Faint sounds of Christmas carols, street decorations, paper hats, cards and Santas – the festive season is incomplete without these but possibly it's also incomplete without unnecessary culture alarms which have now become a ritual -- an essential part of the season.
Indonesian Islamists have threatened to target Muslims wearing Santa hats to enforce a 2016 fatwa by the country's Islamic Clerical Council prohibiting the business owners from forcing employees to wear Santa hats, claiming it as a violation of their human rights, The Telegraph reported.
The hardline Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) warned this week that they would conduct 'sweeping operations' in the world's biggest Muslim-majority country.
However, National police chief Tito Karnavian told officers during a security exercise in the capital, Jakarta: "There can be no sweeping operations ... members of the public should respect other religions that are carrying out celebrations."
Novel Bakmukmin, head of the FPI's Jakarta chapter, said: "We will raid businesses in anticipation of them being stubborn about this and we will be accompanied by police."
He added: "Businesses should be aware that there should be no forcing." Christmas is widely celebrated across Indonesia and many enthusiastic workers, including Muslims – don Santa hats or elf costumes.
While this is going on in one part of the world, hashtag #AVeryMerryMuslimChristmas is trending on Twitter in the UK, celebrating the charitable contributions of British Muslims over the festive season.
For those who aren't aware, for Muslims, Jesus Christ is a messiah sent by God. They believe in Christ as much as Christians do and there's no harm in remembering him and celebrating his story.
The hashtag started trending after a report by MPs revealed that the charitable work done by Muslims. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) said the role played by British Muslim charities during the festive season is "willfully ignored", and blamed the media for inaccurate portrayal of Islam.
The report titled A Very Merry Muslim Christmas and showcased projects they had been behind including running soup kitchens for homeless people, mentoring through prisoner rehabilitation and providing support for domestic violence victims.
MPs added: "Muslim charities are at the forefront of domestic crisis response."
These are maybe the reasons to be optimistic, despite the immense hatred being spewed with or without reason.
