Giving christmas gifts to a Muslim?

grizzly

Is it acceptable to give christmas gifts to a Muslim? Just some chocolate and harry potter books to a child.

Hobbes

What is the context of relationship between you and the child? Religion aside that would probably be important.

mmalaka

grizzly wrote: »

Is it acceptable to give christmas gifts to a Muslim? Just some chocolate and harry potter books to a child.

For the majority of Muslims this would be ok... perhaps you need to check with the parents first

irishconvert

grizzly wrote: »

Is it acceptable to give christmas gifts to a Muslim? Just some chocolate and harry potter books to a child.

Is it acceptable for a Muslim to give an Eid gift to you?

It is not going to offend anyone but doesn't really make sense as we don't celebrate Christmas.

Hobbes

mmalaka wrote: »

For the majority of Muslims this would be ok...

Wouldn't the chocolates have to be Halal? Also is Harry Potter OK?

irishconvert

Hobbes wrote: »

Wouldn't the chocolates have to be Halal? Also is Harry Potter OK?

Yes, I think Harry Potter could be a bit dodgy. I have never read or watched any of the movies so probably not the best person to comment on it but I have heard many people say the stories are unislamic. All depends on how strict the parents are to be honest.

grizzly

Hobbes wrote: »

What is the context of relationship between you and the child? Religion aside that would probably be important.

It's a friend who's always buys gifts for his employees children at the end of the year – the gifts don't have a "Christian" theme.

irishconvert wrote: »

Is it acceptable for a Muslim to give an Eid gift to you?

It is not going to offend anyone but doesn't really make sense as we don't celebrate Christmas.

He has other employees of different/no faiths, but I this case I thought it would be best to check if this would cause some offense.

Thanks for your replies, asking the parent is probably the best way to go of course, I thought it would be good to do some background research first.

irishconvert

grizzly wrote: »

It's a friend who's always buys gifts for his employees children at the end of the year – the gifts don't have a "Christian" theme.

In that case I think it would be fine to give a gift. Just not a Harry Potter book though!

oceanclub

grizzly wrote: »

Is it acceptable to give christmas gifts to a Muslim? Just some chocolate and harry potter books to a child.

I imagine it would entirely depend on the Muslim in question. Certainly, my wife when back home gives gifts to her Muslim friends who call around at Christmas, as she would do to her Buddhist extended family (her immediate family converted).

As an atheist, I lock myself in a room with Hitchens and Dawkins books for the day and say "bah humbug" a lot. (The last sentence may be untrue.)

P.

grizzly

Thanks for the replies. He got Halal sweets instead replaced the Harry Potter book with a colouring book.

fedor.2.

irishconvert wrote: »

Yes, I think Harry Potter could be a bit dodgy. I have never read or watched any of the movies so probably not the best person to comment on it but I have heard many people say the stories are unislamic. All depends on how strict the parents are to be honest.

Ha thanks for that, i never knew that Harry Potter had an anti islamic agenda. Get over yourself will ya.

Jaafa

Hang on here....I'm muslim and I read harry potter. What exactly is un-islamic about it?

hivizman

Jaafa wrote: »

Hang on here....I'm muslim and I read harry potter. What exactly is un-islamic about it?

I suspect that it's the same sort of argument that claims Harry Potter is unchristian - see for example this comment from an Irish Presbyterian minister. He argues that (a) Harry Potter is about magic, in a way that could suggest to children that magic is an integral part of our reality, and (b) the books suggest that Harry Potter can "win" through his own endeavours without having to rely on God.

From an Islamic viewpoint, therefore, it could be claimed that the Harry Potter books contradict the basic principle of submission to God in all things, setting Harry Potter up as "god-like" in terms of his powers, and hence the books commit the sin of shirk (associating partners with God), the worst sin that a Muslim can commit. However, this is almost certainly reading much more into the books than the author intended, and it's interesting that websites that claim Harry Potter to be anti-religious tend to state that adults aren't fooled, but that children might be, and hence the books' danger lies in the possibility that some children will think that Harry Potter is equal to God.

Jaafa

hivizman wrote: »

I suspect that it's the same sort of argument that claims Harry Potter is unchristian - see for example this comment from an Irish Presbyterian minister. He argues that (a) Harry Potter is about magic, in a way that could suggest to children that magic is an integral part of our reality, and (b) the books suggest that Harry Potter can "win" through his own endeavours without having to rely on God.

From an Islamic viewpoint, therefore, it could be claimed that the Harry Potter books contradict the basic principle of submission to God in all things, setting Harry Potter up as "god-like" in terms of his powers, and hence the books commit the sin of shirk (associating partners with God), the worst sin that a Muslim can commit. However, this is almost certainly reading much more into the books than the author intended, and it's interesting that websites that claim Harry Potter to be anti-religious tend to state that adults aren't fooled, but that children might be, and hence the books' danger lies in the possibility that some children will think that Harry Potter is equal to God.

I see you point but I think anyone who is old enough to understand the story line of harry potter is old enough to distinguish it from reality and fantasy.

Really I don't believe the thought of religion even enters ones mind when reading harry potter. Claiming other wise is knit picking I think.

irishconvert

Jaafa wrote: »

I see you point but I think anyone who is old enough to understand the story line of harry potter is old enough to distinguish it from reality and fantasy.

Really I don't believe the thought of religion even enters ones mind when reading harry potter. Claiming other wise is knit picking I think.

Well if people are mentioning it then it is obviously a problem for some Muslims. I haven't seen any of the Harry Potter movies though so I can't really comment.

Jaafa

irishconvert wrote: »

Well if people are mentioning it then it is obviously a problem for some Muslims. I haven't seen any of the Harry Potter movies though so I can't really comment.

Ah well the movies are a different matter. They do include a fair amount of violence and some sexual themes.

whydoc

Jaafa wrote: »

Ah well the movies are a different matter. They do include a fair amount of violence and some sexual themes.

Muslims are looking for a higher goal
They seek God, to be pleased with them

"There are two blessings in which people are cheated: health and leisure time." [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book 81, Chapter 1, Hadith No. 6412, p. 1232.]

Their time is better to be used to acheive their goal :P

http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=608

Freiheit

I gave my Muslim neighbour a Christmas card today,he smiled.:)

Piste

I wished a customer in a Hijab a happy Christmas in work the other week. Actually come to think of it, she said it to me first!

I'm agnostic and I love receiving Christmas presents, but that's just because I've grown up in a culture that celebrates Christmas. I'd be touched and flattered if a Muslim friend got me an Eid present, it would show thoughtfulness and a desire to share their culture with me.

MrPudding

Jaafa wrote: »

I see you point but I think anyone who is old enough to understand the story line of harry potter is old enough to distinguish it from reality and fantasy.

Plenty of people have trouble distinguishing reality from fantasy, particularly when it comes to books.

MrP

Jaafa

MrPudding wrote: »

Plenty of people have trouble distinguishing reality from fantasy, particularly when it comes to books.

MrP

Well if they still do it after they stopped reading the book then they are probably not mentally sound. Which has nothing to do with their religious belief or this topic.