Monday 6th of May 2024
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time to rejoice...

mixing faiths

 

THE Lakemba Mosque has issued a fatwa against Christmas, warning followers it is a ''sin'' to even wish people a Merry Christmas.

The religious ruling, which followed a similar lecture during Friday prayers at Australia's biggest mosque, was posted on its Facebook site on Saturday morning.
The head imam at Lakemba, Sheikh Yahya Safi, had told the congregation during prayers that they should not take part in anything to do with Christmas.
Samir Dandan, the president of the Lebanese Muslim Association, which oversees the mosque, could not be reached for comment on Saturday.

The fatwa, which has sparked widespread community debate and condemnation, warns that the "disbelievers are trying to draw Muslims away from the straight path".
It also says that Christmas Day and associated celebrations are among the "falsehoods that a Muslim should avoid ... and therefore, a Muslim is neither allowed to celebrate the Christmas Day nor is he allowed to congratulate them".

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/no-merriness-here-mosque-puts-fatwa-on-christmas-20121222-2bsk2.html#ixzz2FqCE68DA

 

the fatwa is working already...

A mass exodus of holiday makers leaving Sydney has led to huge traffic jams along the Pacific Highway.

A traffic jam stretching for about 25 kilometres on the New South Wales mid north coast has added about two hours of additional travel time to the drive north.

Dave Wright from the Traffic Management Centre says delays are at their worst just south of Kempsey.

"[There are] queues around the 25 kilometre mark approaching south Kempsey, which is equating to around 2.5 hours' travel time for those who are actually travelling on the Pacific Highway via that particular location," he said.

"It's all a case of everyone heading north at the same time and as a result we're seeing those major queues today."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-22/25km-traffic-jam-on-pacific-highway/4441330

"traditional" sky writing...

The Lebanese Muslim Association says it arranged for a Christmas wish to be written in the sky above the country's biggest mosque, in response to reports it had banned Muslims from wishing people a happy Christmas.

Over the weekend, a message appeared on the Facebook page for Lakemba Mosque, saying that Muslims were forbidden from taking part in Christmas traditions or wishing people a merry Christmas.

The entry implied it was a fatwa, or Islamic ruling, and was based on a lecture given at the mosque during Friday prayers.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-23/muslims-write-merry-christmas-in-sky-above-mosque/4441784?WT.svl=news0