Muslims in UK: Christmas improves community cohesion 

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Muslims living in Blackburn, England say they celebrate Christmas because it improves community cohesion.

As “lancs live” reported One Voice Blackburn have launched a new project dubbed ‘I’m a Muslim and I love the festive period’ as part of a community cohesion initiative.

The charity have been launching these projects since 2017 by producing videos with people of all ages from the Muslim community.

This allows members of the Muslim community to be photographed alongside the trees and the baubles, ultimately to express that they are a Muslim and they love the festive period.

Aliytah Butt, from Blackburn, said: “As a Muslim growing up in Blackburn, I always loved how the festive period served as the perfect time to allow families to reunite and spend time together.

Although Muslims do not typical celebrate Christmas, as it is typically a holiday observed by members of the Christian faith, it is seen as a time to celebrate with family and friends, irrespective of your God.

“It’s the one day of the year that most people aren’t working and everything is shut, family are together and there’s good TV on,” Aisha said. “I mean, why can’t TV be like that every other day of the year?

“So, in a sense we do celebrate Christmas, because we use the day to spend time with family and stay in and be cosy with a hot chocolate. People also come over – it’s a time to see family and friends.

“You do obviously get some backlash from the community, but I think there is this unspoken thing about Christmas not really being about religion anymore. I don’t believe you need to think about Muslims wanting to celebrate the festive period, because non-religious people celebrate it anyway.”