Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 54
54 the home and taking part in preparing food and sweets and other fun activities. National holidays, such as Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Thanksgiving have no religious basis and American Muslims can show their loyalty to their country and may participate in such activities. Christmas and Easter are based on Christian beliefs and are not celebrated by Muslims. In addition, there are some holidays which may appear harmless, but have their roots in pagan customs; examples are Valentine ’ s Day and Halloween. Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih V (aba) warned about Halloween in his Friday Sermon of October 29, 2010. He said: “ This practice is a hidden evil. Muslims in the West are adopting it. Children dress up in costumes and go from door to door asking for something to bring comfort to spirits. The notion is that if a household gives something to the costume- clad children, the dead would not harm the household. Indeed, it is all considered good fun, but the idea behind it all is based on polytheism. It is against the dignity of an Ahmadi child to dress up in a strange manner and go door to door like beggars, even if it is for chocolates. Ahmadis should have a dignity which should be inculcated from childhood. ” 3. 12 Children will be introduced to Halloween through TV, preschool and other children. At this young age, they may not understand the pagan traditions; however, they can be told something along the lines of: “ we do not ask others for candy, let ’ s go to the store to buy some ourselves. ” Scaring other people with costumes is not a good idea. ” At this time, we can also opt to arrange for our own get together. Valentine ’ s Day also has roots in paganism and celebrates relationships between men and women, which goes against Islamic morals. It is important to remember that both holidays are primarily