorations and handicrafts, while I take a closer look at the tea assortment. As Muslims, of course, we donʹt indulge in mulled wine, but we both especially like the beautiful lighting, the deliciously aromatic smells and the uniquely festive mood you encounter at Christmas markets.
Stressing his interfaithfulness, with tidings of comfort and joy, Said Reek describes the delight he and his wife — a Muslim couple, forsooth! — take in the gemütlichkeit of Christmas markets in Germany, the decorations and handicrafts she favors, and the holiday teas he fancies, and the lights, the enticing smells, the festive mood — and we are obliquely being asked to believe that, as Muslim lovers of Christmas markets, the Rezeks are hardly alone.
Being a recognisable Muslim, however, not everything is great at the Christmas markets. My wife wears a headscarf and sometimes we get quite unpleasant looks. We can only guess what is going on in the minds of these people. You may be surprised to see Muslims strolling between the stalls. Yet we have many Muslim friends and acquaintances who like to go to Christmas markets.
As always, it’s the non-Muslims who are to blame — why in the world do some at the Christmas Markets give the Rezeks those “quite unpleasant looks”? Might it have something to do with the headscarf his wife wears, that some people take as a sign that the wearer is more than a “cultural” Muslim, possibly a little too devout for their tastes?
And Said Rezek should be able to guess what is in the minds of those people giving those “unpleasant looks.” It’s not hard to fathom. They’re thinking of Muslims who’ve murdered Unbelievers in London, Manchester, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Nice, Toulouse, Magnanvile, Brussels, Amsterdam, The Hague, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Malmö, Turku, Helsinki, St.Petersburg, Moscow, Beslan. They’re thinking of the attack on Charlie Hebdo, of the killers of Drummer Lee Rigby, of those who brought down the Twin Towers, the Christians and Yazidis murdered, the attacks on churches in Egypt and Pakistan. They’re thinking of the grooming gangs in the U.K. They’re remembering the 1,200 German women and girls attacked by 2,000 Muslim men in Cologne on New Year’s Eve 2015. They’re thinking of the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shebaab, Boko Haram, Jabhat Al-Nusra, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah. Isn’t that more than enough to explain those “quite unpleasant looks”?
My first Christmas memories date back to my childhood. My parents, who are also practicing Muslims, gave Christmas presents to me and my siblings. They knew about the customs in Germany and did not want us to feel disadvantaged when surrounded by our Christian classmates. In fact, the opposite was the case, because in the end we also received presents at the Muslim festivals of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha.
Said Rezek’s family sounds as if it consists of just possibly the most tolerant Muslims in the whole wide world. His Muslim parents gave their Muslim children Christmas presents. They had a Christmas tree. They wanted their family to fit in with Christian families. They wanted their children to fit in with their classmates. They let him act in a nativity play. That’s pretty much the story, Rezek implies, of so many Muslims in Europe. He claims that “many Muslim friends and acquaintances…. like to go to Christmas markets.” What’s all this splother about Muslims refusing to integrate? Islamophobes! Just look at my family — that’s seven people right there. Christmas trees, Christmas presents, Christmas carols — the whole works!
I have vague recollections of taking part in the nativity play in primary school. I can clearly remember though how proud of me my parents were. The performance took place in a church and they sat in the front row.
And so tolerant are his parents that they were not just accepting, but even “proud” when Said took part in a nativity play, performed in a church, to boot.
But we must ask: how many other Muslims are like the Rezeks?
A tradition that is very much alive: “O Tannenbaum” and “Kling, Gloeckchen,” not to mention “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht”. Even though I do not associate any religious feelings with the texts, they conveyed a sense of security to me as a child. In my opinion, these carols are part of the general knowledge that everyone should master, regardless of whether they are Christian or not
We also sang various Christmas carols in primary, some of which I can still recite today: “O Tannenbaum” and “Kling, Gloeckchen”, not to mention “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht”. Even though I do not associate any religious feelings with the texts, they conveyed a sense of security to me as a child. In my opinion, these carols are part of the general knowledge that everyone should master, regardless of whether they are Christian or not.
Mr. Rezek is certainly a spectacularly tolerant Muslim. He likes Christmas carols. He can still sing many of them, which he cherishes, but does not “associate any religious feelings with the texts.” He claims that “everyone” — not just Christians — should master these carols, as part of “general knowledge.” How many Muslims would agree? Mr. Rezek would like us to believe that he speaks for many. I’ve never come across any Muslims, in 17 years of searching online and offline, who share Rezek’s regard for carols, Christmas trees, Christmas presents. He — and his family — represent only themselves. This is what is called anecdotal evidence.
What many non-Muslims don’t know: Jesus’ birth is described in detail in the Koran. The main difference between Christians and Muslims is that Jesus is a prophet in Islam – and not the Son of God, as it is written in the Bible.
What Mr. Rezek should have written is that “the main difference between the Christian and Muslim conceptions of Jesus is that for Muslims, Jesus is not the Son of God but a prophet.” And in regarding Jesus as divine, Christians are guilty of shirk, or polytheism, in Islam one of the worst sins. Mr. Rezek did not care to share that knowledge. I’m not surprised.