Do Muslims Celebrate Christmas? How Muslims View Today

I thought this common question deserved some reflection on today, which is Christmas to the many Christians around the world. I had to chuckle when my uncle texted me, "Do you guys 'do' Christmas?"

I said, "No :)"

He said, "Oh so more like Hanukkah?"

I said, "No.  We don't have a holiday right now"

Thus, the short answer is, no, we do not celebrate (or 'do') Christmas.

We don't celebrate Hanukkah.  Nor Kwanza.

We don't put up trees, SPOILER ALERT: we don't believe in Santa, and no gifts today.

We DO, however, believe in Jesus and respect Jesus very much.  Surely, he was among the best of us.

I thought this Ayah (verse) from Quran would be appropriate to share today:

"إِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ يَا مَرْيَمُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍ مِنْهُ اسْمُهُ الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَجِيهًا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَمِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ"

Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah"

[Quran 3:45]

What Muslims believe is that Jesus was a WONDERFUL and highly beloved prophet with a message that was pure and this message was to worship God.

I think we are on the same page here with Christians and Muslims.

Where we differ is that we believe Jesus is not the SAME as God.  And, because we believe he was a person, not God, we do not think it is right to celebrate his birthday.  We do not celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad (saws) either.  We actually don't have much craziness for our own birthdays as well.  Just that we should be thankful to God for granting us another year on earth.

So, I am sorry, but I must decline your gifts.  I don't feel right in wishing you a Merry Christmas.  I can't share the "spirit of the season" with you.  But, I do respect you, your religion, and your holiday.  I understand why nothing in Los Angeles is open today.  I have love for you because we are all brothers under the same God.

My family thankfully was never over the top about Christmas.  My mother would get me a gift.  That I would hate.  We would fight.  And then we all ate mashed potatoes.  Such is life.

The Quran says that Jesus (peace be upon him) said: "I am indeed a servant of Allah: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet; And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live;(He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable; So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)!" [Quran 19:30-33]

May Allah (swt) guide us all towards His ultimate Truth.  May He help us to respect each other.  May He allow all of us to meet Him someday and surround us in His Mercy.

May Allah Be Pleased with You, Abdullah Alkadi ❤

It's been a few weeks since discovering the body of Abdullah Alkadi, and I still think about him non-stop.  I'm sure many have read the articles about him.  He was a Saudi student that mysteriously disappeared after selling his car on Craigslist.  He lives in the same town as I do, which makes the case even more terrifying to me. I was so upset by the lack of media coverage on his disappearance, I wanted to take matters into my own hands.  Surely, I couldn't do anything, but that was how angered I was by the situation.  Although I understand he is not American, I do not feel that the media coverage or information should have been distributed any differently.

A few days ago there was a Denver Bronco's fan that went missing in the middle of the game, leaving his stepson alone completely. That made the front of AOL news and many other media outlets.  He was found five days later outside a Kmart and just "had his fill of football" so decided to leave.

Abdullah was gone for an entire month without being found, very little media coverage, and not a trace.  His brother and family were here in the States trying to assist in any possible way and they had to do plenty of their own digging to get answers.  I'm very disappointed - as both an American and a girl with a heart that is undoubtedly half Saudi.

I barely knew Abdullah - just seeing him in passing - and I was not familiar with him. Reading through his Twitter - as fake as social media can be - I could tell he was genuinely a good person. He had a good heart. I knew that he didn't "have his fill of school" or something else and he wouldn't just leave his family out of nowhere.

Clearly, there was foul play involved.

When they found the murderers one month later, they found evidence of his murder in the car.  They murdered him and dumped his body a few dozen miles from LA. The killer wanted to steal the car and ended up killing him in doing so.

You can Google the details if you'd like, but what is most important here is Alkadi's spirit. His words have a kindness about them, and a purity in my opinion that I was overwhelmed by the entire situation for the month.  I felt like he was my brother, and I cannot imagine how his actual family is feeling.

The entire point of this post is this: Pray for Abdullah. Pray for Allah to have the utmost Mercy on him. Pray that he is granted shaheed as he was seeking knowledge as a student while he was killed.  Pray that his family finds justice and that they find peace. Pray that this never happens to anyone again.

Also, I hope that we can in the future encourage the media to cover the disappearance of foreigners as they would do for the disappearance of Americans.  I wonder, for example, how the media may cover my life should I be in a similar situation, as I am an American national, but I appear very different to other Americans.

If I could tell him or his family anything, as I'm fighting the tears while I type this, I would say that his purpose was to change the world, and I believe he fulfilled that. He had prayers from all over the world. His positivity greatly greatly impacted me in my personal life, and within just myself - a complete stranger - I will NEVER forget the way I felt about this story and the way I feel about him. He is in ALL of my prayers and I hope that I can have the absolute honor to meet him in Jannah someday, inshaAllah.

Allah yarhamo <3

Nice Costume! #SheiykhaStruggles

I am always disappointed on Halloween when people tell me, "great costume!"  This year I got a few, "oh how cool! She's Malificient!" It gets kind of awkward to explain I'm not wearing a costume, I wear this every day and I'm Muslim.

Recently while walking to the masjid, which should have made it very obvious I'm Muslim, someone yelled to me, "ARE YOU THE DUDE FROM SCREAM?!" Rude.

I also had a couple people scream out the window while I was walking near my work "It's not Halloween yet, b****" when they saw me in abaya and hijab.

The worst occurrence of the year, however, came as a surprise.  Worst of all, it came in front of my grandmother who is pretty adjusted to my Muslim lifestyle, but still has concerns that other people will hurt me or attack me based on my faith.

I was visiting my family in Ohio [racist capital, U.S.A.!] and went with my grandmother to buy some flowers at a grocery store.  This 75 year old man literally ran his cart into me.  I turned around to say something and saw he was an old man so in my heart I forgave him, assuming that the mistake was due to poor vision from age, or a general accident.  I was near a counter and he literally pushed me up against the counter with his force.  I could have been seriously hurt, but I was okay so I just didn't say a word.  My grandma was distracted paying for her flowers so I was happy she didn't notice and get worried.

He then said "Get out of the way. I'm coming through!"

I was shocked! How could someone be so rude! I was paralyzed from my anger and couldn't even process what had happened.

Then, the worst part, he recognized my grandmother because they live in the same neighborhood.  The conversation went like this:

Rude Old Man: "Oh my God, Julianne?! Is that you?"

My Grandmother [finally turning around]: "Oh, yah, hi there, how are you?"

Man: "I'm good - what are you doing here with this one?"

My Grandmother: "This one? This is my granddaughter... she's visiting from out of town.  You knew her mother, Cherie."

Man: "THIS IS YOUR GRANDDAUGHTER?! What are you Halloweening early?"

Me [The first words I had said the entire time, and saying it proudly]: No, I'm Muslim.

Man: "Ha!" *shakes his head*

My Grandmother looked at me, I could tell she was upset about what the guy had said to me.

Man: "I didn't know Cherie had a child, let alone one like this"

He walked away.

Although I was so upset and disgusted and hurt by what had happened, I felt better only because my grandmother was very upset by what he had said.  When he walked away she really voiced her anger towards him to me.  Later, she even called the old man's girlfriend and had words with her saying how incredibly rude what he said to me was and how I can choose to practice any faith I want to and still deserve respect.

I'm not complaining, I'm not venting, but truly I want you to understand how unnecessarily hurtful people are to me.  I literally was not doing a single thing except standing in abaya and hijab in a grocery store.  I have faith that Allah will handle any punishment this man is deserving of.

May Allah (swt) help all women in Islam and women of all faiths to avoid such encounters.  May He help my grandmother to feel more comfortable with the way that I am treated.

Welcome To My Life: An Example of a Message from Someone who Once Was Like Family

I'm not posting this for pity. Or attention. Or because I'm angry and want to retaliate. I'm posting this to show you the negativity in my life on a day-to-day basis.

I am happy to accept the negativity if it has to do with me being a brat. Every time something bad happens I always say to myself : "what did I do wrong that lead to this?"

This is a prime example of the fact I did not do anything. You may note the last message I sent this person was in regards to her son's wedding.

Except be Muslim.

My name is blocked out in blue.  Hers in black. Mind you this is a full grown ADULT - over twice my age.

Pardon the curse words.

Now, by no means am I the epitome of class in this conversation. I should definitely not have said my grandmother would rip this woman a new one... but my Grandma is pretty bada--.

I just want to show people the kind of messages I get from people who I REALLY loved.

I spent HOURS with this woman and she was like my own mother after my mother passed away. We were beyond close.

Hearing this always breaks my heart. I'm 24. I'm very intelligent. I am responsible. I am respectful. I'm also an idiot sometimes, but I have done nothing in my life not to deserve respect.

If the only thing "wrong with me" is the fact that I'm Muslim, my life is BLESSED. I'm honored.

If you're Muslim, please be more tactful than me in your responses to similar hatred.

If you're not Muslim, please never think about spreading this kind of hate, and be more conscious of the difference between sensationalized media and actual, true media.

Happy Birthday to Me 🎁🎂🎈

Alhamdulilah for another year of this amazing life, please make du'aa that inshaAllah my twenty-fourth year will be just as beautiful as all of the past ones.  Instead of gifts this year, I have asked that all of my friends and family donate to Mercy For Mankind instead. It is an organization that I am honored to be a part of for its critical message to help others understand Islam.

Donate here: www.mercy4mankind.com Thank you all for all of your encouragement, your prayers, and all of the light you bring into my life  I love each and every one of you.

Happy Hijabaversary To ME!

Happy Hijabaversary to me! Three years ago today was the first day I started wearing hijab full-time. 

I can't believe it's been three years! Time has flown by!

It is quite possibly the only piece of fabric in the world that can make me a spokesmodel just by putting it on my head. I'm constantly being judged based on our religion.

If a non hijabi does something wrong, she's just a rude girl.  I'm a rude Muslim girl.

But at the same time that it is pressure, it is also a gift- one that stems from the greatest gift of all, one Allah Himself bestowed upon me- being Muslim.

May Allah (swt) make all of us the best representations of Him that we can possibly be - no matter what we wear.

P.S. I expect gifts!

What Do You Like Most About Islam?

What do you enjoy most about your religion?

Every.

Little.

Thing.

And every BIG thing.

And everything in between.

First and foremost, I love the opportunity to please Allah.

I still can’t believe I got this lucky.  

SubhanAllah.

How Does Your Culture Affect Your Islam?

Culturally, how does your heritage affect your day to day life or outlook?

My upbringing in America gives me a different perspective, and combining the two sides of my life is pretty awesome.  

One aspect that being a convert brings to my life is excitement about Islam.  

I am excited every time I pray. I am excited every time I enter the mosque.  

My excitement never fades, and that is a tremendous Mercy from Allah.